The living room, in most cases, is the first room seen when you enter your residence. Since this room gives a first impression of your house, you want it to create an inviting and welcoming ambience to both you and your guests.
Years ago, parlors, front rooms and sitting rooms were strictly reserved for entertaining purposes when guests came to call. These days, your living room is where you and other family members spend a great deal of your time throughout the day, hence the name living room. It is that space of your residence where you can relax, entertain and share the company of both family and friends. You want your living room to be an extension of your personality, and somewhere you and others can just be themselves in pleasant surroundings.
This has to all be taken into consideration when selecting the color of paint for one of the most important rooms in your residence. The color and shade of paint you choose should be pleasing to the eye, one the majority of family members agree upon and that emits a sense of both relaxation and pleasure.
Sometimes people decorate their living room to create a statement about themselves or their beliefs. They might create a theme for this room, showing off some of their favorite collectibles, hobbies, period style or era. In this case the color they select to paint their living room helps relay the message they are trying to send to all others that enter this area of the house.They have to make sure that the chosen color reflects and blends well with the style or time period they are trying to portray.
This simply means there are no hard and fast rules to selecting a paint color for the living room, just a few simple ones.
It is important to select a durable and washable paint, as this room has to withstand long and hard hours at times. There could be guests of all ages as well as pets sharing this space on a regular basis. If you use your living room to entertain, food and beverages could give the paint a run for its money, as most likely spills and stains can occur. You are going to appreciate a simple clean up of mild soap and water during these times.
The type and intensity of natural light and lighting fixtures should also be taken into consideration, as well as, the overall size of the room. You have the option of painting a larger and well lit room a darker or medium shade of color, while a smaller or dimly lit room should always be painted a lighter color to give it a brighter and less confining feel.
Neutral tones are always a popular choice for this area of the house. Most styles of living room sets and accent pieces blend well in a neutral colored background, as the style of the room pops out from the neutral colored paint on the walls allowing the paint to accent and enhance the overall style of the room.
Super dark colors are not a good idea, unless the overall fabric of the living room set and window treatments can tie into it well in some way. A really dark or black wall may overpower the statement you are trying to make and instead of creating a stylish room, the color of the paint on the walls might stick out like a sore thumb.
As usual, white paint is not a good choice. This color is not inviting. It gives a stark cold feel to a room unless you are trying to create a crisp clear style statement. Coupled with black or any other vibrant or subtle color, it can create quite a statement indeed. Imagine the impact of white paint and either black, purple, or lime green accent pieces, OR the country softness of a room decorated with white paint and lavender, powder blue or pink accessories.
Pastel colors are always a smart choice if you want to create a sense of airiness, spaciousness and relaxation. A light and airy room makes it easier to unwind after a hard day. Save money by painting your living room walls a pastel color. Light reflects well off of these shades, while darker shades of paint tend to make a room dim and dreary. You are going to have to turn on more artificial lights to brighten up a darker room, thus burning up more electricity.
As with the other rooms in the house, a larger living room gives you the option of using more than one color of paint in your decorating scheme. By either painting one or more walls or parts of walls a different color or shade from the main wall colors, you can give the living room a touch of your personal charm.
You can use two similar shades of paint on the walls to create a subtle striped effect, or employ a sponge or rag painting technique to give some texture to them if you prefer. A stenciled border or trim is also an option.
Woodwork is best left the natural wood tone or white, but you have the option of matching it to the wall color or painting it in a contrasting shade or color to that of the walls. Paint the back of your front door to match the woodwork, blend in with the wall color or even a bold shade or contrast color of its own. If you really want to make a stylish statement, and you have the patience, you can enhance your doors and woodwork with a shadowing effect of two colors.
Remember, colors give off vibrations either pleasant, neutral or harsh. It would be quite difficult to feel at ease and spend a great deal of time surrounded in a room with bright red, orange or hot pink walls. Those colors of paint are intense and just give off too much energy to enjoy them for hours at a time.
The paint color you select for your living room should blend well with your living room set and accessories. If you have period style pieces, make certain that the wall color you choose is appropriate for that era. For example, an ornate French Provincal living room set would not be accented best by lime green walls.
If you have a themed living room, such as nautical, a blue, aqua or seafoam green paint would be an excellent choice of wall color. Neutral tans, greens, and golds are a good choice for either a new age or batchelor pad living room. Dusty or muted shades of paint are suited for a country themed room, and so on.
Be certain that the color of your living room walls does not clash too much with the walls of the adjoining rooms or overall living area. You want to create a pleasant atmosphere in your residence. Remember, the wallcolor should reflect both your personality and general theme of the room, not just what was on sale at the paint store.
So, give your living room a facelift, by applying a new coat of paint. You might be pleasantly surprised at the difference it can make in the overall personality of yourself and one of the most often used rooms in your house.