What Paint Color Will Lighten Up My Living Room?

by Bonnie
(Elkhart Lake, WI)

Dilemma:

My husband decided to paint the living room these colors a few years ago. I don't like the colors. The room looks too dark.

I just want to lighten the room and leave my woodwork alone. I will change the window treatments when I get a color for the walls.

My pellet stove also has Z-brick behind it, which has been painted to match the walls. I need some ideas as to how to incorporate a color to match. Thank you.

Critique:

Bonnie, I agree - the color of your faux finish does make the room look darker.

But there is an even bigger problem here - both of your current paint colors look alien in the room.

You see, for a paint color to work, it has to be related to something in your existing decor. And there is nothing to tie your pink and purple colors to here.

As a result, the wall colors just stick out like a sore thumb.

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Now, here's an example of something that will work much better for your room:



Notice how the green walls bring the golden woodwork to life and look harmonious and organic together.

The colors in this combination are: 6176 Liveable Green and 6206 Oyster Bay from Sherwin Williams.



Liveable Green can be used on the upper part of your walls, while Oyster Bay will look great under the chair rail.

This color combination will not only make your room appear lighter and fresher - it will also complement and enhance your woodwork, and be in harmony with your existing decor colors.


See how well these green tones fit in with your furnishings and pull together all the green accents in the room?

Even if you don't change anything else, everything will seem much more streamlined once you repaint, because there is a relationship between all the colors now.


Also, get rid of the faux finish - it only adds visual "clutter" and messiness to your walls; go for a solid color everywhere if you want a clean and current look.

For your Z-brick, just paint the grout with Oyster Bay to match the bottom part of your walls.

And finally, when/if you go shopping for new window treatments (by the way, your old blue curtains and green blinds will be transformed by the new wall paint), try not to introduce any more new colors to your decor - instead, look for something in green, blue, burgundy or gold to stay within the color scheme.

So, what do you think?