Dark lounge but stuck with furniture
Had the lounge painted recently and hate it. it is north facing and tends to be quite dark . i took advice from the lady who did my kitchen ( which i love) but the lounge looks dark. i have always struggled to get the lounge looking right. i am stuck with the furniture . any advice would be very welcome (it looks a lot lighter on the photos than it actually is )
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Comments (27)
Kate
2 years agololalola73
2 years agoRelated Discussions
completely stuck what to do with our lounge
Comments (3)Hi Lucy, I had a look in your ideabook too but same as Minnie I felt none-the-wiser, as what you have in there is different to want in the room. What sort of feel or style do you want? I don't know what direction your room faces, or what time of day it was in the picture, but the room seems a little dark in comparison to the dining room through the doorway. I would keep the walls light and neutral - either an off white or a very pale grey with a bit of warmth in it. Add colour in the accessories - cushions, rug, art etc. You mention a new carpet but maybe continue the wood floor you have in the dining room and add a rug (which is where you bring in some colour - love the Stockholm rug in yellow from ikea or loads of choice on wayfair.co.uk). Were you thinking yellow or blue for the wallpaper and what sort of style? Cole & Son cow parsley is gorgeous in yellow (but pricey) and there's a Rob Ryan design that's been turned into wallpaper that comes in yellow that is gorgeous. Your fireplace isn't too bad, I think painting the mantle shelf white and painting the wall a similar colour to the stone will make it blend in. Is it an open fire? Will you have to get chimney sealed off etc?...See MoreNeed help with my Lounge and Dining Room
Comments (16)hi ! lining up the sofa to a feature such as a fire place is a good start... but if moving the door complicates issues then maybe it might be easier to move the fireplace ? As it looks like its not got one at the moment ? so you'd be putting it in anyway ? personally i like a pair of chairs and a decent height table betweeen them in a bay ... somewhere to play chess etc ... its tricky to comment more without room sizes ... if the fire you are thinking of is a faux one, I'd suggest maybe consider sofa on existing tv wall, and tv/ fireplace on internal wall might offer up another option ? that way you could maybe have seating on the wall between dining and lounge and the external wall, and bay ? its quite nice to see seating when you walk in a room, (with pics above ) and then get the bonus of a feature like a fireplace when you are in there ! ...changing the internal doors to glazed might give a bit more light into hallway which might be nice ! if current are fire doors though - then keep as they are! ( if it has ground floor and more than one upstairs level they will / should be fire doors )...See MoreLounge furniture
Comments (1)Is it solid wood? Or veneer? If veneer use a tile paint to cover shiny surface more easily or perhaps upcycle it with decoupage....See MoreNeed suggestions for my lounge
Comments (5)Hello Rebecca, I think a lovely chalky stone colour with a hint of pink would really enhance what you have done so far... Little Greene do some lovely chalky and dense colours.. The soft pinks and beige need something a little deeper to compliment and bring depth to the room.. Light Peachblossom is the colour I'm thinking about.. The chimney breast would come a little more into focus and the mirror would sit well with the colour too.. Also some natural accessories would be lovely to compliment.. Stone or other lovely pieces. Old silvers, pewter which will work with the silver of the mirror and your picture frames.... If you didn't cover the rad you could have it sprayed to compliment the wall colour it is sitting on. Zinsser 123 as primer and then the colour the wall is.. .. It's another way to deal with rads.. They can be isolated to remove a single rad but I have not done this.. : )) Here's a really simple visual based on the colour and few accessory suggestions.. from this you can then add a piece of furniture for your lamp with a bit of height and for the tv something at a similar height to it's current table but perhaps complimenting the colour and material chosen for the lamp table or cabinet... Chest of drawers are also a lovely addition to a living room as are wardrobes.. Something like the below pictured could be gr8 with your lamp and then a complimentary low sideboard for the tv area.. The differing heights will add further interest and you see the room layering and enriching to make the most of the scheme you have put together.. Lastly a cushion in the pink of the ottoman would complete the collection there.. : ))...See More
Sonia
2 years agoI have a north-east facing living room and painted it all in a grey-green (Cromarty) and I just love it. It shouldn’t work but it does. If that doesn’t appeal then maybe a soft dirty pink like Calamine or Setting Plaster would. Here’s a picture.
lspendl 828
2 years agoI finally managed to banish the gloom in my north facing living room when I painted the main wall India Yellow. It felt very brave at the time but I love it. Yours is a lovely room but I think a lighter/glass coffee table would lift it.
elaine Hirst thanked lspendl 828elaine Hirst
2 years agoelaine Hirst
2 years agothank you for all the comments the walls are currently painted a copy of Farrow n Ball slipper satin and chimney Vardo . the carpet is a barley colour with tiny black specks in it
Juliet Docherty
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoI keep coming back to blue simply because of your sofas and the carpet. I love a dirty pink but I'm not convinced the sofa would work with it. Lots of colours that are quite 'subdued' will still look quite colourful on the wall so go easy on how bright they are. What is your sensitivity to cool or warm colours? I ask this because I love the look of cool colours (like Sonia's Cromarty living room) but I just can't live with them. I'm pretty certain I have SAD and so I find cool colours really affect me, I gravitate towards warm colours naturally. Slipper Satin is a great colour in a light room (I have it in my hall) but I think it lacks the guts to work in a darker space.
An ochre or a blue would be my starting point. I would start thinking about test pots and paint them onto large pieces of paper, not onto the walls. This colour is 'Burnt Verdigris' by Fired Earth (lovely paints) from an article about a designer wanting to bring warmth into a lacklustre room.
Avril
2 years agoelaine Hirst
2 years agoKate
2 years agoAvril
2 years agoGreen sounds good idea.
A colour I really like is green ground 206 Farrow and Ball. I think it’s is a really nice colour, which looks great against white skirting and I think would also compliment your brown furniture.
elaine Hirst thanked Avrilmacbroom
2 years agoMy living room is naturally dark too (east/west facing). It had white walls which looked cold and grubby. I repainted the walls F&B Skimming Stone and it seems to work, also brown sofas with teal/natural cushions and rug suit the room. You can‘t see in the photo but there’s some artwork with bright colours which lifts it, as the rest of room is quite muted.
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Steph Pew
2 years agoelaine Hirst
2 years agoC Wilson
2 years agoMargian
2 years agosksj1
2 years agoI have the same north facing issues, same carpet and same furniture as you! This is what I have done and I love the sage green - cosy at night and fresh during the day with the black giving a bit of drama. Green is F&B Cromarty.
PRONellie Vin
2 years agoFor the room too heavy dark furniture, and you told that already. It is too heavy. My advice remove all and look around , start with a hanging bigger TV on the wall instead the mirror, mirror move to the left wall by the door( if you looking straight to the fireplace) Now keep going, do what just you like , I would get lighter and not too heavy furniture. Maybe fireplace would be better in some subdued color like one from your curtains. That expands area. Here from my latest project . For the inspiration. Brighter colors brightens the room . Good luck, looking forward to see your success.
Sitting Area · More Info
1930's house. UK · More InfoLeanne Jonez
2 years agoI would look at darker, cosy colours. Two of my favourites are ‘Goblin’ by Little Greene Paint Company - a lovely deep green. I painted our very dark snug in Goblin and it has transformed it. It looks great in daylight and at night, and the white skirtings and doors look really crisp against it. I will post a photo shortly. You’ll need some pops of colour with it - we have a yellow velvet sofa which looks great but it will also look great with your leather sofas, just add some colourful cushions and perhaps a rug.
The other colour that I love is Farrow and Balls ‘Green Smoke’ - a classy, sultry green which would also work well with your furniture. Either way I’d paint all the walls to get the full effect, just doing a feature wall will not give enough warmth.
Green Smoke images below. I will add Goblin shortly.
Alana Hale
2 years agoLeanne Jonez
2 years agoHere are the photos I mentioned in my earlier post, my snug/office painted in Goblin by Little Greene Paint Company.
PROAnn Cope Interior Design
2 years agoAs you have little light my recommendation to help feel warmer and cosier is Teal which works well with dark furniture and you could add pops of colour with orange, gold, ochre accents to make it feel warmer.
I have added some images below, the wall colour is Byzantine in Autentico Paint.
elaine Hirst thanked Ann Cope Interior Design
Isla Cherry