Is it strange to have completely different colours in different rooms?

3 years ago

Hi, we are currently thinking to decorate our house and it’s our first time doing this (we somehow managed to have lived in houses all with magnolia walls in the past 10 years...) so would really appreciate some advice!

We are just thinking to decorate downstairs first, will tackle the bedrooms later. Our house is a new build so our style is contemporary. At the moment we are thinking to have very different colours on the ‘feature wall’ in different rooms, but they will be complemented by different shades of light grey. However, i dont know if the feature wall colours are too different and the results will turn out very strange... even though one may say its down to personal taste...

So for the lounge, we have a dark grey sofa, white tv unit and duck-egg curtains. Carpet is in silver/light grey. So thinking to paint the feature wall in teal then the rest in a very pale grey.

For the kitchen-diner, we have high gloss white kitchen units and mid grey quartz worktop. Flooring is a white & grey wood effect vinyl. We are thinking to paint the wall behind the stove in red (pepper red from dulux), which is in fact not a very big area as there are over hanging cabinets. The rest of the walls will be in a light grey colour again (but slightly different from the one used in the lounge).

For the hallway/stairs/landing, we have light grey carpet, so thinking to paint the walls in a light grey colour which is darker than the other two light grey mentioned. Then paint one of the walls on the stairs to a dark blue-grey colour.

Basically the main colour will be light grey, but I am not sure if the red, teal and dark blue-grey colours dont go with each other, even they are in different areas? Maybe we can change the red in the kitchen but not sure what other colour we can consider - it is a north facing kitchen hence we chose the white units but we dont want the walls to be in magnolia, white or boring.

Any suggestions for any colours we can have a look?

Many thanks!

Featured Answer

1sandyh

3 years ago

Why don’t you paint all the walls in the same light grey that you mentioned? Then add a feature wall in each room (either paint or wallpaper) to give each room individually, but still keeping the flow with the same shade of grey?

I personally wouldn’t use different shades of grey in each room. I also wouldn’t paint a feature wall on a stairs/landing. But you could use a darker grey in this area. Or use art/accessories/mirrors/plants to bring colour here.

There are no rules, it’s your house. But try not to over complicate it.

Most colours work well with grey. Have a look at teal, dark navy, emerald green, Ochoa, blush pink. Get a paint sample chart & see what jumps out at you.

There’s also some lovely wallpapers available, for example marble effect, geometric, tropical/botanical, metallic, panelled effect just to name a few.

Remember, you can also use cushions/throws, artwork & accessories to bring some colour in.

Hope that helps :)

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Comments (10)

jillyhilltop
3 years ago
I agree about using the same pale grey throughout the house and then adding feature colour in places if you want to. I agree with everything that 1sandyh says above.
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Daisy England
3 years ago
I don’t think you need a feature wall in each room. Definitely not on the stairs.
Marylee H
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
If you do decide to paint a near neutral colour in every room, then it will be worth testing in every room.

Such colours are far more influenced by light quality than more colourful or robust colours.

It’s not merely that a near neutral may look lighter or darker in different rooms, but it has the potential to significantly shift and alter colour too.

It may all add to a change in atmosphere and be welcomed, but equally you don’t want an unexpected surprise.

Lots of large American homes often use just one colour, but I find that more understandable in these kind of open plan concept homes.

Personally I would choose companion colours which fit both the fixed finishes and furnishings and the available lighting in each space.

🌈
Sonia
3 years ago
Hi, I have a different colour in every room, but by that I mean soft or deep colours, not bright clashing shades. For example my living room is a pale green (F&B Cromarty) all over, leading to my kitchen which is a pale duck egg (Dulux Mint Macaroon) and a navy feature wall (Little Green Woad). Not all rooms need a feature wall and sometimes it can complicate your colour choices. I certainly wouldn’t paint your hall stairs and landing in different greys, stick to one colour. Also grey looks lovely in some lights and grim in others. Light is everything as Marylee states.

Another thing is that your colour choices need to gel with the other items in the room such as sofas and furniture. I realise having to decorate a whole house can be daunting, but I would concentrate on one room at a time, make up a mood board featuring furniture styles, wall colours, flooring, accessories etc. If you are finding this difficult then start another post for the first room you wish to decorate, share pictures, and lots of people will give you advice. We’ve all asked for advice on Houzz at some point! Good luck.
Ribena Drinker
3 years ago
All of the rooms in our house are decorated in different colours - all of the rooms are in my aesthetic and style, so that's what creates continuity and lets the rooms 'flow'. That said none of the colours are very in your face and are all quite harmonious, but I'm not one to slavishly follow the trend of everything in shades of grey.

At the end of the day, it's your house, you live there, do what you want. Too many people decorate and stage their houses for other people to see and judge, when the reality is, it's your personal space. If you have an idea of what you want, have your house however you like. The good thing about paint and paper is that any ill judged choices are easy (and relatively cheap) to rectify.
Juliet Docherty
3 years ago
I have different neutrals in a lot of rooms because the light levels and aspect makes such a difference.
HU-512830061
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks for all your advice! It makes sense that we should pick the same light grey colour throughout the house (apart from the feature walls In each room). We thought we would pick different shades of grey depending on what the feature colour would be, which was suggested by the Dulux website..... But probably a true light grey (not cool/warm tone) will work with any colours.

i think we will still go with having one wall on the stairs in a different, darker colour than the rest of the hallway & landing is because our stairs is L shaped and two walls (the one along the stairs and a smaller wall facing you as you walk up) are quite big, so having just one colour throughout can be very boring. Thinking to paint the smaller one in a darker grey than the rest.

Also thinking not to paint the kitchen red now even if it is just a little... think it does clash with the blue/green/grey too much.
Sonia
3 years ago
Yes I’d leave out the red 😊
Sarah U-S
3 years ago
I don’t have anything against having rooms in different colours (my house is a complete mix and the kids have had some odd choices over the years!) - however if you are doing lots of rooms at the same time, the cost of the paint should be factored in. When you decorate, you nearly always have left over paint that you inevitably save to use again - and you never do! If you use the same colour for more than one room, it will be more cost efficient. The cost is perhaps negligible for cheaper brands - but if you’re thinking of Farrow and Ball, Little Greene or Mylands, the cost soon adds up.

Is it strange to have completely different colours in different rooms?

1sandyh

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jillyhilltop

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Is it strange to have completely different colours in different rooms?

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