Trendy living room color schemes and modern interior design ideas

Choosing the color palette for the home is very important in design. Each room has a different purpose and function so a thoughtful combination of colors enhances its atmosphere. The living room is the center of the house, the place where the family meets, friends are entertained, meetings, gatherings and celebrations are held and, in general, this is the place where the home occupants and guests spend most time. Therefore, you need to carefully consider the color in the interior of the living room. We shall give you some useful tips for the trendy living room color schemes which will help you finding the best solution for your home.

Our home is a reflection of ourselves. Usually, the largest room in the house or apartment is the one that performs the functions of a living room and accommodates the daily activities of a family. Stylish wallpaper, beautiful expensive furniture, modern technology, of course, attract attention, but when the combination of colors in the interior of the living room is not properly chosen, all the impression is ruined. When the color palette is chosen skillfully and thoughtfully, you can hide the shortcomings of the room and make it visually higher, lighter and bigger.

Living rooms vary significantly in size and shape – from large rectangular rooms to small rooms that may have irregular shape and corners. Open plan living space is hugely popular as it easily accommodates separate areas for dining furniture, a sofa and armchairs for watching TV, an entertainment zone, etc. There are many design techniques which can help you create a modern living room interior and we shall look at the different ways to give your home a trendy look.

 

Trendy living room color schemes – why colors are important and how to choose them?

Colors have a huge role in the decoration of the home, in the selection of furniture, textiles and decorative elements and the combination of all these elements creates certain emotions in people. Each color “works” in its own way. Different combinations of colors can cause positive or negative emotions, creating a cheerful mood or constant irritation. For example, yellow and orange shades have a stimulating effect. Color also influences our perception of space. For example, one and the same room can look different if it is painted in dark or light tones and when you choose the right shades for a small room, you need to be very careful. A properly selected color scheme can help:

• visually enlarge or narrow the room;
• highlight certain zones;
• Make the interior “cooler” or “warmer”;
• visually increase or decrease the height of the ceiling;
• give the room depth and volume.

There are some basic rules which you need to follow when selecting the colors for your living room interior. According to the well-known rule of designers, color proportions should be 60:30:10. These figures mean that 60% of the main color should be present in the interior, 30% are for an additional color, combined according to the shade in the main color and 10% are for contrast or accent tones. Additional colors should be in harmony with the main color. For example, if you choose beige as your main wall color, you can add green as an additional shade and turquoise as an accent color. Thus, the interior will look vivid and dynamic, modern and beautiful. Experienced designers can use two main colors or combine several similar shades from the color wheel. It is a very good idea to take some time and study the different color combinations – analogous, complementary, triadic, tetradic (rectangle), square color schemes.

When you are not certain how to choose the best color scheme for your living room, one simple method can help you. Carefully analyze your clothes and see which color is most often found among your garments. This will be the main tone in the design of the living room. Additional and contrasting shades should be in harmony with the main one so the color wheel can help you a lot.

Modern trends emphasize the desire for a natural environment. Therefore, in the vast majority of cases, the design of living rooms follows this demand and natural shades are widely used accented with bright splashes. Such interior designs look stylish, elegant and modern. In addition, natural shades are the most comfortable to our eyes and contribute to the feeling of relaxation.

Having in mind that minimalism is one of the most popular design styles for modern homes, and the fact that it is based on simple and clear lines, bright and bold colors do not fit into the concept. The tones should be simple, neutral and natural. Black, brown, beige, gray, white – these are the ideal color for walls, floors, ceilings. Green, red, light green, pink, orange or another bright shade -these can be the 10% of contrast colors which you can easily introduce to the interior by using them for upholstery of a sofa, curtains, decorative pillows or area rugs.

When the design of the living room is in classical or traditional style – with solid wood furniture, solid tables and chests of drawers – the best choice of colors will be gold, brown, beige, burgundy, etc. Such shades will emphasize the beauty of furniture and interior in the most favorable manner. Bold and too bright shades should be avoided.

Warm pastel and vintage-muted shades are also greatly popular. Such shades of walls, curtains and upholstery of the sofa are especially suitable for living rooms designed in Shabby-chic or Provencial style and create an atmosphere of a cozy country house. Light, pastel, slightly muted tones expand the space and fill it with light and coziness.

It is better to choose warm, soft colors rather than cold ones for decoration of walls, curtain colors and upholstery of a sofa. A living room, decorated in warm colors, always looks more cozy, welcoming and comfortable. Beige and orange are always visually more pleasing than dark blue.

Do not be afraid to use bright colors. Suppose you have furnished the living room in a classic design, using brown, noble beige shades and a little green. Everything is beautiful and sophisticated but something is missing, the room looks boring. Adding unexpected orange or pink accents, turquoise, warm yellow or other bright contrasting shades will make the room look significantly better and much more pleasant. These could be decorative cushions, wall panels, sofa upholstery, accessories, etc. which will add visual interest to the interior. The more natural the basic color scheme is, the more daring experiments with a contrasting shade a you can afford. Of course, good taste should always be leading you. Do not use too many details of contrasting color – one large or two or three small ones will be enough, for example – one large bright red sofa or a few small pillows and a picture on the wall.

 

Trendy living room color schemes – combinations and modern interior designs

The interior of a living room provides opportunities to use a variety of options for combining colors. All color shades can be divided into two categories – warm and cold. Warm colors include yellow, orange and red while cold tones include blue, gray and violet. Some people prefer quieter, muted tones while bright colors are more appealing to others. If you decorate your living room by yourself, it is recommended to choose colors from either the warm or the cold half of the color wheel, without mixing them in case they are too contrasting. Combining warm and cold shades in one room should be left to experienced designers. Remember that the proportions are very important. If you choose the right shade for the large surfaces such as walls, floors, furniture, carpets, curtains, it will be easier to find the right shades for small things: vases, paintings, accessories, etc. Here are some trendy living room color schemes and combinations:

White – A living room in white looks elegant and creates a feeling of freshness and cleanliness. Depending on the combination, the atmosphere in the room will be different – lime, orange, yellow will make the room bright and relaxing. Blue, azure, turquoise will remind you of sea breeze while black and red can give the room a strict minimalist look.

Black – black living rooms can be chic, elegant and demonstrate your impeccable taste, provided that the color is used competently. Typically, black is chosen as a main color for large, well lit rooms and should be avoided in the design of small living rooms. White, red, yellow, light gray and green can be used to create a variety of expressive and bold interior designs.

Gray living rooms are incredibly elegant. The main advantages of gray is that it is a classic neutral color, it comes in numerous shades and is easily combined with almost any other color. It is the perfect background color and if you decide to create a living room in gray, choose a light shade, something closer to silvery hues, as a main one and do not forget about bright accents, for example, a rich pink sofa or armchair. Successful combinations include pink, beige, silver, white, etc. The combination of gray and pink looks tender and feminine while blue-lilac creates an atmosphere of peace and tranquility and will look very stylish in any interior. Red and browns are a good accent colors for interiors where the main color is gray.

Brown palette is calm and pleasant to the eye and depending on the combinations the shades can be associated with nature in combination with all shades of green, orange and sandy tones or with sweets and coffee, if you use chocolate, milk and beige tones. Brown is considered to be one of the universal options for decorating the living room, because it can be successfully combine with many different colors.

Beige is a time tested option and one of the most popular choices of homeowners as it works with almost any other color and can be used in almost any style as a main tone or as a complementary color. Beige is very soothing, it is pleasant to the eye and gives a feeling of home comfort, elegance and beauty. It is complemented by white, golden, brown, terracotta, etc.

Yellow belongs to the warm palettes and symbolizes prosperity and joy, summer and sun. Yellow can be used both as the main background in the decoration of the living room, and in various combinations. Sunny yellow tones improve the mood and create positive emotions and it is a good choice when you want to create spectacular contrasts. Selecting several shades of yellow is another option which is often used to balance colder main colors since yellow is most often used in a combination with another color. Yellow combines beautifully and organically with white, orange, blue, violet, lilac, shades of green, brown, milky and gray.

Orange, like yellow, radiates warmth. It is rich, energetic color, but you need to be use it with caution. When it is dominationg the interior it may act alarmingly. However, when combined with other colors, it is bright and vivid accent. For example, you can decorate one of the walls in orange or choose it as a color of the sofa or curtains to decorate a white living room and add a pop of color. Sandy, white, milky, beige and green shades combine with orange in a harmonious way.

Red is a color with a lot of strength and affects human psyche strongly. It can be a symbol of danger and aggression and at the same time it is associated with love and passion. Red will energize everyone who likes it, otherwise it can irritate and overload the eyes. The best option is to combine it with other colors since additional colors balance and soften its intensity. It looks good in combination with shades of brown, with white color and noble golden, black and blue.

Purple is the choice of color for living room interiors when you want to create an impression of luxury, chic and elegance. If you want to decorate the living room in purple colors, choose exquisite furniture, accessories and expensive crystal. White, black, silver, green are good additional colors for interiors in purple.

Blue is the optimal choice for cheerful and active people as it emits positive energy despite that this color refers to the cold palette. Blue is the color of sky and sea and a main tone for almost every beach themed interior and coastal decors. It creates a feeling of depth and distance. A saturated blue will look fabulous in a large and bright living room, where it can dominate or be used in a combination with a different color while in small rooms it will help you to highlight the details in the interior. Blue can be used in almost any style and you can see it in traditional, Mediterranean, high-tech, pop art, Bohemian chic living rooms. Best combinations are with white, ivory, turquoise, yellow, greens, browns.

Green is one of the most pleasing natural colors which can create an atmosphere of harmony and tranquility. It is associated with Nature and its beauties. Light shades of green will create a good mood, and dark ones are calming and soothing. Green looks more interesting in different combinations – all shades of brown, beige palette, sand tones and orange, white and yellow.

Colors can be inspiring, they can soothe and comfort, stimulate and invigorate and that is why the choice of the color scheme for the place where we spend a lot of time plays a big role. Professional and skillful selection of colors can transform the interior of any room. It must be remembered that all colors look different at daytime and when illuminated by artificial lighting they do not look the same so you should check how your color will look under natural and artificial light. Use different shades of color. For example, if you selected a light shade for the walls, then choose a darker one for the carpet or furniture.

Also read: Living Room Trends 2024: These Styles Are On The Rise!