Living Room Color Schemes Ideas – Painting is a fun process of house decorating but choosing the color scheme is a different thing.
They say that the color of rooms in the home, including the living room, is a direct reflection of personality.
It indeed influences our thoughts and mood in many ways depends on the gender, age, climate, and also ethnic background.
People tend to give similar reactions to certain groups of colors with variations come from the tones or shades. That is why choosing the right color for home is not something easy.
Many people prefer to go with the trend to make their home beautiful. However, color trends come and go but color schemes based on personal preference and personalities will remain beautiful even the trend changes.
Choosing the right color for each room in the house can be different according to the function of the room. The living room is the place where the family gathers and also the place where guests will first notice.
That being said the living room represents the entire look of the house. That is why it is crucial to choose the right living room color schemes.
Similar to choosing a color for other rooms, choosing living room schemes can also be intimidating. This is because there are lots of things to consider before choosing the color.
Color has the potency to change the perspective, size, and shape of the room as well as the furnishing. The color selecting steps should be no longer intimidating with these few simple guides.
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Before Choosing Living Room Color Schemes
1. Lighting
Have you ever experienced choosing a beautiful shade of pain in the store but the color turns out very different once you pain it in the house?
This is because of the different light quality between the store and your home.
Thus, before choosing a living room color scheme, it is important to consider the type of lighting that you will use in the room such as LED, fluorescent, halogen, incandescent, or even natural light.
The light used in the room will affect the way color will appear.
2. The Size Of The Room And Orientation
Some colors may indeed give the illusion of a bigger space. Most people think that if you have a smaller room and want to make it look wider, stick to white no matter what.
Well, even if you do not want to choose white, you can still use other living room color schemes to create a wider illusion for smaller living rooms such as other lighter colors.
Another thing to consider is the orientation of where the room faces. This has the relation with artificial and natural light which will affect the color appearance.
3. Fixed And Furnished Elements
If you are going to re-decorate the living room, it is also important to consider the existing furniture in the room.
Unless you are going to trade the furniture with all brand-new ones, you need to consider the color of the soda, paintings, cabinets, and many more.
Make sure that the furniture matches the living room color schemes that you choose.
4. Personal Preference
The good thing about paint is that it influences the mood and somehow can represent the personality of the owner. There are ample studies and research related to color psychology as it is a real thing.
The color psychology plays an important role in how you pick a paint color for the home. Find out what color you want and what influence you want to get from the color.
In general, cool and pale colors represents a sense of serenity, warm color such as red elevates the energy level in the room, and brighter color such as yellow and orange gives the sense of happiness but may evoke negative feeling to other people.
5. Test The Color
As aforementioned above that same living room color schemes may look good in the store but becomes less good in your home. Before starting the big project, it is better to ask for a few samples to test in the house.
Buy the samples (usually in the small packet) and paint a square on the wall where it has access to lighting sources.
You can combine the color and test until you are satisfied with the result. Never directly paint the whole living room with new paint without testing the color first unless you are already satisfied with the result.
6. Consider The Future
Choosing the living room color schemes mostly based on personal preference. But, before you paint the living room with your favorite bright red, it is important to consider what the future holds for the home.
For example, if you plan to sell the house in the future, will it be okay to have the color? Or if you plan to change the furniture, will it still match with the new furniture shade?
7. Color Placement
If you are going to use two or more shade of paint, it is important to consider the color placement. Make sure that the combination of living room color schemes complements the entire element of the room.
The perfect combination of similar colors or even completely different colors can create a certain illusion for the room.
8. Focal Point
When choosing living room color schemes, it is also important to consider the color of the focal point. Some people choose a contrasting color to accentuate the focal point.
You can also easily change the room orientation by applying different focal points. Use your imagination to decide what living room color schemes for the focal point and also for the rest of the wall.
Living Room Paint Ideas
Living room color schemes, in general, speak in three ways: passive, active, and neutral.
Lighter color gives the illusion of bigger and airy room, while dark colors give a sense of intimacy for the room. Let’s take a closer look at living room paint ideas.
1. Brown Living Room Color Schemes
The brown color palette does not only consist of brown but also beige, chestnut, and the like. This kind of color gives a warm and inviting ambiance. You can use a lighter shade of brown and darker shade on the edge or for furniture.
This living room color schemes are considered also considered as neutral tone which is very flexible in changing the sense of a room.
Another color with brown undertones such as mahogany, rust, or garnet is also a great choice as it offers instance richness, elegance, and earthiness.
2. Cozy Living Room Schemes
If you want a sense of cozy for the living room, you can choose the sandy white shades such as ivory, suede, and the like. These living room color schemes give and comfortable look.
You can also add some darker colors with the same undertone to give stability and depth to the room.
For example sandy white for the wall and suede for the ceiling. For the furniture, try to find an item within dusty brown to match the paint.
3. Grey Living Room Color Schemes
If you want to play safe in choosing the best living room color schemes, it is better to go with a grey color. Grey and other neutral colors such as black and white are basic to the decoration.
These living room color schemes never go out of trend as they beat the flexibility.
You can use grey for the wall and a darker shade of grey for the ceiling. To brighten up the room, choose furniture in a lighter color and complement the comfortable shade of grey.
However, if you are going to use black as an accent, make sure to use it as small as possible to only give depth to the room.
4. Neon Color Schemes For Living Room
Neon colors such as yellow, orange, bright pink and the like show enthusiasm and excitement. These living room color schemes elevate energy levels.
Even though those colors bring a good impact, but it is important not to use it as the main color scheme.
Some studies show that wall painted in neon color especially yellow tends to make the people lose their temper.
Babies also seem to cry to no more in rooms with yellow painting. Neon color, especially yellow, is believed to trigger anger and frustration.
5. Blue Living Room Color Schemes
Blue is believed as the reverse of yellow. It brings down the blood pressure, heart rate, and slow respiration.
You can use the living room color schemes to create a relaxing and calming ambiance. For example, pale blue for the wall and navy blue for the ceiling and the edges.
Other shades of blue for the living room are turquoise, periwinkle, and cerulean. Make sure to avoid using a darker shade of blue as it has the opposite effect of the lighter shade to evoke sadness.
6. Dark Color Palette
Besides black and dark shade of blue, another dark shade from the color palette for the living room paint ideas is purple.
In its darkest shade, such as eggplant, purple has a dramatic, rich, and sophisticated sense. It is associated with creativity and luxury when used for accent or highlight color.
You can use the lighter shade from this living room color schemes such as lilac and lavender creates the same ambiance as lighter blue does.
The best thing about the lighter shade of purple is it does not give the chilly and blue feeling.
7. Soft Color
Similar to a neutral shade, soft color is always a safe choice of paint. The living room color schemes will never go wrong with any type of living room.
You just need to choose the color which matches the furniture for the perfect combination. Pair soft colors with neutrals to bring energy to the living room without being exaggerated.
8. Yellow Living Room Color Schemes
As aforementioned above, yellow color increases the energy level but the living room color schemes are not for everyone. The color, in fact, tends to evoke the emotion and temper.
If the color is used in a large area of the house, it can trigger anger and frustration. So, if you want to use yellow, you can use it only for accent or highlight only to give color to the interior.
9. Vintage Color Palette
The vintage color palette is also a great idea for the living room. The vintage living room color schemes idea mostly dominated with a shade of rust, gold, and also a shade of brown.
To complement the vintage feel, you can also add some vintage furniture, paintings, and accessories of the same shades or design. Undoubtedly, the vintage color palette creates a classic and rich sense.
10. Beautiful Living Rooms Color Schemes
Everyone dreams of having a beautiful living room. You can also create a beautiful living room by choosing the right living room color schemes.
Any color that you choose should complement the furniture and other accessories to create a sense of beauty.
The definition of beautiful may be different from one to another but make sure that every element in the living room is a balance.
Living Room Color Schemes Mix and Match
Most of the time, people choose a similar color tone to create a synchronized finish. Even though not many people consider this option, but contrasting color also creates harmonized color schemes.
The key to mix and match color schemes is to not afraid of looking ugly.
You can pair green and magenta and it will still look great as long as you put it in the right spot. Here are some living room color schemes mix and match ideas.
Calming Grey
Grey is always a good color if you want to create a calming ambiance. But if you do not want it to appear too monochrome, you can match it with contrasting colors such as burgundy, orange, tangerine, and even gold.
You can also pair it with darker shades of grey and earthy tone for a simple and minimalist look.
Cheerful Lemony
Not many people love the yellow and neon green hue for their living room. Even though it has a cheerful ambiance, but it can appear too bright for the eye.
You can pair the yellow or neon green color with an earthy tone such as brown or cream, blue, dark green, and the like as the transition colors.
You can also use the bright yellow and green tone only in some parts of the living room to accentuate.
Blue Waves
Blue is the color for peace and a calm mind. It is a great color for the living room on its own or paired with other colors.
You can use three different shades of blue in one room and match it with other colors such as white or grey for accent.
If you want to create a focal point of the living room, you can add one contrasting color such as burgundy or black sofa.
Vibrant Combination
Sometimes all colors are just too beautiful, so, you cannot decide which one is the best for the living room.
In this case, you can just choose vibrant color combinations such as magenta, purple, blue, tangerine, and orange. You can put one color on one side and the others for the rest of the living room.
If you already choose the vibrant color combination, make sure you choose a neutral tone for the furniture and accessories.
Elegant Purple
Purple is a rich color that gives elegant looks. To create an elegant purple look, you can use a grey tone for the wall, teal curtains, purple couch or sofa, and bubble gum purple for the rest of the accessories.
Girly Pink
Pink may be the choice for people with girly and feminine personality. However, instead of using pink for the painting, you can use the pink tone for the focal point.
You can use white or light grey for the wall, and choose a pink couch or sofa as the focal point.
Use other lighter or darker shades of pink for the rest of the accessories to make the color pop up.
Vintage Brown
Vintage brown never gets too old in the living room. You can create a rustic living room using vintage brown color schemes.
You can use the brown shades as the focal point such as a brown leather couch, vintage wood shelve, and make it focal by using Tosca tone for the wall.
Mistakes to Avoid
Choosing the living room color schemes idea may be a daunting task but here are some common mistakes to avoid. The first mistake most people make is they tend to choose the living room color schemes in the first place.
Even though you want to find the most suitable color for the living room, you need to know that there are other elements to consider such as lighting, furniture, and so on.
The second mistake people tend to make is they lose sight of the emotional goal.
Choosing the living room color schemes should not merely depend on personal preference, but it should be based on what ambiance that you want to get from the colors.
For example, you love red, but you might want a softer or natural color for relaxing and subtle effects.
The most important thing when choosing living room color schemes is to consider the house as a whole element that intertwines with each other.
You cannot just choose the color of the living room without considering other rooms as well.
This does not mean that living room color schemes should be that strict and prescriptive, but it should be flexible and complement with other elements in the room.