Choosing a paint color for your living room is the first step in creating a perfectly designed space. While some people want a living room paint color that defines the space by its bold hue, others prefer their paint colors to fade into a background in a cohesive manner.
If you are looking for the perfect paint color for your living room, keep reading to find out my picks for 10 gorgeous living room paint colors.
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How do I choose a living room color?
1. Find an inspiration photo.
The first thing that I like to do when choosing a living room paint colors is to look at pictures of living rooms on Pinterest. This helps me pick a color family.
2. Think about the mood you want in the room.
Different paint colors inspire different moods in a room.
Warm paint colors, like reds, oranges, yellows, tans, browns, beiges and some greiges, lend a cozy, energetic feeling.
Cool paint colors, like blues, greens, purples and grays, bring a soothing and calm feeling.
Specifically, a light blue living room tends to feel relaxing. A tan living room feels traditional. A yellow living room feels cheery. A gray living room feels tranquil.
With this knowledge in mind, consider whether your inspiration photo matches the mood you want in your room.
If it does, all you need to do is narrow your choice down to a specific paint color.
If not, you may want to find a new inspiration photo that matches the mood you want for your living room. For example, I love rooms with deep hues on the walls, but these tend to bring a more dramatic feeling to a space. Since I tend to want my living room to be relaxing, a deep hue isn’t the best bet.
3. Think about the paint colors in the rest of the house.
Overall, most people want their home to have a cohesive look. To achieve this, the color in your living room should coordinate with the colors in the rest of the house.
This doesn’t mean that they have to match perfectly, but you may not want your living room to be a warm red while the rest of your house is a soft purple The two color schemes don’t work well together, because you would never have a color palette with a rich red and a lavender purple.
On that note, want to know what colors you should NOT paint in your living room? Check out this post on paint colors to avoid in the living room.
What is the best color for the living room?
Hopefully, at this point, you’ve narrowed down whether you want a white, tan, greige, beige, blue, green or gray living room.
There is one more piece of information may be helpful for you though. And that is, what living room colors are in style in 2022.
According to designers, the most popular living room paint colors for 2022 are navy, sage green, whites, creams and taupes. While navy, creams and whites are fairly traditional and are always in style, beige/taupes and sage greens are rising in popularity due to the recent resurgence of 90s style in home design.
Grey paint colors for living rooms
If you ask any designer, gray is out for living room paint colors. But, if you ask any rep at Sherwin Williams, they’ll tell you that their best-selling paint color is Agreeable Gray.
And while Agreeable Gray isn’t a true gray paint color, it shows that gray paint is still very popular among the average homeowner.
So because of that, lets look at a few great gray paint colors for living rooms.
Benjamin Moore Gray Owl
Gray Owl is a popular light gray paint color from Benjamin Moore. It is a true gray that has soft green and blue undertones. These undertones make it a cool paint color.
On your walls, Gray Owl tends to feel soothing. It is the type of gray paint color that works in a lot of different lighting levels, and fades into the background. Gray Owl can work in any style home.
Click here for more information on Benjamin Moore Gray Owl.
Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray
As I mentioned earlier, Agreeable Gray is a very popular Sherwin Williams paint color. In fact, it was there number one seller for years (and still may be!).
Agreeable Gray is more of a greige shade though. It has gray and beige tones in it that make it straddle the line between gray and beige. In some lighting, it’ll look more gray, while in others, it’ll look more beige.
Agreeable Gray is a go-to neutral paint color if you want something that just works in almost any room, with almost any style. It looks amazing in living rooms.
If you want to know more about this gorgeous shade, click here for information on Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray.
Blue paint colors for living room
Blue paint colors are the most relaxing shades for a living room. Blues feel soothing and spa-like, expansive like the sky or ocean.
Blue paint colors are classically popular in living rooms. They aren’t the most on-trend paint color for a living room right now, but they will always be favored by many.
Here are my favorite blue paint colors for living rooms:
Sherwin Williams Tidewater
Tidewater is a light blue paint color by Sherwin Williams. It is a soft shade, but one that has enough color in it that you definitely know it is on the walls.
A light blue like Tidewater goes well with creams, whites, beiges, tans, blacks, navys and grays.
Tidewater works in traditional, coastal, contemporary, farmhouse or transitional style homes.
Benjamin Moore Hale Navy
Hale Navy is Benjamin Moore’s most popular navy paint color. It is a very dark blue with black tones in it, making it moody and dramatic. Since navy is also a very classic color, Hale Navy can also come across as very formal and traditional.
Navy living rooms are becoming increasingly popular. You see a lot of dark shades like Hale Navy on walls with decorative wall elements such as wood paneling or wood boxes. You also see people use Hale Navy on walls above crisp white wainscotting.
If you are interested in a navy blue living room, click here for all the details on Benjamin Moore Hale Navy.
Sherwin Williams Silver Strand
Is it green? Is it gray? Is it blue? Who knows! Sherwin Williams Silver Strand is a chameleon sort of paint color that changes based on the lighting and what is around it. Because it shifts between green, blue and gray, Silver Strand is considered a neutral paint color.
If you like a blue paint color but aren’t ready to commit to a true color, a shade like Silver Strand may be perfect choice for your living room.
Silver Strand can be light and airy, or formal, depending on what sort of furniture and decor it is paired with.
Click here for more information on Sherwin Williams Silver Strand.
Green paint colors for living rooms
Green paint in living rooms is very trendy right now. Green paint became popular around 2021 and is still having its moment.
Both Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore named green shades as their 2022 Colors of the Year.
Here are two green paint colors that are both trendy and classic:
Sherwin Williams Evergreen Fog
Evergreen Fog was chosen as Sherwin Williams 2022 Color of the Year because of its fresh take on a mid-tone green paint color.
Evergreen Fog has some gray and blue undertones in it. It isn’t a dark paint color, but definitely has more depth than what most people choose for their living rooms.
But, if you want an earthy shade, Evergreen Fog is a great option.
Check out all the details on Sherwin Williams Evergreen Fog here.
Benjamin Moore October Mist
Due to its organic and uplifting feeling, Benjmain Moore named October Mist their 2022 color of the year.
With a little less yellow than your average sage green paint color, October Mist is a great choice for a living room.
It looks like a modern type of sage – with more gray undertones, making it a mature and refined option.
Click here if you want more information on Benjamin Moore October Mist.
Neutral paint colors for living room
We already discussed gray paint colors (which are neutrals), but there are a few more neutral options to discuss. Specifically, the white and off-white paint colors.
White paint colors are having a moment right now. They look light and bright.
Here are some of the top white and off-white paint colors for living rooms:
Sherwin Williams Snowbound
Snowbound is a light white off-white paint color with a bit of gray in it to tone down its brightness.
Snowbound is a warm white shade that gets its warmth from a pink and purple undertone. Snowbound is a soft paint color that has a slightly cozy feel.
This shade is perfect for a living room if you want a warm shade that doesn’t have yellow in it.
See all the information on Sherwin Williams Snowbound here.
Sherwin Williams Pure White
Pure White is Sherwin Williams true white paint color. It has a hint of gray and yellow in it that keep it from being stark. But, Pure White will definitely look white in your space, especially if it is the whitest white in the room.
Pure White is a great white because it is soft without being too warm. It has just a hint of color to it.
If you want a white living room, check out Sherwin Williams Pure White.
Sherwin Williams Shoji White
Sherwin Williams Shoji White is a warm off-white paint color that is closest to a beige. Shoji White also has some gray in it though, which makes is a more modern type of beige than those early 2000’s beiges.
Shoji White is very light though, without being white. It works well in traditional, farmhouse, coastal, and transitional style homes.
Wondering How To Pick the Perfect Paint Color?
I have the best solution for you!
Samplize sells peel and stick paint samples in almost every paint color.
These no-mess, peel and stick sheets are made from real paint, so they will show you exactly what the paint color will look like.
Simply place them on your walls next to your trim, furnishings or fixed elements, and easily see which paint color works best in your space and with your lighting.
Then, peel the sheet off your wall and reapply it somewhere else if you like. You can try several different paint colors with no mess, no fuss and no cleaning paint brushes.
Oh, and you can have them in your home by tomorrow with OVERNIGHT shipping!
As a bonus, be sure to use the code LoveRemodeled10 at check out to get an extra 10% off! Samplize sheets are cheaper than a sample can of paint, and way less work.
They are the easiest (and fastest!) way to try a paint color in your home, with no hassle.
Final Thoughts on Paint Colors for Living Rooms
If you are looking for the perfect paint color for your living room, the paint shades on this list are a great starting place. Grays, greens, blues, whites and off-whites are great choices for living room paint colors.
If you’re looking for a different shade for your living room, check out the search button at the bottom of the page. You can search for a specific color name, or for a general color family such as, “pink paint colors.”
Want to see all your paint options in one convenient place? Click here to get everything you need to start painting, including Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore paint color decks!
Have a question? Leave me a comment! Remember to check back for a response – it may take me up to a week or two depending on how busy I am, but I’ll be sure to get back to you!
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