Tips for Decorating a Living Room with Dark, Bold Paint Color

This video and post is in partnership with Article.

Welcome to my friend Jen’s front sitting room. This is first room that greets you when you walk into their home. They just purchased this home this past summer and asked me to help them make it their own. We opted to start off with this bonus living room that gets lots amazing sunlight all day long and great started place to create a finished space as the rest of their main living room is open concept. Here’s a look at what it looked like before…

Their whole house was painted in the brown color by the previous homeowner. They eventually want to paint all the rooms on the main level in the large open concept area a light gray or soft white, so we though painting the walls a bold color would be a good contrast to the rest of the spaces in the future. They wanted to make this space a fun, casual entertaining spot for friends when they have guests over. So, we opted for a casual tv-free living room situation.

DESIGN GOALS:

• Replacing the hanging light with a semi-flush mount.
• Paint the walls in a bold color.
• Find furniture that fit their combined style, while also fitting the scale of the space. They really wanted pretty modern furniture that was comfy.
• Layout the space for entertaining, but also a spot to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee and book.
• Keep it kid-friendly as they have a little on the way.
• Add some personality to the space.

We replaced the lighting with a semi-flush mount light I had leftover from our bedroom after we installed a ceiling fan this last fall in there. It’s a simple modern schoolhouse vibe light with black accents that helps tie the space together.

I’m obsessed with the deep green color we painted the walls. It’s “vintage vogue” by Benjamin Moore. It’s the perfect moody, warm, bold green color that doesn’t look emerald. Just the perfect dark green in my opinion. We layered in a rug over their current carpet from Loloi (Layla LAY-06 in Taupe).

We created a very classic living room layout with a standard size sofa paired with two matching accent chairs. The sofa is a soft gray color that helps keep the room feeling lighter but not too light that a kid could totally destroy it. The Nord Charme chairs from Article add the perfect amount of warmth and keep with that mid-century style my friend, Jen, loves. They’re also very comfy.

We floated the chairs off the wall by the window to prevent blocking light from the windows. The low profile back and arm design maximize the amount of light in the space. In the middle we added a small scale coffee table so that were was enough area to walk around the room. I love how the grid pattern balances off the grid of the gallery wall on the back wall. This was a thrifted find I had to alter (watch the video above to see me diy!).

I also thrifted those wood carved plate looking things and hung them on the wall. I always like to have a room filled with 20% to 40% vintage or secondhand. This keeps it from looking too “off the shelf” and adds loads of personality.

This gallery wall is my favorite moments in the space. We played with symmetry throughout the room. The grid layout of black frames with large white mats adds a focal point to the room. It also adds a personal moment as all the frames are filled with their travel photos and other special moments in their lives.

Above the couch we hung an abstract canvas art painting I made for them and put it in a simple Ikea frame. Since the frame was on the smaller size I wanted to visually add more space to either side of it with those black, modern wall sconces. Bonus, it keeps from needing any floor or table lamps. I’m so happy with how this space came together and thankful to Article for partnering with me on this room makeover.

SHOP THE ROOM

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