I would get the drapes first, then pick a paint color that works with them.

Maybe you could add some colourful cushions to really liven up the room

Congratulation for your new home! With your start and ideas I think you are going to have a beautiful living room.
I'd choose a warm grey for the walls.
When shopping for warm grey make sure that it's undertone is yellow /brown. For cool, crisp grey blue undertone .

wow, thanks for those suggestions! I'm really liking that warm gray look - i'll get samples to put up in the room to see how they look with the light.

Also, i was thinking something along this line for an accent chair - would it be weird to only have 1 in the room? I could get 2, but then that would be 3 side chairs. i would pull off the houndstooth pillow that's on the accent chair right now and put it on this chair, then get some teal pillows to put on the chair and sofa to tie the pieces together. i also am drawn to coral, and these ceramic garden stools are all over the place, but would teal and coral be too obvious?

Hi,
You're already happy with the colour suggestions you were given, so that's good.
I picked up on your family tree idea: have you seen the ones on Etsy? Lots of ideas for you here: http://www.etsy.com/search?q=family%20tree%20decal&order=most_relevant&view_type=gallery&ship_to=ZZ

For my personal taste it would be too much. I like the idea of a family tree, could see a tree decal on the wall, but would perhaps rather have narrow picture shelves mounted straight above each other with the photos displayed. But that's up to you of course. I think it is a really nice idea to have a family tree in your room, in whatever form.

About the accent chair; why? Do you need extra seating? I don't think it fits with the style of furniture you have and it will probably stand out too much. Even if you add some blue/teal pillows. (I have to go, but will be following your thread with interest.)

Coral and teal is a great combination and it could be bold and obvious BUT it can be warm and soft when carefully chosen. What I mean by that is that if you can find some teal pillows or throw or something with a little bit of coral in it ( embroidered pillows maybe) and have just few coral accents ( vase with flowers) , you can easily keep coral and teal and still delicate.
But , yes, I have to admit, I'm more on the grey - teal combo without adding any coral at all.

Here is another grey option that I love

I found some photos that might help you decide on the color scheme

Or just Beige - grey - teal

great ideas! i think i may start out with just the teal, and then layer in bits of coral later as the room starts to come together.

Re: the additional accent chair; yes I was hoping to have at least 1 more seat. With the current arrangement, I have room for 5 folks, since most people don't choose to sit in the center of a 3-cushion sofa.

Also thanks for the decal link to etsy! I'd likely do that on the wall facing the fireplace so it's not so in-your-face when you first see the room. The cool thing is that the decals come in different shades. I would likely do light gray walls, then go just a shade darker (or even lighter, maybe cream) with the decal to get a subtle tone-on-tone look. would then have to figure out what sort of art/mirrors that i could put on the wall behind the sofa... so exciting to have a pretty blank slate to work with!

Okay, so you need an extra chair. For me the blue accent one isn't going to work with the rest of your furniture. I'm going to try and find you some examples that I think will be nicer. But the choice is up to you of course :-)

For instance:

http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Leather_Monte_Carlo_Club_Chair/570/
http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Collins_Wingback_Chair/830/

Okay, so you've got a blank slate. That's a wonderful place to start! What do you like? Do you have any artwork that you are thinking of placing in this room? When I am looking to decorate a room I need an 'inspiration'. Either its a piece of artwork I love or a fabric I love or an area rug, etc. Then everything stems from that. So my first suggestion to you is go shopping either in your own items or out and fall in love with something. It can even be a piece of pottery that you have had for years that you've never been able to part with. Then, we can build from there. And it may be that the room stays a neutral paint color but that the accessories, pillows, window coverings, throw, artwork all pull from that one object. A good design concept will always start from 'something'. WAsk yourself, "whats your 'something'?"....

I'm not a fan of beige ,I like colours so I have found this shade of blue for your living room

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I think maybe any gray walls will be too blah with taupe beige sofas. A warmer taupe color as in your furniture might be nice. Accent with contrast brights. Just my opinion.

i'm getting really drawn to teal/peacock... maybe I could do an accent wall in that color if doing all the walls in the room in something like Revere Pewter would be too bland with the furniture. Maybe accent the wall opposite the fireplace, if I do drapes like these ones.

I like the suggestion of finding an 'inspiration piece' - I'm going to try and find some art that has the color and see if i can play off of any colors in that too!

For the accent chair, i wonder if would just be easier to get a second chair that matches the first one I already have and just play with the pillows...

I love teal too! The accent wall should be the fireplace wall as it is the focal point of the room. That would mean some other drapes other than the ones you posted, but you could go with a print with teal accents.

That last idea is a great one! (about getting the same chair that you already have)

hmm, since the windows are on the same wall as the fireplace, I probably shouldn't have teal drapes in front of a teal wall, right? then i would lose some contrast...

Yes, not teal drapes on teal wall. It would look too heavy, Integrate your paint and accent colors into a choice for a drape fabric. They can be a solid color, I just wouldn't choose teal. Some other solid color or stripe combination with teal accent for the fabric in the room.

I would choose an accent chair in a color. More interesting for the room. The chair color will be determined by what are your first choices for other elements. You may start with a rug, or wall color, an artwork or a bowl or a special accessory. Your room will start building from whatever will be your first choice.

Thanks LB Interiors - i love those drapes from Urban Outfitters - and so reasonably priced too! I had posted a chair earlier in the thread in teal, but maybe need to find a different style chair in that same color (or a pattern so i don't have all these solid blocks of color...)

You're welcome! Solids and more than one pattern will work. A pattern for a chair would be fine with other patterns. If you choose a couple of patterns for your room, just keep them somewhat different in scale. Mix both solid and pattern, I feel it's more intersting and provides visual texture.

Pillows that can work with the drapes above.

More

Maybe a chaise instead of another accent chair?

love love love those pillows! :)

As I'm looking at the fabric and these pillow choices, I'm thinking a teal accent fireplace wall and off white or very pale gray for the other walls. Room seems to be almost done. The other off white walls or pale gray will freshen and brighten the room with your darker furniture.

If you will use an extra chair for seating often, I would suggest an armed chair rather than armless. If you have the room for a chaise, fabulous idea.

Photo from different vantage point and close ups of the fireplace surround (dark grey with some veins of brown), plus the love seat and accent chair. For the other chair, should I try to find one that has similar shaped arms? What characteristics should I look for to make it "go" with the room?

Ps - sorry for the random toys, that was my daughter's attempt at decorating!

Before you decide on another chair or chaise, I think you have to rearrange some furniture. The fireplace is the central point that is the start point. It's hard to say for sure but, the large sofa seems so far from the center of the fireplace. I'm not sure if there is more wall space on the other side of the loveseat? Maybe you can't do this.
Can you try this and post pics after.

The loveseat should be placed centered and opposite the fireplace.
Coffee table center of the fireplace but turn it around to have the length of it parallel to the large sofa.
You might need a larger coffee table to be accessible to both sofas.

I'm not sure if maybe you need only one chair or two chairs.

Before rushing to change the wall color , think how it will relate to the rooms that adjoin it. In open plans it's tricky sometimes to find a stopping place for a room's paint. The beige can become a backdrop to teal accents in pillows, throws ,artwork and drapes. These can be changed easily and seasonally.
If you have those beautiful sepia toned photos be wary of the grey trend. Those, your carpet and your upholstery are more brown or warm neutrals that would crash against cool greys. Think Bronze not Steel.
You could add teal (or other accent colors) in painted accent tables with storage. Turn the sofa or love seat so you can add a sofa table with baskets or storage ottomans for toys and throws.
A large plant in a teal glazed pot would also bring some life to the room.

I agree with Kathleen, the wall color you have now works. Add all the other favorites that you like to the room. This is still an option.

LB Interiors, the room is arranged as you had suggested already: loveseat is centered in front of fireplace, and long side of coffee table is parallel to the sofa. Here's a couple more vantage points...

As was suggested earlier, going with a warm gray with yellow undertones (griege) would probably be my best bet. Regardless of color change, I am going to paint anyway, since the builders have used flat paint everywhere and it shows scuffs and is hard to clean- everything is going to be repainted with eggshell/satin finish, so figured it would be a good opportunity to change up the color! Opportunistic painting, I call it! :)

I definitely hear the feedback about color choices in open floor plans: in my current home, the living room, dining room and kitchen all open to each other and I spent a lot of time finding colors that would transition well (my husband called it an obsession!), just figured to start in the family room because the way the room is set up, we don't have to paint any shared walls just yet.

What I did realize is where my interest in coral came from, I noticed the granite of the counter has some pink tones in it when I was taking pics from the kitchen! Not crazy about the granite (we didn't pick the options for this home), but have to work with it nonetheless.

Now have to wonder whether to start a different thread about color choices for the kitchen/breakfast noon, entry and dining room!! Are y'all tired of me yet??? ;) haha! Thanks for all the input, everyone!

Kathleen - great suggestion about the painted side table in teal, I need something next to the accent chair and want to work the color in elsewhere in the room... Off to scour the Internet for possibilities!

When painting and decorating an open space like yours the key is to be consistent in your choices - paint, colors in general, style.
So, what I would do is take some time and plan ahead carefully.
To my personal taste , having teal in the cards, I would go for light warm grey paint for the entire open space. To add diversity and define the different rooms but still being cohesive you could use accent walls in living or dinning or both in rich, deep shades of grey.


I don't understand grey as being a trend but a timeless neutral with endless posibilities ranging from deep mysterious charcoal to the very light shade, almost white - off white, not to mention the role that the various undertones play and help change the grey .

I took a look at your Ideabooks and what I noticed is that you are drawn to grey tones, clean and simple design yet sophisticated and warm regardless it's transitional dinning or contemporary office.
Going for any shade of teal accent wall, teal pattern curtains or heavy teal/coral decorating is gonna take you far from that style. It's going to bring bold into your living rather that delicate and elegant. I'm not saying that going this way is bad or anything alike but it's going to save you a lot of time and energy if you take some time to daydream about the style that suits you . This is the reason why I posted above the different photos.
.

this could be an option for an accent wall and a good backdrop for the family tree with sepia photos as this grey is a lot of brown.
Or check http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/sparrow

some examples of harmonious open space and how grey / beige, brown work together

Those are gorgeous rooms, thank you for the inspiration!!

The photos that Beyond Frames posted are beautiful. I'm aware that they work well together. It's a matter of a 'feeling' that those color choices evoke. Those have always been an option. I know you wanted to see in photos what your options might be. All the suggestions posed were to help you to evaluate the possibilities. You currently have a softer palette. It seemed that you were wanting a spark to your decor by mentioning teal and a concern for maybe painting the walls less neutral. That is why I offered my suggestions above. I offered the suggestions for you to evaluate what may work for you.

From this discussion, and time for you to evaluate the suggestions, you seem to want to be a little safer which has always been an option. Sometimes even tho you may be drawn to certain design styles or color or feelings, doesn't mean that you need to stay there, especially when you were interested in a different direction. I know you are trying to feel this out. Hope I helped with your idea of adding some teal in the mix. It can be a subtle or bolder statement. Ultimately, you have to decide the 'feeling' for the spaces.

How do you feel about this teal? Darker greyish teal instead of light blueish one?

Hi Iris, it looks like you're headed in a lovely direction with all this great advice. You have a beautiful home! You mentioned teal, and we've definitely got artwork full of tons of colors and styles (we license artwork from many different artists). Here are a few suggestions, but please browse our site for more options (in case we don't quite have your personal style represented below): Eli Halpin's "Manes of Color" http://www.greenboxart.com/store/manes-of-color.html and "Peacock - Metallic Tide Pool Blue" http://www.greenboxart.com/store/peacock-metallic-tide-pool-blue.html, or Jennifer Judd McGee's "Orbit" http://www.greenboxart.com/store/orbit.html, or Paula Prass' "Patchwork Landscape" http://www.greenboxart.com/store/patchwork-landscape.html You've already got beautiful things to work with as your starting point - best of luck!

Beautiful Rooms,Beyond Frames, they have layers of subtle warm greys(grieges) not the recent trend of cold greys i mentioned. I think these more neutral but complex color schemes fit Sepia prints better the bright accents. I would think any teal accents would need to be those very muted smoky shades. If the art was the bolder pieces from GreenBox the accents would need to be brighter colors. It really depends on what feel Iris wants the room to give. Either could be beautiful.

Was looking for some color inspiration and kept getting drawn to these palettes... I think I'm going towards a more "smoky" or "dusty" teal, more deep jewel than a bright pop

I like them a lot. Try to decide on what surfaces or on what elements you want to use the colors.

white accents are the best. any colour goes with white and it upgrades any atmosphere. Besides its classy when paired with a strong color like fuscia, green, yellow, rust, black, any colour. I am talking about walls and accent walls. Other items can be other strong or soft colours.

Old Post.

some of our murals could be used for one of the walls. they look like tapestry..

I need help with design ideas. Its in a small one bedroom vacation rental. Don't have a huge budget, so cheap ideas would be helpful. Its got ugly white tile with pinkish grout countertop and surround. Thanks

To las8

i like the second pic so was wondering if u know the name of the white paint color? I was planning on doing one of mt walls a color from SW Watery (teal looking)

Iris - the colors in ur room with furniture and carpet r similar to what I have so I will be very interested in all the advice given here. I'm looking for a nice soft white for the walls n I also have turquoise nik naks around the room (it's a living rm p, dining rm combination) n I thought white would be fairly easy but boy was I wrong! Lol. So thanks for letting me crash in here n ease dropping. Lol. :).

Oh boy I Just noticed how old this thread is!

:(

anyone out there to help me then? :((