The
living room truly lives up to its name—it's the heart of the home where friends and family gather to unwind and entertain. With that in mind, the design of a living room should be both welcoming and reflective of the home's overall style through thoughtful art, personal collections and vibrant color. One of the easiest ways to elevate the living room's ambiance is by carefully choosing paint colors that brings the space together.
The color choices in your living room not only establishes a sense of personal style, but they typically help drive the decorating process, making it easier to choose antiques furnishings, sculptural lighting, and patterned rugs. Whether you find yourself drawn to light and airy shades or lively and vivid hues, there’s a paint color out there that will perfectly fit into your space. We've gathered over 50 of the best living room paint color ideas from top designers around the world to get you started. Happy painting!
Goldenrod
Linens designer and shop owner Julia Amory thoughtfully preserved numerous features of this Southampton cottage, once curated by former owner, decorator and fashion icon Chessy Rayner. For example, Amory kept the original yellow walls, along with an iconic blue painting noting, “it’s the calling card of the house."
Peaco*ck Blue
Design duo Redd Kaihoi infused this Virginia countryside estate with vibrant colors that mirror the owner's youthful spirit. The living room walls are adorned with a dazzling peaco*ck blue shade, which perfectly complements the regal red silk velvet sofa.
Chocolate Brown
Matthew Carter cleverly selected a dark hue for the walls of this Maine living room to enhance the natural light pouring in from the windows. He explains, "A deep color lets the walls recede and the windows expose the garden beyond."
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Aqua Blue
Aqua blue walls spotlight the sea treasures (like the red coral-like chandelier and Arcimboldo-like coquillage heads) in the drawing room of Thomas Boog's French country house.
Glossy White
Designer Lucy Doswell invited the fresh beauty of the private garden at this New York townhouse indoors in clever ways. In the family room, she lacquered the ceiling in a bright white shade as it, "brings garden light indoors and bounces it around," she says.
Sherbet Pink
The late Mario Buatta often used color as a way to enhance a space’s architecture and create a mood. For example, the designer decorated this South Carolina living room in shades of sherbet pink as it creates an almost cooling effect to the intense sun outside.
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Gray-Blue
Benjamin Soleimani's impressive collection of Persian rugs took the leading role in the decorating process of his Beverly Hills estate. The blue-gray walls softly pick up the subtle detailing on the living room's rug.
Electric Turquoise
An electric turquoise ceiling sets the tone for carefree fun in the open-air drawing room at hotelier Kit Kemp’s tropical Barbados retreat. A pair of ikat-patterned (Christopher Farr) sofas provide a chic perch where guests can lounge before strolling over to the neighboring dining room.
Bermuda Blue
Glazed walls in Benjamin Moore's "Bermuda Blue" create a bold backdrop for a colorful space filled with a mix of classic and modern pieces as designed by decorator Lizzie Bailey. Contemporary artist Willa Nasatir’s “Bite" (2020) hangs on the wall above a custom raspberry strie velvet sofa from Pindler.
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Marigold
As an ode to Dorothy Draper, designer Garrow Kedigian painted the walls of his exuberant apartment at the Carlyle a jubilant yellow—the same shade as the yellow velvet sofas Draper picked for the hotel's lobby. The cerulean on the bookshelves carries over from the neighboring entryway.
Island Pink
In the conversational living room of this Block Island retreat, blushy pink walls create a tranquil glow reminiscent of the sunset at the beach. Decorator Miles Redd painted the room's textured wallcovering several times before achieving the perfect pale pink—which just so happens to match the romantic floral linen (Blithfield) on the club chairs.
Creamy Gray
While a lover of vivacious prints and bold colors, designer Ashley Whittaker knew the only way to tame the 30-foot-long living room at this Connecticut estate was to keep the walls muted and reserve the pattern play for the furnishings. Creamy Venetian plaster walls serve as a soothing backdrop for a velvet sofa (Lee Jofa) and a serene landscape photograph by Carol Greenan Bouyoucos.
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Juicy Apricot
Memories of warm summer days exploring the sunlit architecture of Venice inspired designer Summer Thornton to paint her Chicago living room a delicious apricot shade. The mohair orange sofa (fringe; Samuel & Sons) and the curvy custom daybed in the bay window fill the room with a sense of whimsy.
Dusty Yellow
It was the orange and yellow tones of the antique Spanish rug that propelled designer Renvy Graves Pittman to lean into a sunset palette for her Bel Air living room. Lee Jofa chintz-covered armchairs dotted throughout the room create the perfect perch to lounge during dinner parties.
Apple Green
English gentlewoman Esther Cayzer-Colvin relied on lessons she learned from her grandmother Nancy Lancaster, co-owner at Colefax and Fowler, to decorate her own personal Wiltshire estate. Cayzer-Colvin meticulously mixed together varying shades of green paint to produce a color that reminded her of cooking apples for the walls of her family room.
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Periwinkle Blue
“I like to utilize the entire volume of a room,” says Anthony Baratta of the living room in this Manhattan apartment, pointing to an American painting by Tomory Dodge and oversize custom floor lamp, both of which take advantage of the capacious height. Equally ample upholstered furnishings are clad in arresting colors and patterns, including cherry-red velvet (Pierre Frey) and the sofa’s block-printed linen (Christopher Moore). Plaster and marble objects, including an over-the-top amphora lamp, echo the color and classical tone of the original ceiling moldings. The medallion border on the drapes was inspired by one in a Christian Lacroix showroom.
Cherry Red
Most of the palette and patterns for this London rowhouse decorated by Gary McBournie came from a single small antique Turkish rug. "We loved its colors and design, and Chinese, Indian, and Turkish influences," says McBournie. "It became the starting point for everything." Because it was too small to suit any of the spaces, McBournie re-created it as a large living room rug for the cherry-hued space. A convivial window seat overlooks an emerald and white back garden. Striped banquette fabric, Pierre Frey. French lantern, Carlton Davidson Antiques
High Gloss Aubergine
In the New York gallery/apartment of author Emily Eerdmans, aubergine lacquer conceals some awkward corners. The glazed wall finish was completed by Vincent Naletilic. A 19th-century French sunburst clock is suspended by a shantung silk bow from Mario Buatta’s living room. Ottoman velvet, George Spencer through Claremont
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Taxicab Yellow
Designer Todd Romano's living room in San Antonio, Texas, is a virtuoso’s guide to owning the color wheel: Taxicab yellow, pure red, and cobalt are a mighty foundation for soft pastels and nuanced naturals. A pair of Chinese baluster vases fitted as lamps bookends a custom button-tufted sofa. Central artwork, C-Ring 1, Todd & Fitch
Plaster White
In the living room of designer Cece Barfield Thompson's New York apartment, plaster white walls provide a crisp backdrop to a sea of fresh greens. An oil painting by London artist Daisy Cook hangs over a nine-foot Schneller sofa upholstered in stain-resistant fabric (Perennials). The coffee table is crafted from a 19th-century Chinese screen; the chairs are covered in handblocked linen (Clarence House).
Steele Marcoux
Editor in Chief, VERANDA
Steele Marcoux is the Editor in Chief at VERANDA, covering design trends, architecture, and travel for the brand.
