Colored walls and neutral furniture, or opposite?

amother

Bisque

Wed, Nov 02 2016, 11:30 am

I'm in the process of deciding on furniture and paint colors for a new house.
I love color, and want to incorporate it in the decor. I'm not sure if In the living/dining room I should do colored furniture (couch, accents, rug, curtains etc) and neutral (taupe/greige/similar color) walls, or colored walls (such as light green or purple, or blue) with neutral furniture and some colorful accents. Wwyd and why?

cla

Wed, Nov 02 2016, 11:37 am

I'd do colored walls and neutral furniture.
I love that look. Its so fresh and modern.

Also, if you get bored of the color and want a change, it's easier and cheaper to repaint than to replace furniture.

amother

Lime

Wed, Nov 02 2016, 11:44 am

I am in the process of doing this too. You have to also consider floor color, natural light, size of rooms, ceiling height, etc. Plus consider the color of existing furniture. Unless you're buying all new. Do you like bold color or just pops of color. Do you want to achieve a light airy look or do you like darker rooms?

I love color and wanted to go with bold colors on the wall, but I have dark wood floors and low (8') ceilings, and only so-so natural light, so in the end I went with light neutral paints. Will definitely bring brighter colors in with upholstery, art, etc.

amother

Bisque

Wed, Nov 02 2016, 11:55 am

amother wrote:

Buying all new furniture (we haven't bought any yet, we've been using old stuff).
I would do light pastel colors on the wall, I want a crisp, fresh look.

amother

Crimson

Wed, Nov 02 2016, 12:15 pm

I did a mix , I have a cream couch & recliner , with colorful throw pillows, a teal ottoman and blue chairs.
The walls are a very pale cool grey (looks almost white) while the ceiling is teal.
So the main furniture and walls are neutral, but there's also color.
Anon bec of all the color details
ETA, I also have small paintings and mirror/painted tables in coordinating colors.
I love the room, and so does everyone who sees it

amother

Bisque

Wed, Nov 02 2016, 12:24 pm

amother wrote:

Sounds right up my alley! Teal is my favorite color. But I like the idea of pastel colors- I find it to be more elegant, so that's what I'm leaning towards. With teal, a few pops of it is enough since it's a bright color, but I feel like I would need a lot of pastels in order for the color to really show up.

amother

Lilac

Wed, Nov 02 2016, 2:19 pm

I'm wondering the same thing. We will be buying new furniture when we move into our new house.

This is what I am thinking so far:

Our front living room and dining room have great light, honey colored hardwood floors, and 9' ceilings. I think I'm going to do strong color on the wall - red in the DR and not sure for the LR. I love deep warm red dining rooms.

My open kitchen and family room have vaulted ceilings and there I think I'm going to do either white or light grey with bold furniture colors - orange, deep blue purple or teal. Though I might play it safe with the sofa and get a dark grey and then add color with cushions.

My sister just painted everything white and got bold furniture and rugs - it looks amazing and works with her mid century home.

Following this thread to hear what others say...

cbg

Wed, Nov 02 2016, 3:14 pm

IMO
neutral light walls, dark base boards (less maintenance)
Neutral dark color furniture (less maintenance)
Bold accents pillows, vases, frames, art work, etc.

anonymrs

Sat, Dec 03 2016, 7:16 pm

We just did green walls with dark wood floor and neutral colored furniture. The green is something similar to this.

<small>Photo by Kingsley Belcher Knauss, ASID - Discover contemporary living room design ideas</small>

amother

Bisque

Sat, Dec 03 2016, 7:27 pm

Anonymrs, that's funny because that's what I decided I want to do. Dark hard wood floors with green walls, probably a little more pastel-like than the shade of green in the picture you posted.