How to Choose Living Room Paint

If you are looking to update and brighten up your home, painting your living room is an option to consider. It is often the heart of the home, after the kitchen. It is where many families spend their time together or where you may entertain guests. Either way, there are many living room paint ideas that can help you change up your space based on how you use it.

How to Approach Painting Your Living Room

The most important thing to remember is to be practical. Really think about your space and how it is used when contemplating colours. You want to make it a space that is comfortable and speaks to your personality. Go with colours you love – it is your space, your home. If you aren’t sure where to start, look at your décor. Is there anything that inspires you? Look for inspiration from:

1. Artwork
2. Patterned or textured rugs
3. Statement piece of furniture
4. A specific colour from a pattern on a throw pillow or piece of furniture
5. Other rooms in your home – is there a theme?

What is the lighting like in your living room? Keep in mind that natural light shows most colours in their truest form. Incandescent light will bring out warmer hues and yellows. Fluorescent light will cast out a blue tone. These are all good to know when looking at choices for your living room paint colours.

Living Room Painting Ideas

1. Be bold.

   If you love the idea of a bold colour but aren’t convinced it will work for the entire room, go for an accent wall.

2. Active family space.

   For an active living room space that will inspire, you can go for a strong, intense colour. Think of brilliance instead of bold – you can still choose a light colour, but one that has more saturation of a hue (think pastels or tinted whites).

3. Faux finishes

   You can be creative and add some texture to your walls with faux finishes. Stencils or stamps can create a unique pattern on your walls or border.

4. Colour wheel

   As mentioned in other posts, the colour wheel can be a big inspiration when it comes to choosing living room paint colours. It can give you ideas for complimentary colours (opposite each other) or contrasting colours (beside each other).

5. Monochromatic

   Another popular suggestion from previous posts, going monochromatic is one way to pick a colour and be consistent in choosing various shades to work with in the space.

6. Play with finishes

   It might not sound like it would make a difference, but the type of finish can really make a colour stand out more than others. Go for gloss/high gloss on trim and eggshell on the walls. The trim will reflect and shine but won’t overpower the more muted eggshell finish of the walls.

7. Paint the ceiling

   Ceiling paint ideas include a tinted white, a variation of your wall colour, or straight up continuing the wall colour for continuity. If you have low ceilings, painting them white will add height.

8. Work with undertones

   Pick up some sample pots from your local hardware store and test the various undertones to see what will work best with your light and décor. Undertones are usually of greens, blues, yellows or reds.

9. Heritage

   If you have an older home or love the heritage feel, investigate original colours from the period of the home or from a favourite historic period for inspiration.

Paint Your Living Room for You

Remember, this is your living room space, so paint it to reflect you and your family. There are many television shows and magazines out there that tell you what is popular or trendy – that’s great, if it is what you want to do. Just don’t get yourself stressed out trying to stay on top of what’s current. It may not stay current for long, and it may not be the best choice to reflect your personality. With all the living room painting ideas out there, you are guaranteed to find an idea that will fit you and your space and from there it will all tie together seamlessly