10 Navy and Grey Living Rooms To Inspire Your Next Decorating Project

Navy and grey living room ideas, that’s probably the exact thing you just googled, and you’re in the right place. It’s one of the most forgiving colour pairings there is when you get it right, and one of the coldest rooms in the house when you get it wrong. Let me help you with that.

After sixteen years of designing rooms (and living through five renovations of my own), here’s how I’d approach it, plus ten rooms that show the combination pulled off in completely different styles: traditional, mid-century, industrial, contemporary. Navy and grey really doesn’t care which camp you’re in.

How to get navy and grey right (read this before the pretty pictures)

Three decisions do most of the work in this scheme.

Let one colour lead. Decide upfront whether this is a navy room with grey support or a grey room with navy accents. Roughly two thirds to one third. When the two fight for equal billing, the room reads muddled rather than moody.

Check your grey’s undertone against your navy. Greys lean blue, green or purple, and a blue-leaning grey next to navy can disappear into it, while a warmer grey holds its own. Paint a real sample of both on the same wall and look at them together, morning and evening. I’ve said it before and it’ll be on my headstone: it’s rarely the paint that’s wrong, it’s the light it’s sitting in.

Warm it up on purpose. Navy and grey are both cool, so the warmth has to be invited in: wood tones, brass or aged metals, texture in the soft furnishings. Every room below that feels inviting rather than chilly is doing exactly this.

An abundance of texture and soft furnishings, with wood on the coffee table and a stained mirror doing the warming-up job. Proof the scheme suits maximalists.

Every brand I’d shop for a room like this is in my supplier directory of 480+ brands, by the way.

The contemporary feature wall. Blue and grey in an open plan apartment, with similar blue tones echoed through the rug, throw and cushions so the feature wall doesn’t stand there alone.

3. The traditional backdrop. A striking deep blue wall setting off a white marble fireplace and ash flooring. If your house has period features, navy is their best friend.

4. The velvet chesterfield. A blue velvet chesterfield against a charcoal grey backdrop, in a room filled with natural light, with a mirror placed to bounce that light back around. If you’re googling navy sofa and grey walls combinations, this is the one to save.

5. The tonal layering one. Various shades of blue used together (this is the John Lewis styling team at work) to add depth, especially in the drapes and cushions. Light floors stop the room feeling small.

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6. The Scandi-traditional blend. Traditional architecture meeting Scandinavian elements, a natural wood coffee table, a linen throw. The palette is doing the bridging between two styles.

 7. The uplift-a-grey-room one. If your living room is already grey, blue artwork and cushions lift it instantly, and chrome or metallic finishes sharpen the whole thing up. The cheapest room update on this list.

8. The painted ceiling. Maximum impact from taking the colour overhead, with lighter floors and lighter grey furnishings as the contrast so the room doesn’t close in. Braver than a feature wall, and better.

9. The pop of colour. A statement occasional chair (that gorgeous orange 70s design) plus trays, trinkets, lamps and artwork brightening the scheme. Navy and grey love a third colour in small doses: orange, mustard, blush pink all work.

10. The wallpaper one. You don’t have to use paint. A navy wallpaper on a feature wall adds depth, and on high ceilings it stops the wall looking flat the way a big span of paint can.

Want more grey and navy living rooms to inspire you? Check out these stunning rooms below

The paint colours I’d actually use

If it’s your walls going navy or grey, start with my honest guides to the three I specify most:

• Farrow and Ball Hague Blue, the deep blue I come back to again and again
• Farrow and Ball Railings, the soft almost-navy black
• Cornforth White, the easiest grey to live with

And if you’d like a design team in your corner while you pull your living room together (plus trade discounts at the brands in my directory), come and look at the Home Design Vault.