Which paint colour with Chocolate brown sofa?

Treacle44

We curretly have stone colour walls with beech wood flooring, which look nice but fancy a change. We're having a chocolate brown sofa and have darkish oak furniture. What would look nicer?

beige/coffee warmer colour than we have currently.
Cream/ivory
Duck egg blue (dh isn't sure about this)

Thinking of accesorising with choc brown and pale blue cushions and rug.

Help!

x

amandada

Duck egg blue gets my vote....or even a pale pink if your OH will go for it!

Scarum

I would opt for an off white, nothing too dark. Cream/ivory is the best option.

maypole

If you keep your walls neutral you can use accessories and pictures to add a splash of colour. Why not get a few paint cards and just put them next to your sofa to see which you like. Neutral doesn't have to mean colourless or wishy washy. If you get a strong colour you might get tired of it, neutral never dates.

ormus

agreed. you cant beat a natural color.
we have brown leather sofas with cream walls and just one red wall (fireplace). white ceilings of course.
we also have laminate floors.

majjie

I'd go for something in the pale green, pale blue range. I think too many people are a bit faint hearted with colour (although, if it's a very bold shade I'd opt for just one wall in that colour, like ormus).

I think having a bit of colour on the walls would really bring out the richness of the chocolate brown and the colour of the beech.

Do you have a Homebase near you? Their Sanctuary range has several pale greeny blue colours. And if you chicken out of that amount of colour they also have some interesting creamy colours.

My other favourite paint colours are Farrow & Ball's. They've brought out some more modern looking shades in recent years. Have a look at Teresa's Green or Pale Powder, or Skylight (or Borrowed Light - but I think that's a bit cool looking). Click on the blue card in this link:

http://www.farrow-ball.com/productlist.aspx?cid=PC&language=en-GB

MrsE_2

Treacle44 wrote: »

We curretly have stone colour walls with beech wood flooring, which look nice but fancy a change. We're having a chocolate brown sofa and have darkish oak furniture. What would look nicer?

beige/coffee warmer colour than we have currently.
Cream/ivory
Duck egg blue (dh isn't sure about this)

Thinking of accesorising with choc brown and pale blue cushions and rug.

Help!

x

Cream/Ivory

TDA10

In-laws have the same colour furniture/flooring as you and have a warm cream colour on 3 walls and then one of the new suede effect emulsions in chocolate brown on the accent wall.

It's made by Crown and is about £17 for 2.5L so not cheap but it does look very effective and does make the room look warmer than if it were all cream (like mine which I'll be changing this year too!) They do it in some other colours too and it really does look like suede effect - and is much nicer than it may sound!

BUT I have heard that you would have to sand your wall down should you wish to repaint over it because it does have a rough texture when dry.

Flylady_Flower

Treacle44 wrote: »

We currently have stone colour walls with beech wood flooring, which look nice but fancy a change. We're having a chocolate brown sofa and have darkish oak furniture. What would look nicer?

beige/coffee warmer colour than we have currently.
Cream/ivory
Duck egg blue (dh isn't sure about this)

Thinking of accessorising with choc brown and pale blue cushions and rug.

Help!

x

Hi Treacle,

Duck egg looks fantastic with this, as does any blue colour, just don't use too much.

Use whatever colour you decide on as an accessory colour - in cushions, rugs, pictures, candles, etc. Keep walls, flooring, etc neutral and then when you get bored again, it is really easy to change.

I have similar colours to you and my main walls are a soft creamy colour, but we have done a feature wall in wallpaper with large flowers (still all the rage at the moment) but it is still quite muted, then we have various coloured cushions, from fluffy creamy ones to deep duck eggs and browns and I have also added in some deep red here and there to really warm things up. Under my coffee table I have a deep red shaggy rug and I have red in some of my pictures on the walls and in various accessories (plumy red is really great with duck egg).

One thing to remember is try to carry colour around your house as it makes it feel more comfortable when you walk around, for instance, keeping a neutral background, use a small amount of red in the lounge, but use more of it in the kitchen (red apples are a GREAT accessory), with little touches in the hall and bedrooms, etc. if you have ever been in someones house that has a pink hall, blue lounge, green kitchen, yellow bathroom etc, it can really jarr the eyes and can even give people headaches.

Hope that helps. I deal with these colours quite a lot in my home staging job and often people neutralise too much, just remember, because you are living there live with what you love and be comfortable. If you are not sure about buying accessories, take some paint/wallpaper/fabric swatches with you when you shop, and if you're still not sure, buy them anyway, try it out at home (DON'T TAKE OFF THE TAGS, TUCK THEM IN OUT OF SIGHT!) and if it works, keep it, if not, take them back (Remember to take them back tho, as you will have wasted money otherwise).

Good luck!;)
Denise

Treacle44

Thanks everyone, I think I'm steering more towards a neutral cream shade and making the accesories bolder instead. I'd love to do a feature wall in a deeper colour but am a bit worried about getting the line straight enough to look good.

x

Treacle44

Quite like Taupe on the right of the second row on this link:

http://www.crownpaint.co.uk/pdfs/emulsion.pdf

Not too dark is it?

T
x