3 Unexpected Yet Awesome Colors For Your Living Room : Annie Elliott Design

Hello, Gentle Readers ! Now that it actually feels like fall, I’d like to mark the change in seasons with the recommendation that you shake things up in your living room. And that’s not just because I’m doing it and would like some company ;)

Living room with light pink walls and green sofa — Reminder. Photo by Angie Seckinger. Wall color is Benjamin Moore’s Pink Moire, which I love and highly recommend

Painting your walls is the fastest, least expensive way to radically transform a room. Since we all agree that light grays are the devil (work with me), I’d like to propose three alternatives.

LIGHT BLUE. Aquas are giving way to cooler blues, but either works as a fresh neutral in a living room. Three to consider are Benjamin Moore’s Whispering Spring or Ice Blue and Farrow & Ball’s Borrowed Light. (I really should be paid by these people; I assure you I am not. But these are the two paint manufacturers I know best.)

Side table in front of light blue walls. — Whispering Spring. I’ve used this cool blue in SO many bathrooms I can’t even tell you. Makes old white tile sparkle again :)

Light blue brick wall — Ice Blue. I’ve used this light aqua in my daughters’ nursery (north-facing) and in my old office (south-facing)

Dining nook with light blue walls — Borrowed Light. I’ve yet to meet a designer who doesn’t swear by it

CRISP LIGHT YELLOW. A dry yellow is classic and elegant — very pre-war New York. Benjamin Moore’s Lemon Ice is a good one to consider. Yellows can look green in north-facing rooms, so it’s imperative that you put some test swatches on posterboard and look at it on different walls.

Bottles in front of a light yellow wall — Lemon Ice

Sitting room with light yellow shiplap — Lemon Ice again. I’m telling you: it’s a good one

And finally, counting as one category, ANY DARK COLOR. I ask you to consider a dusty dark green, navy blue, or charcoal gray for a change of pace.

Fireplace mantel in a dark green room — Farrow & Ball’s Studio Green

Living room with dark blue bookcases — Benjamin Moore’s Gentleman’s Gray

Living room with dark gray walls — Benjamin Moore’s Kendall Charcoal

Funny how I can HATE light gray but LOVE charcoal gray, isn’t it? In all seriousness, though, not all rooms have to be light and bright. If your living room is small, I urge you to embrace the cozy and go dark on the walls.

Now, I hear you asking, “If I paint my walls, do I have to paint my trim and ceiling, too?” If it’s been more than, say, 3 years, then yes, Gentle Readers, I’m afraid you will. I’m sorry. Fresh paint makes adjacent colors look dingy. Dirty, even.

For invaluable ;) tips about painting your trim, please refer to my post, “7 Sanity-Restoring Rules About Trim Color.” Surprisingly, it continues to be one of my top 10 posts since I originally put it up in 2011. (I’ve updated it since then, but not a lot!)

Give all of this some thought, will you? Repainting your living room might be just the thing to get you excited about your home this fall.

Exciting news: my revised and expanded book will be released by Artisan Books next August! In the meantime, Annie Elliott Design is expanding its horizons: if you live in New York and are ready for a color, pattern, and gin-infused update, we’re standing by.