Living Room Painting Ideas: The Ultimate Guide

Whether you’re blessed with huge ceilings and bay windows, or a cosy space filled with children’s toys, deciding to decorate your living room, aka the room where we spend most evenings, can be daunting. Today we wanted to share some living room painting ideas and our ultimate guide to painting your living room, from what colours to choose to the years’ colour trends. But first…

How should you decorate a north or south-facing room?

With a south-facing room, you’ll have strong, clear natural light adding warmth to whatever scheme you decide. The key is to balance this with cooler tones such as blues, greens and violets. Warm tones will only make the room feel overpowering, so even if you’re considering greys or whites, pick ones with a cool undertone.

North-facing rooms, however, work in the opposite way, with generally little natural light coming through. Colours such as yellow, pink, and gold all work perfectly within north-facing spaces, adding a delicate warmth.

If you’d like the complete guide to North Facing spaces, understand the Purkinje Shift and how to choose the perfect colours for your north-facing room, click here to get the how to decorate a north facing room guide.

What colours are on-trend this year?

We’ll see earthier shades this year, including taupe, terracotta, greens, and deep charcoals. Accents of dusky pink and peach complement these.

If blues are more your bag, then you’re in luck as shades from powder to navy will be spotted across living rooms – the key here is to team them with muted hues such as mushroom grey and greens for a modern finish. Click here to grab 10 navy + grey living room ideas to inspire your next project.

Should I paint all four walls of my living room the same colour?

Not necessarily, although if you have a more traditional space, then having the room in one colour can look incredibly chic. But if you’re looking for a change, here are some living room painting ideas

Here are 6 creative living room painting ideas…

ALL ONE COLOUR

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When we say to paint the room one colour, we mean everything from the skirting boards to the fireplace to the ceiling. This visually incredible statement works well in larger rooms to create a cosier feeling.

HALF PAINTED WALLS

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We first discovered the power of a half-painted wall thanks to interior design master Kate Watson-Smyth, who worked her magic in this stunning show flat in Wembley. By only painting half the wall in a darker shade, you can create the illusion of higher ceilings and camouflage the TV, as Kate cleverly points out.

(Image Credit: Mad About The House)

DEEP, DARK WALLS

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When you’re considering living room painting ideas, one thing to consider is what time of day will you spend the most time in it?

If you’re only in there on an evening, snuggled up on the sofa, then painting the room in a deep, dark colour such as navy, forest green, charcoal or even plum means that you won’t be sacrificing much light, and you’ll have created a cosy snug to retreat into on an evening. There’s no better way to create ambience on a winter’s evening than a fire going alongside cleverly placed lighting in a dark, moody space.

CREATING A STATEMENT

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If you want to be bold with your colour choices, but you’re not brave enough to paint the full room, consider creating a statement with one bold wall. With this living room design ideas, you can create a cohesive look by adding your chosen shade in other smaller areas of the room, such as cushions, a rug or decorative accessories. Pick a large windowless wall and choose a colour that packs a punch.

TONAL

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An interesting trend that has moved from those in the know to a more mainstream audience is the introduction of tonal rooms. The key is to create layers with your chosen colour palette and add plenty of texture to the room.

Having varying shades of the same colours adds depth to the room and a mix of finishes such as matte, gloss, metallics and glass helps to add interest.

WHITE CANVAS

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Finally, having a white canvas can be the perfect backdrop to statement furniture. It also makes for a calming space when teamed with Scandinavian-inspired décor. If you have good natural light, look for whites with a hint of green for a truly tranquil room, while poor daylight can be combatted by shades of white with yellow and gold hints.

Add natural textures such as rattan, jute, bamboo, linen, and plant life to stop a white room from looking flat.

Many people struggle with choosing the right paint colour, so the biggest tip from this post is to buy your sofa and carpet/wood floors and add the paint last.

Paint is a slightly less expensive mistake than buying the wrong colour sofa, so purchase your big-ticket items first and work the room around those.

And remember, whatever the trend or design, always follow your heart. ❤️

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