Living room paint dilemma

6 years ago

Hi,

We're finally getting round to decorating after 2 years with our clashing blue wall! We've been testing some greys but need to make sure we get a warmer tone as it's north facing and quite dark during winter months. We'd consider doing the sofa wall in a darker colour as we have various pictures with gold tone frames and also wondered whether painting the fireplace would look better. It's a nice wood but looks a little orangey compared to the floor.

We don't have much budget left following an extension so don't have the funds to do much replacement of other furniture/decor. Curtains and rug need to stay!

Any colour suggestions/advice gratefully received.

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PRO

User

6 years ago

I think you may be better of with a green grey to go with the rug, the curtains, ( love those ), the sofa, the wood in the room - Have a look at Dulux Dusted Moss 3. If that's too green for you, go down to 2 . We painted the whole of one of our houses in that, everyone thought it was grey, but we thought it was clearly green, so I guess maybe it depends what you put it with, like a lot of paint shades.

I wouldn't paint the sofa wall in a darker colour, it's the wrong wall for a feature wall. You could possibly consider painting the Fireplace wall ( partially ) use decorators low tac tape to mark it out...........................paint a portion a couple or three shades darker than the rest of the room, it will give the impression of a false Chimney stack.

Comments (15)

gemm_thomas
Original Author
6 years ago
Other views of room
gemm_thomas
Original Author
6 years ago
Darker colour for this wall?
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Hi. Is everything already ordered/bought? I might look at linen for the curtains if not to add a different texture. Does the fireplace actually exist? If it does I might have the furniture arranged at right angles to it. Have you already looked at sisal or sea grass rugs? I think the texture adds warmth. I might be tempted to add a little more colour, aubergine would work for a pattern in cushions, art etc. Do also mix up the textures for cushions, throw etc and add some pattern. I might also add brass or gold for a mirror, picture frames etc as it will look great against the olive. Plants also add life, at minimum I'd add a large potted one by the patio doors.
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gemm_thomas
Original Author
6 years ago
Curtains
PRO
Amanda Clothier
6 years ago
Would definitely agree with Man About the House on the feature wall. Has to go on fireplace wall. If you put it behind the sofa it will compete with the fire for attention and the eye won’t know where to rest, so you’ll end up thinking there’s something not right about the room. Colour depends on how brave you are. Could go for a berry red feature wall to match curtains and pair it with a warm beige,I like Dulux Rum Caramel, but you do need it to match the beige in your curtains to give a coherent look. My sons bedroom is in Rum Caramel with a Red Stallion feature wall and it looks lovely together. If you prefer a more muted look I think the previous suggestion is very good, but then I’d probably use a similar or toning colour in a lighter shade for the other walls, rather than a very different one, to get a calming, restful effect.
gemm_thomas
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks both for your advice - especially about the feature wall. I can imagine a red wall would look great with the curtains but not sure I'd persuade my husband! I'd actually picked up the dusted moss card up this morning - but was worried it was on the bluer end of the paler greys. I've tried farrow and ball shaded white and drop cloth so far - not sure we can stretch to those prices but could try colour mixing, although I know the finish won't be as good.
PRO
Amanda Clothier
6 years ago
Yes, you probably want a green with a more yellow base, sort of olive?
dottymax
6 years ago
Our new brick fireplace looked horribly orange until we painted the room an olive green. It was like the brick had changed colour.
Juliet Docherty
6 years ago
I would suggest Mouse's Back as a partner to Shaded White. I used on my sofa walls to make artwork stand out, it has some depth and warmth and looks great with red. I have used both in my lounge. Alternative colour would be Little Greene Portland Stone.
gemm_thomas
Original Author
6 years ago
That looks lovely colourhappy - would possibly worry that'd be too dark in our living room but might give Light Gray a try as looks like it's an olive tinted grey. Decisions decisions...
Juliet Docherty
6 years ago
I also have Light Grey and all of my windows are Light Grey too. It is a lovely colour with a bit of warmth.
Sonia
6 years ago
I've just come back from a chum's house who wanted decor help. I'm not a professional in any way, shape or form, but she likes the way I've decorated my house and wanted my input. Her current sitting room has a long feature wall papered in deep red, with cream walls on the other walls. The red is dark and light sapping so glad it is going. She has bought curtains and wallpaper in a white/grey/green/lemon country style design. She needed help choosing a nice neutral for the rest. We finally chose Dulux Polished Pebble (a pale grey with a tiny hint of green). I also liked Dulux Swansdown, an even paler grey which was my preferred one. Maybe have a look at these two? You have quite a lot of elements going on so I would stick with something pale and neutral. I love the fireplace as it is by the way!
Sandra Marshall
6 years ago
Green grey, definitely. I like mizzle. Have some thing like it in my bedroom, and when we had to redecorate, I had the same colour. Grey grey will make the room gloomy, and light grey will look like dirty white. Grey green manages to look fresh in day light and soothing at night, and it works with your other stuff.
Juliet Docherty
6 years ago
Farrow and Ball Light Grey 17 is a stoney green/grey colour.
gemm_thomas
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for all the advice. I'll be giving those grey/greens a try - will post when it's finished.

Living room paint dilemma

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