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The Best Living Room Paint Colors for 2024

Are you trying to find the perfect paint color for your living room? Here’s the easiest process for picking paint colors, what to look for in a living room paint color!

Living rooms are one of the most used rooms in a home. It’s where you lounge, entertain, and unwind at the end of the day.

Whether your home is big or small, open concept or traditional, the living room is the heart of the home.

Your home should feel personal and a reflection of the people who live there.

Whether you like sleek modern style, warm cozy neutrals, or bold color – deciding to paint your living room is a big deal!

Here’s a complete guide on how to pick your living room paint colors!

THE BEST LIVING ROOM PAINT COLORS

How to pick a living room paint color

The way to pick a living room color is the same method that I use for any paint color decision:

  1. Pick your vibe
  2. Gather swatches
  3. Paint samples
  4. Make a choice

You can read more about this method in my Paint Color Formula ebook!

Gathering inspiration

Hop on pinterest or instagram and start a saved folder of all of your living room inspiration. Really go wild!

Then scroll back through it. What pattern do you see?

Dark, cozy spaces? Light bright rooms? Bold color? That’s your color family vibe to start with!

Other factors to take into consideration

Understand your living room’s light exposure

Determine if the windows in your living room face primarily North, South, East, or West. Use a compass app on your phone to figure it out!

North-facing windows let in light that gives colors a gray or blue tint, making wall colors look cooler.

South-facing windows get lots of bright light, which tends to be warm-yellow, and makes paint colors look warmer than they are.

Work with what you have

The top obstacle in choosing the best color for your living room walls will be working with the fixtures in your space. In a living room this means flooring, trim (if it won’t change) and large furniture like a couch or art that won’t be changing.

The most important thing is to determine the undertones in those items and select a living room color scheme that complements the existing tone.

I also like wall colors to be at least 2 shades either lighter or darker than the flooring or large furniture. Imagine you took a black and white photo of the room – you want varied shades of gray to keep it from looking flat!

living room in our first home, Sherwin Williams Online
living room in our first home, Sherwin Williams Online

The best living room paint colors

There are lots of living room color ideas. The right colors for you will absolutely depend on your home’s style and the look that you are hoping to achieve! Here are some popular living room colors!

Best light paint colors for living room

There are lots of light living room paint colors that work well to make spaces feel light, bright, and inviting.

Gray-wise, repose gray and agreeable grey are popular options that many builders use. And you can’t go wrong with white paint!

Cozy living room paint colors

Rooms usually feel cozier when painted with warm toned paint colors. Shades of tan or brown often feel very cozy and inviting.

If you are more bold, dark colors also feel cozy. Consider black or navy!

Modern living room paint colors

Modern rooms usually have a monochromatic color scheme. Often, this means black or white paint colors!

Modern can sometimes just mean “current” or “trendy”. If you are looking for a trendy style, check out the top paint colors for the year!

Living room in our current home Behr Nature's Gift, fireplace is Behr NYPD
Living room in our current home Behr Nature’s Gift, fireplace is Behr NYPD

Blue living room ideas

Blue is an ultra-popular wall color. It’s a great option if you want to use a friendly, happy color and prefer cool tones in your home.

If you are choosing a blue color, I suggest picking a blue with gray tones to keep it from being too bright or neon. This works with light or dark blue colors!

Green living room ideas

We just painted our living room green so I clearly love this idea! Green is a great way to bring in bright happy color that feels earthy and natural. Greens tend to feel warmer than blues because they have yellow undertones to them.

White living room ideas

White is probably the most popular wall paint color for a living room right now. It’s clean and modern looking and works with almost any style of decor. It’s the perfect whole house paint color!

Black living room ideas

If you like a dark and moody look, be bold and paint your living room black. It sounds dramatic – and it is! But it’s lovely!

Living Room in our condo, Olympic Sea Foam
Living Room in our condo, Olympic Sea Foam

Gray living room ideas

Gray has been a very popular paint color for a while now. Agreeable gray living rooms are a builder classic!

If you love gray, it’s a great neutral to use in your main living space.

Two color combinations for living room walls

A popular look is to have an accent wall in your living room. That’s just 1 wall that is a different color than the rest!

Here are some popular accent color combinations

Sunroom in our first home, Sherwin Williams Online
Sunroom in our first home, Sherwin Williams Online

Blue and gray living room combinations

You can get a beachy or coastal look by combining blue and gray. Consider light gray walls with a dark blue accent wall or light blue walls with a charcoal accent wall!

Stick to blues with a lot of gray undertones and cool gray colors for best results.

Gray and white living room combinations

This is a great neutral color palette! I’d go with white walls with a dark gray accent wall for a modern pop.

Bold color combinations

You can combine a bold accent wall with neutral other walls (black, white, tan, or gray). Or, for a super bold look, combine 2 bold colors!

To do this, make sure they are in the same color family – so, both warm, both cool. Then, make sure that the colors are at least 2 shades off from each other – one light, one dark – for best contrast!

Still not sure what paint color to choose?

paint color formula square mockup

My Paint Color Formula ebook walks you through the painless process of expertly testing paint swatches to ensure you have the perfect color for your home.

Learn more about the Paint Color Formula here!

The best way to sample paint? Samplize!

Get peel-and-stick removable and reusable paint samples here!

Paint color Planner mock up

Thanks for reading!

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