AIBU to not longer want a boring two tone themed house?

[Bangtastic]

I want to decorate soon, I don't need to, despite having a sticky fingered toddler my magnolia living room walls have done me well. But I want to inject some spark into the place.. right now it is your basic magnolia walls with a mocha coloured feature wall, TV on wall, brown leather settee, oak flooring, oak tables, oak photo frames, pretty lillies in vases, the odd candle etc. Looks nice enough, but it has about as much personality as Kerry Katona on a come down.

How do you all know what 'style' to go for? I love the shabby chic look, always have before it became 'fashionable', but DH would blow a gasket if he one day came home to find distressed console tables adorned with pretty trinkets.

What does your living room look like? Did you plan it to have a theme or has it just sort of evolved over time?

www.muralswallpaper.co.uk/landscape-mural-wallpaper.htm

sorry!

All walls white in the Wet house.

Very soothing.

Colour should come from the objects in a room - not the colour of the walls

Google design ideas and get some inspiration then go for it. All white walls is boring. Some white walls OK but there are alot of other shades out there to choose from, why be the same as everyone else?

I agree white and brown is a boring combination, but white does make rooms look bigger, lighter and airier, and it doesn't clash with anything. How about white + a more interesting colour? eg white + red, purple or orange. Or white + pastel shades.

I've been doing a lot of decorating lately & can recommend Timeless as a go-anywhere neutral paint colour. It's just off-the-shelf Dulux too so much cheaper than getting something mixed. It's warmer than white but not as yellow as cream. (no, it's NOT magnolia!!! )

I have all white walls/ceilings. The furniture etc gives it colour and 2 sides of the house are glass anyway. It's easy to keep clean as if you use the same paint you can just touch up where it's grubby

2 sides of the house are glass anyway

I love this new decorating book for ideas for warming up a home: The Perfectly Imperfect Home

www.houzz.com/

Is the best site I've come across for house design. It's American, so not great for being able to buy things, but useful for ideas. There are some howlers on there though, I don't think Americans do old fashioned well, unless you're Marlene and Boycie.

Thanks a million, Zillion. Like I needed another distraction impeding me from finishing this infinitely dull brief today

I would start with a wallpaper you love (look on Wallpapers Direct), or even just a cushion, and start there.

P.S my living room is green and white. Statement wallpaper - patterned green/white , blinds in same shade of green but different pattern, plain green curtains, and splashes of pink in some of the cushions. Sounds vile, I suspect, but green is very livable-with. I'm glad I've gone quite brave with it.

Wow, am at how much time and effort people put into their decor and furnishings.

I love farrow and ball paints - the colour, texture, etc. Whole house is done in them. Living room is Light Blue which is a soft grey-blue that changes with the light. Kitchen is Vert de Terre (gorgeous soft mossy/lichen green) on kitchen cupboards and lower half of wall, Off White on upper half of wall. Bedroom is Teresa's Green, a light aqua blue-green. All woodwork throughout is the amusingly named Clunch.

Theresa's Green. Thank you, Crabby for providing a name for my favourite colour :)

OMG - I am literally salivating at some of the rooms shown on that houzz. In particular a boot room that has space for boots AND a bench to sit on (weeps at her own pathetic imitation of same concept)

White/pale doesn't work with big rooms imo. Our sitting room was like a barn when it was cream and the bedroom likewise. Sitting room now strong colour and bedroom dark brown all over except for dado rail and big cream shabby chic mirror. Love it! Funnily enough our colours similar to the Downton Abbey colours and house same period so think thats why it works.

kerala. I tend to agree. Whilst not huge, ours looks better now I've gone for "cosy" rather than "clean". I was worried about making it look smaller, but it just lacked personality before (cream all over)

rooms photos we recently redocorated along those lines, and loving it.

Look at the furniture, wood you have in the home - what tones would look good? I have oak in the living room, which has a blue tone, so I painted the living room a lovely mid blue. Dark wood in the bedroom, so I painted it dark red and decorated with Indian wall hangings, purple and plum bedding and throws etc. Go for colours that make you feel happy, sensuos (sp?) etc - not for what others may like!

Ooh! I had forgotten how good Houzz is!
I like Appartmenttherapy and its sister sites are great too for ideas.

I'm very rather bored with "feature" anything. Especially feature/statement walls and I'd always say go relatively neutral, which certainly doesn't have to be boring, and let your cushions/lamps and other ornamental stuff provide the really interesting contrast.

I have very restful "Overtly Olive" painted walls in one of the sitting rooms with a fabulous orange IKEA sofa and massive and rather surreal fabric flowers from Habitat in huge plain glass vases on the wide, white-painted windowsill. Carpets and curtains are neutral but definitely not boring.

If you like the 'shabby chic' look try farrow & ball. They do lovely matt paints, especially the soft greys, duck egg and greens. You can keep the modern, clean fresh feeling but not as boring as just white.

My living room is full of toys...sigh.

moogster LOVE that site, just spent ages looking through it. Bet your poppyfield looks amazing!

The light isn't great in our house. When I first moved in with dp we had lots of colour upstairs, then down stairs neutrals with personality. Because its dark we kept away from strong colour. Then we tried to sell and painted everything neutral, as was the advice at the time. It looked fine but looked tired quickly, a bit care home. That was to do with our house layout and the light. There is nothing crisp about the plaster and wood.

I'm currently going for variations of warm creamy walls with a vibrant feature wall, it seems to suit the light in our house. The main downstairs seems to suit warm neutral, then the colour has to be vibrant and warm.

I've been through a whole bunch of nice colours, even farrow, that end up looking care home !

I like very light coloured walls (just off white), but then I like light. IMO pure white doesn't work in the UK the light is too weak.