Colorful Living Room Ideas
Bored with your room’s dull colors? Yearning for a lively change? Infuse your living room with colors! It creates a vibe that’s electric, full of charm and exciting. Check out these vibrant living room ideas to get you fired up!
Thinking of splashing color around might be scary at first. There’s light versus bright, mixing or matching, or going extreme or playing safe. Questions, questions everywhere. But, remember, colors are your friends. When you follow your gut, it’s no longer scary. And you’ll find loads of inspiration for colorful living rooms everywhere!
Pick a Couple of Main Colors First
Want a vibrant living room? Start with one or two main colors. Then, add some matching tones. It keeps things balanced and stops too many colors from being used (Thanks to Better Homes & Gardens for this tip). Imagine this: Your walls are a gentle blue. You then spice things up with some fiery orange furniture or accents.
Bring in Flashy Furniture
How about adding some lively furniture? It’s a great way to splash some color into your living room. Think a zesty, yellow couch or a poppy-red chair to jazz up the room.
Match Gold with Gentle Tones
Desire a plush, luxurious living room? Try combining gold with soft hues like blush, white, and beige. Consider gold coffee tables, side tables, and ceiling lights. These can add that extra elegance and warmth to your lounge area.
Art Lovers, Consider Murals and Bright Walled Art
If art makes your heart beat, think about adding mural or vivid wall art to your lounge. It could be a conversation starter and also pours color into your area.
Mixing Bright Hues with Neutral Shades
Adding bright colors to your lounge is thrilling, but mix them with dominant neutrals. This blend ensures your living room stays comfortable while maintaining vibrancy. For instance, you could blend bubbly pink, light green, and yellow with mute hues for a pleasing feel .
Wrapping up, numerous ways exist to weave color into your living space, from picking vibrant furniture to layering with colorful trinkets and wall designs. Importantly, remember it’s about mix and match and picking colors that sync with your individual style and the existing mood of your nest.
Statement Couch
A boldly colored sofa placed in front of a crisp, white wall makes a statement in this room from design duo Taylor & Taylor. The sofa, with its saturated blue upholstery and electric throw pillows, attracts the eye and becomes the room’s main focal point.
Unexpected Combination
A touch of unexpected color and pattern can transform a traditional living room, infusing it with a vibrant new energy. In this eclectic space, curated by renowned designer John Favreau, classic architectural elements seamlessly intertwine with traditional antiques, forming a delightful blend of colors and patterns that exude both joy and a hint of history.
Color Blocking
Color blocking is a technique that involves combining different colors in large, solid chunks or “blocks.” It can be effectively used in interior design, as demonstrated in this vibrant living room by Eileen Kathryn Boyd. The vibrant and playful citrus colors, combined with the color blocking technique, add a touch of sophistication.
Vibrant Trim
People often default to white or black for trim color, but if you really want to make a statement, consider opting for a completely different color. Designer Heidi Pribell demonstrates this approach here, creating a space that grabs people’s attention and leaves a lasting impression.
Colorful Accents
Designer Tobi Fairley is well-versed in the art of decorating with color, and one of the most foolproof methods involves establishing a neutral base and then enhancing it with vibrant accents. In this lively living room, she incorporated bold red and blue elements to infuse the space with a healthy burst of color. Should the homeowners ever desire a change, they can easily refresh the room by replacing the pillows and window treatments, instantly transforming the overall aesthetic.
Eye-Catching Artwork
Color can have a powerful impact on decoration, even in small doses. In this living room designed by Meghan Shadrick, the neutral base is brought to life with a striking piece of art and a few vibrant pillows, creating a lively and playful atmosphere.
Colorful Contemporary
Contemporary design is often associated with neutral color palettes, but in this modern living room, designer Kristen Rivoli skillfully incorporates color. The red mid-century chairs, bold artwork, and Persian-style rug all combine to create a warm and comfortable atmosphere.
Modern Traditional With Colorful Accessories
Want to add life to your living room without the hassle of redecorating? Colorful accessories, like the ones used by designer Leslie Harris Keane, are a fantastic way to alter the atmosphere of a room. Instead of a serious and neutral space, you can infuse playfulness into it by incorporating vibrant pops of colors in citrus tones.
Vibrant Mural
A colorful mural can add a sense of fun to a living room. This simple design by Set Visions creates a huge impact and is relatively easy to create. Choose your desired colors and use painter’s tape to section off the areas. Keep in mind that a bold mural like this works best when limited to one wall in the room to avoid a cluttered look.
Wrapped in Color
A room enveloped in a luscious, vibrant color evokes the feeling of a warm embrace in interior design. To achieve that comforting, cozy ambiance, take a cue from designer Erin Williamson and opt for a deeply saturated hue that exudes immense intensity.
Mix, Don’t Match
Sometimes, creating a colorful living room doesn’t require overthinking. Take this room from Corynne Pless as an example – it beautifully combines pieces that don’t traditionally go together, resulting in a stunning display. It’s the perfect definition of “eye candy.”
Bright and Cheerful
Bright colors bring a sense of cheer to this living room designed by Andrea Schumacher. The simple-shaped and neutral-colored main pieces are complemented by a vibrant rug, lively window treatments, captivating art, and charming accessories, creating a space filled with fun and buoyancy. The use of brighter colors enhances the overall cheerful ambiance of the room.
Tonal Values
Some people believe in the rule of threes when it comes to color coordination, but designer Katie Curtis proves that you can include as many colors as you want as long as they have the same tonal value! In this room, the furnishings and accessories primarily feature jewel tones that seamlessly blend together.
When One Is Enough
While many believe in the conventional wisdom of opting for a neutral sofa and incorporating color in other areas, designer Sally Wheat has proven that the opposite approach can be just as successful. The inclusion of this vibrant yellow sofa makes an impactful statement in a room predominantly filled with neutral pieces. Sometimes, all it takes is one or two eye-catching, colorful accents to truly enliven a space.
Tropical Flavor
The colors in this room bring a distinct tropical flavor. Vibrant aqua and bright orange, combined with painted bamboo furniture and a coral-inspired light fixture, create a lively and colorful living space designed by Olive Interiors.
Carefree Color
Color can be used in a variety of ways to achieve different goals. In this room designed by Nicole White Designs, color is employed to create a youthful and carefree ambiance. The combination of light and vibrant colors, playful artwork, and eclectic accessories instills a desire to relax and have fun. This vibrant and lively living room embraces a playful and colorful aesthetic without taking itself too seriously, resulting in an enjoyable space.
Mood Enhancer
Color in home decor can be used to enhance one’s mood. The color red brings energy and stimulation, while yellow invokes happiness and cheerfulness. Orange is a wonderful blend of both. It’s difficult to feel down in a living room like the one designed by Mandeville Canyon, which incorporates all three colors.
Play With Tradition
Updated traditional decor with bright and playful colors can rejuvenate a space. Take, for example, this room from Interior Desires where the combination of vibrant upholstery and cheerful throw pillows delightfully transforms a typically stodgy, tufted chesterfield.
Make a Splash
Nothing brightens a space quite like a splash of color. It’s a fantastic way to showcase personal style and express one’s personality. In this room designed by Laroya & Co, colorful pieces are strategically placed throughout the space, reflecting the unique personalities of the individuals who live there.
Choose A Colorful Wallpaper
A living room wallpaper can add a wonderful pop of color to the space. If you prefer a more subtle design, opt for a small-scale repeat pattern like the cheerful Honeysuckle design from Jane Churchill showcased in this yellow living room.
To create a calming effect, consider placing the wallpaper within wall paneling. Although it may appear as sunshine yellow at first glance, it actually incorporates various colors such as pink and red. These accent colors can be drawn out and used on the upholstery to create an engaging contrast.
Bring Softness With Colorful Fabrics
If you prefer a colorful living room but are wary of using bold, flat hues, consider decorating with colorful fabrics featuring small-scale patterns for a softer appearance. The new Scall Prints collection from Linwood offers 10 delicate repeat designs that are perfect for layering on curtains and upholstery to achieve a relaxed and vibrant look. For example, you can pair a curtain in Hopscotch with a sofa in the Garden Gate stripe and an ottoman in the painterly trellis print, Maypole.
According to John Smigielski, the marketing director at Linwood, “Small-scale designs provide great versatility as they can stand on their own or complement larger-scale patterns, creating an interesting and layered scheme.”
Customize Furniture
Decorative painting on furniture is currently a popular trend, with freehand folksy designs becoming increasingly popular. Not only does upcycling furniture allow you to create a unique statement piece for your home, but it also helps to reduce furniture waste ending up in landfills.
In this painted furniture idea, Annie Sloan and her team transformed an old cabinet using her chalk paint, incorporating a bold bird design. “By going freehand, you have the freedom to let your creativity soar. However, it can be a bit daunting. The key challenge lies in building your confidence, so get comfortable with your brush and plan out your designs in advance. My top tip is to use small amounts of paint at a time for cleaner lines and better control,” advises Annie Sloan.
Use Pattern As A Starting Point
Pattern plays a significant role in living room schemes designed by Turner Pocock. According to co-founders Bunny Turner and Emma Pocock, their starting point is always a pattern that incorporates at least three colors. Whether it’s a floral, geometric, ikat, or stripe, the pattern can be derived from something as small as a cushion or as grand as a large-scale fabric for a sofa. Ultimately, this pattern serves as the foundation of their design concept.
Introduce Colorful Accents
Adding bold accent colors through soft furnishings and accessories can breathe life into a living room decorated in a single color. This concept is beautifully showcased in the blue living room designed by Barlow & Barlow, where various shades of blue, including sky and navy, create depth and richness. Navy, known for its calming effect, makes it an excellent choice for a living room. To soften and warm up the space, the addition of red or pink accents is recommended. Enhancing the overall atmosphere, a cozy window blind in a fun print adds an extra touch of charm.
Adding a Green Art for the Win
What could be more inspiring than creating a beautiful piece of art with your own hands? Elevate your DIY remodeling ideas by incorporating some green art into your living room. Choose a substantial artwork that adds aesthetic appeal without being overwhelming. Complement it with a hanging potted shrub and your favorite artificial plant below. Opt for a neutral background color to highlight the beauty of the greenery. These individuals went for a grey backdrop, but white can also work its magic. Additionally, consider adding handcrafted pieces to the storage area below the wall frame.
A Red Theme to Spark Love
Lots of homes have standard white and grey themes that don’t create a warm and memorable atmosphere. To make your living room the perfect place for spending weekends with your partner, consider a romantic red theme on the walls and sofa. Enhance the cozy setting with hanging lights and a red flower vase on the table. Don’t forget to add a DIY countertop for your favorite bottle of wine, snacks, and a few glasses to keep the romantic vibe going all night long.