Paint colours for living room

What colour are your suite and curtains? Surely that would be a deciding factor.

Suite is mid beige, will be changed eventually, curtains inherited, will be changed eventually, but beige with large white poppies. Fireplace beige stone.

Can't go wrong with Magnolia!
That appeared to be the mantra of the good old MPBW (aka "Works and Bricks") and its successor, the PSA, who ensured that the interior walls of the many, many Service Married Quarters we occupied at home and abroad were liberally coated in the stuff.
Mind you, I still have a soft spot for it.....

Actually, I would live with it until I'd sorted the suite and curtains........othwise you might be painting it twice

Our house was all magnolia when we moved in.......I cannot stand it!

How long will it be before you replace the suite and curtains?
These are the most expensive items in the room.
Paint isn’t cheap. So that’s money and time.
Will you change the paint to match the new suite and curtains?

H1954

Our house was all magnolia when we moved in.......I cannot stand it!

Oh, dear. If you'd given it another 30 years or so, it might have grown on you..

I love white.. Bright and airy and bring colour in with soft furnishings....I don't like dark walls....x

Another lover of white, my whole house is painted white.

Elizabeth27

Another lover of white, my whole house is painted white.

Ours is too. With lots of big green pot plants. Always looks fresh.

My house is all the same colour , a sunny pale yellow , bright , but warm

White walls reflect much more light than magnolia making the room seem brighter and bigger.

If you look at these doing up houses programmes the cheaper ones are often painted magnolia but the more upmarket ones are nearly always white.

If you decide to decorate before changing the suite and curtains, choose white for all the reasons suggested above. I’m also a lover of green, with so many shades available.

I recently had my whole house painted white and I bought bright coloured accessories. I also bought four large, bright modern art pictures for the walls in the lounge which look amazing. I think the white looks fresh and the pops of colour stop it feeling cold or stark. I’m now about to change the bedroom carpets for a bold colour and also get new light fittings - just can’t decide on the colour for the carpets!

east/west that is good. and the basics sound very nice

I have that orientation and chose a nice very matt soft white all over, I added colour with some cushions and pictures. Result is a nice light room

Having moved what seems like many times, I get curtains and carpet sorted first then walls (as you can now get paint mixed to match fabric, but not always get fabric to match wall colour)

I think that H1954 and MerylStreep make important points here and I'm wondering if it's not quite the time to be making any big changes because you possibly haven't yet a firm plan or a timescale for the alterations you wish to make ?
The cheapest way to make a big change is paint and/or paper. But paint is still an expensive outlay IF you are not sure about the other purchases or eventual colours for furnishings for the room.

I would be happy to hold on to the Hessian colour whilst I made up my mind. If you are going to change the sofas or chairs, change the curtains etc., then maybe re-painting might be a waste of your money and time unless you have the colours fixed in your head now.

Since the room currently sounds as if it may be a bit 'too beige', you could lift that feeling slightly by painting maybe one of the walls in white - not brilliant white and not magnolia but one of the many whites which would look great with the hessian colour. This would help to show off the white poppies better and look quite fresh, maybe. Houseplants and greenery bring a calm and decorative touch, perhaps the fireplace wall could be painted white instead. Adding some bright cushions in a solid colour around the room would also help you make a mark and wouldn't cost a fortune. If you sew, making simple envelope cushion covers takes no time and helps contrast or complement and pull the colours of the room together.

Since choosing completely new paint colours, carpets, furniture, etc., is so difficult - and it'd be awfully expensive to make a mistake - it's often easier to focus on a particular item which is going to feature in the new room - a chair or rug or something with pattern and colour that you like. Choose a couple of colours from there and then find the appropriate tone of paint or paints from a chart or sample pots until you are happy with the effect. It sounds really exciting but I wouldn't rush it until you know exactly what you want to buy.
Good luck!

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One of my rooms faces N/E and is a soft apricot on the walls. The other is S/E and is a very soft duck egg green.

Another thread that has been resurrected.

I saw a couple of posters on another thread say they might do this as it was a slow GN day.

fancythat

Another thread that has been resurrected.

I saw a couple of posters on another thread say they might do this as it was a slow GN day.

Oh I hadn’t noticed.

Zombie threads seem popular on here😁

Teacheranne

I recently had my whole house painted white and I bought bright coloured accessories. I also bought four large, bright modern art pictures for the walls in the lounge which look amazing. I think the white looks fresh and the pops of colour stop it feeling cold or stark. I’m now about to change the bedroom carpets for a bold colour and also get new light fittings - just can’t decide on the colour for the carpets!

I was in a neighbour’s house for the first time recently and was absolutely in love with her choice of carpet in the living room and hall (open plan). It is a beautiful soft lilac shade and looks absolutely gorgeous. It’s not a colour I would have thought of but it really works. It made a striking change from the usual greys, blues and beiges and I wish I’d found it when I moved. I wouldn’t copy her so I’ll have to cope!

Perhaps, Teacheranne, a much deeper shade of lilac might be suitable for you? Not purple, just a deep lilac, perhaps..