The juicy orange walls of this Antonia Hutt dining room have been on my mind ever since we posted it in Met Home’s story Mad about Saffron. And if a paint can stick in my mind that long, I think I need to buy it by the gallon (I have an email into the designer for the exact paint number; I’ll keep you posted).

Warm hues are said to cater to our social side and in a kitchen or dining room, stimulate appetite and conversation. I am not 100% sure this is true but with an orange this warm, this inviting--it just might be. So I think I am going to give it a whirl on our new kitchen walls. I love it--and I better because a color this strong will undoubtedly resonate throughout the surrounding rooms.

So that brings us to the next question: If our saffron kitchen opens up directly into our living room, do I carry the color through or give the other walls breathing space?

I think the living room’s palette has to at least reference the adjacent kitchen with complimentary colors. This space below by Jonathan Adler may just be the palette I am going for--browns, greens, creams, and few touches of orange in a rug or pillow to connect the space.

But I am also batting around the idea of painting the back wall of the living room a few shades softer, in a color like this Martin Senour “Zinnia Orange.” It would create a continuous flow between rooms and on just one wall, the color is surprise rather than an expected matchy-matchy paint job.


We start painting in the first week of August, I’d love to hear your thoughts!