Written by Sophie Clemson

Choosing a paint colour for your living room can feel overwhelming, because there are so many different decisions you need to make. Painting your living room doesn’t just stop at the paint colour for the walls, there is lots to think about, from the ceiling to the woodwork and much more. Your living room is most likely one of the main hubs in your home, a place you enjoy as a family and to entertain guests, therefore, you want to get it right. 

We have shared our expert paint ideas and tips that you can use for your living room.

1. Colour drench your living room 

2. Match your ceiling to the walls 

3. Colour blocking 

4. Paint the woodwork in a contrasting colour 

5. Paint your built in furniture 

6. Paint the ceiling

7. Paint the inside of your window

Colour drenching

Colour drenching is when you paint the walls, ceiling, woodwork, and radiators - basically every inch of the room in the same paint colour. Colour drenching can look fabulous, especially if you're opting for a dark and moody feel. Painting every surface in the same colour can work really well to optimise a dark and moody look, it will blur the edges and give a cocooning effect, creating a cosy atmosphere. As it blurs the edges and softens the room, it will give the illusion of more space. You can make any furniture pop against the paint colour, and it can be quite a fun look when using bold and strong colours. 

Have a chat with us and find out how we can help you. Book a discovery call with us today!

Match your ceiling to the walls 

Similar to colour drenching, painting the ceiling the same colour as the walls will blur the edges. It takes away the harshness you get when using brilliant white and creates a more designed look. If you’re using a dark paint colour and have a white ceiling, it can look like you have a white box above, which ends up being the first thing you see rather than the new beautiful paint colour on the walls. A big bonus when painting the ceiling the same colour as your walls is that there is no cutting in, saving lots of time!! If you’re going for a neutral paint colour, then we usually recommend painting the ceiling the same colour as the walls because it will create a uniformed and sleek look.

Colour blocking 

Colour blocking has been very popular for several years because it's such an easy and affordable paint technique to use in order to create a feature in your living room. There are lots of different ways to use colour blocking, such as:

Half height colour blocking

Painting half of the wall a different colour is probably one of the most well-known colour blocking techniques. We recommend using the darker paint colour for the bottom half of the wall otherwise, it could look too heavy and unbalanced. Our top tip when going for half height colour blocking is to not create too many lines within the room, try to line it up with something else, this could be to the door handle height or a piece of furniture. If you have too many lines, it can look messy and busy, taking away from the simplistic look you’re trying to achieve.

Creating shapes with colour blocking

Creating shapes with paint can be a great way to anchor and zone a space within your living room. Your living room may be a multifunctional room with a working from home area. Depending on the style of your living room, colour blocking can be a fun way to zone the area. You could paint an arch as a backdrop for your desk, this will create a softer line. It doesn’t need to be a bright colour, it can be a subtle contrasting tone. You can use colour blocking behind a gallery wall as a background to frame your artwork. This could be a rectangular shape that is larger than all the artwork to create padding around it.

For more colour blocking ideas take a look at our blog - How to use colour blocking in your home

Do you struggle to visualise how your room could look? We can help you, click here.

Paint the woodwork in a contrasting colour 

Painting the woodwork, such as the skirting boards and architraves, a different colour to the walls can provide a contrast and a contemporary look. Choose a paint colour that is complementary to the walls. We particularly love Little Greene’s colour scales, this is where they have one paint colour but in different depths, such as Slaked Lime 105, Slaked Lime Mid 149, and Slaked Lime Deep 150. This is a safe option to go for when painting the woodwork because you know it will all work together. If you fancy being bold and want your woodwork to be the feature in the room, then opt for a bright, zingy colour such as yellow, this can look very interesting. 

Paint your built-in furniture 

Built-in alcove units in living rooms have become increasingly popular over the years, and here at The Living House, we are big fans. There are a couple of options you can explore when painting the built-in furniture in your living room. If you want your built-in units to blend in and your accessories to pop on the shelves, use the colour drenching technique and paint them the same colour as the walls, this can achieve a seamless look. If you want your built-in furniture to be the star of the show and one of the features in the room, you could paint them a different colour that complements the rest of the walls, such as the same colour as the woodwork.

If you need some inspiration on what to do with the alcoves in your living room take a look at our blog - How to decorate alcoves in your living room

Paint the ceiling

A painted ceiling can add drama to your living room. You don’t need to just stop at the ceiling, it can create a really cosy feel if you bring the ceiling down with the clever use of paint. If you live in a period property and have a picture rail in your living room, take the paint colour from the picture rail up to the ceiling. You can still create this look in a new build, simply bring the colour down to the wall as if there is a picture rail, this will give a cosy feel. You can be dramatic with this and go for a bold colour to contrast against a soft neutral on the walls. It will draw your eyes up to the ceiling and towards the ceiling light, therefore, this is your chance to go for a beautiful show stopper ceiling light to give your living room a wow factor. 

For more tips to add personality to your new build take a look at our blog - How to add instant personality to your new build 

Paint the inside of your window 

Window recesses can often be forgotten and normally painted in brilliant white or the same colour as the walls, however, if you want to add a little bit of fun to your living room windows, consider painting the inside recess. You could be brave and opt for a bright colour that will pop, this works well in living rooms with a contemporary style.

If you want to avoid costly design mistakes, take a look at our affordable online interior design packages to give you all the help you need. Whether you’re considering a full redesign or a spruce up, we can take the stress away, and give you the confidence to move forward. Our online interior design packages are a flat fee and we can work to any budget large or small, saving you money along the way and ensuring you get the results you want and expect!