I want to make an accent wall in my living room, but I need help choosing a good color.?

Question

Every wall in my house is white. I have wooden floors, medium brown or tan in color. The sofa is a dark grey. Dining room chairs are an off white with a glass table.

I was thinking of using a red or maroon, but my girlfriend wants grey.

Answer 1

I agree with your choice, I think a red or maroom would make a great accent color.

Answer 2

I would go with maroon. I don't think you want the wall and sofa the same shade. Also when I think of an accent wall I think of a color that kind of jumps out at you and is warm. Grey is a cool tone and not sure if it would look good with off white chairs either.

Answer 3

The floors are a warm tone, walls are white. hmm......you want to be careful here with your combining warm and cool tones. Are you going to put an area rug down on the floor too?

You can pull in a color (but i wouldn't go too bold or bright) and additionally pull that color more into the room with an area rug, accent pillows on the couch and decorative accessories on the dining room table and throughout the room say with pieces and artwork. You should consider that. You don't want it to look too sterile I hope with the greys and white.

what about a soft eggplant or terracotta or deep green/mossy type color. The grey is such a "cool" by that I mean cold color that I think you'd want to try to add some subtle warmth to the room to go with the floors.

Answer 4

well depending on the present color , if it is white or a light beige , you can allow her to see what the grey would look like , it is good to tint your primer coat , or first coat to grey , before you apply the maroon , if you go with a quality paint like Sherwin Williams it will take several coats to cover with maroon , or red , the cheapest way would be to use a primer tinted to grey , or a flat paint tinted to grey , that way it will cut back on the number of coats you need of the red , because the red paint is going to be more expensive due to being made from a clear base , so you will actually achieve both at the same time , she can see how glum ,and depressing grey is , and you can save money by not having to purchase the extra gallon of red. Run that idea by her , and the guy at Sherwin Williams and see if that is a good option , seeing how I do not know the shades you are working with before you paint. We always use the grey base before applying red. It does save time ,and money.

Answer 5

I have dark furniture and I used a dark warm red on two walls in my living room which gives it a real cozy feel.

The best way i found to pick a color is go to a store where you can buy 10-16 oz of paint in different colors you like and put the one the walls. leave them there for 2 days so that you can see what they look like in both day and night. Then make your choice.

Answer 6

what's going to be ON or IN FRONT of the accent wall? ... to avoid purchasing the wrong color, it's a good idea to invest in large paint chips (18"x18") .....they are about 4 dollars each but they give you a good sense of color on a larger expanse. (if you dont want to spend on chips use a solid towel or solid tablecloth or solid showercurtain or solid fabric or even a Tshirt because color truly needs to be seen on an expanse.) ... feel free to use those little free chips but be aware those little chips can fool the eye and at worse be costly and aggravating in time and money spent... remember nowadays stores like Lowe's and even some good hardware stores offer color matching with a scanner gun and a paint "computer". all you need to do is bring in your SOLID sample (no pattern!) for the clerk to scan, the larger the better. you can also invest in white boards and those little "sample jars" but i think that method's more expensive than the large chips method. happy painting and best wishes for a great look. ps you can also look at pages out of wallpaper books NOT to buy wallpaper *but because a page is large enough to "act" like large chip* if the page is not too patterned.

supposedly the best residential paint money can buy is the affinity line by benj moore http://www.myaurapaint.com

Answer 7

Colors to Consider:
1] ruby burgundy [ wine red ]
2] emerald or forest green [ dark blue-green ]
3] sapphire blue or smoke blue [ gray-blue ]
4] amethyst [ deep purple ]
Add some other accessories in same colors [ white, gray,and accent ] - pillows, arm chairs, in a rug, in art work, candles, ornaments
Consider a metal, such as brass or chrome, for mirror and picture frames.
Add some green plants.

Answer 8

Compromise do faux painting. The maroon as the base color with a rag off (technique) using the grey as the glaze. It gives it a very dramatic affect. copy and paste the following in your search browser. This is a review that I wrote about the different techniques of faux painting. Pictures are included so that you can see the different affects of the techniques.
http://reviews.ebay.com/Faux-Painting-Made-Easy_W0QQugidZ10000000003022961

Answer 9

I wouldnt use grey unless it's a light blue with grey tones. Red or maroon sounds great!! use that color a few more places in your room such as table cloth, curtains and/or throw pillows

Answer 10

most paint stores have what is called a sample package of paint, i do know home depot and lowes do, you buy them, in all the color choices you like, put on wall, several different colors and find one you like, however, leave it there for several days so you can get used to the idea of color on walls, what you may not like at first may turn out to be the best that goes with your items in your home. Good luck to you.