10 living room colours to transform your lounge

Grey doesn’t mean you should have to feel grey, not when it comes to lounge colour schemes anyway.

Light grey (we’re thinking dove grey and off-white grey) is right on trend, bringing warmth to rooms in such a sophisticated way. And when you pair it with crisp white woodwork, the end result is stunning.

Don’t forget it’s perfectly ok to have both light and grey in one room, e.g. a light grey sofa and walls and a dark grey rug, like in this picture…

Image: @our_sankey_countryside

Dark blue and light grey are a colour match made in heaven.

The lightness of the grey helps makes sure the navy isn’t too overpowering. Light grey also brings a classic blanket of warmth.

If you’re looking for more of a dramatic look, swap light grey for dark, almost black grey. 

Image: @my_mickleton_home

What’s that, ‘grey and green should never been seen?’

That’s not strictly true, not in relation to 21st century living. Because grey is a neutral colour it blends really well with brighter colours, such as vibrant green, or even, a more muted sage green.

All tones of grey, from lilac to charcoal, go great with green.

Image: @project.house.10

Yellow and grey work well together because grey goes well with brighter shades, and yellow (sunshine, in particular) is certainly bright!

The reason why this combo works is because grey tones down yellow while the yellow lifts the grey.

If you like this pairing, but don’t feel brave enough to do it, make grey your main base colour and then add a smattering of yellow/mustard/gold/sunshine yellow detail (e.g. cushions, rugs, throws).

Image: @insidemeadowview

Cream’s great because it’s nice and bright like white, but it’s not so white it makes rooms look stark.

There’s also the fact that it doesn’t show up marks as much as white does either.

What’s more, you can never have too much cream in one room, which this homely pic from @a.littlebit.country proves…

Image: @a.littlebit.coutry

Beige works brilliantly-well in living rooms. It’s not too dark that it closes rooms in and makes them feel smaller, but it’s not so light that it makes spaces feel too airy and uninviting.

What’s more, beige is also a colour favoured by both men and women, and when you layer it up and throw in some silver detailing, it’s effortlessly classy. See what we mean?...

Image: @tolkien_millerhomes

What are your thoughts on having a pink living room? Yay? Nay?

Think again, because there are many different shades of pink other than the baby pink that’s just immediately sprung to mind.

Blush is a prime example of a ‘grown up’ shade of pink that’s elegant and works really well in living rooms, giving them immediate impact.

Grey and white and silver go exceptionally well with this shade. 

Image: @theonlywayis_pink

If you really want your living room to pop, choose bright blue, such as cobalt, azure or royal blue.

For all-out drama, paint all of your walls blue, and for a less dramatic effect, create a blue feature wall.

Pair it with white, yellow and lots of wooden features (e.g. flooring, a coffee table and side tables) for a dramatic, yet warm feel.

Image: @homereno06

White living rooms never look out of place in any home.

The beauty of white is that it goes with pretty much every other colour, from lights, to mids to darks, and from vibrants to neturals.

White is the ideal colour companion. It’s also useful for giving the illusion of more space because it makes rooms look brighter because it is so light.

Image: @_athomewithjess

If bold colours are your thing, there’s no reason why you can’t have them all in your living room!

Walls painted in different vibrant shades and multi-coloured wallpapers are an absolute must for bright colour-lovers.

And if you want to have some sort of theme running through all of your colours, take a colour from your vibrant wallpaper or multi-coloured painted walls and buy furniture in that shade. Just like this…

Image: @sammyjowilko

Yellows, oranges, reds and reddish/pinks are all widely recognised as being instant room-warmers.

Meanwhile, certain shades of grey (the warm greys), e.g. with a baseline of yellow and brown, such as greige (grey and beige) are naturally warming too.

And, of course, there’s also beige and cream (e.g. magnolia), they’re both capable of adding more of a subtle warmth to rooms too.

Lighter shades, such as white and cream are well known for instantly making rooms look bigger, brighter and lighter.

Meanwhile, yellow tones, light blues, as well as our friend, light grey, will also have the same uplifting effect too. 

For more helpful colour insight, take a look at this article, ‘Carpet styles and colours to take note of.’

Published: 16th August 2022