Creating Contrast in Your Rooms

I received an e-mail recently from a reader, asking about my dining room transformations and how to choose the best color in your space. I thought it would be a great post to present on the blog and open up the discussion with all of you! My original paint color in the dining room was Bungalow Gold by Eddie Bauer. While I enjoyed the color for a while {7 years, to be exact!}, I needed a change. So, I decided to stencil one wall, after receiving a free stencil for a product review.

While the stencil was fun and something new, I still wasn't feeling it. I realized the main reason why, was because there was not enough contrast in the room. The oak floors blended with the table, which blended with the walls. I have been meaning to make some of my spaces lighter and brighter, and I knew this was the room to start! This space did not need another warm tone... it had too many, already. What this space needed was some contrast. It needed a cooler color in the blue/gray/green family. Fast forward to my decision... and we have Halo, by Benjamin Moore. I love that it appears almost white when the sun is shining, yet provides that cool tone of gray/green that this room needed. I know I have already shown the dining room reveal here, but I thought it was also worth mentioning why this color was chosen and how to achieve contrast in your home. Here is the new paint color:

For me, adding a cooler color helped to break up all the similar tones, and I am so much happier. The paint brush can be put down, for now!

How about you, do you like more of a contrast, or similar tones throughout?