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?

All our walls are a crisp minimalist white, but our accessories (eg framed prints, rugs, throws, cushions) are quite colourful and most collected from various travels to exotic places. I personally love colour but not coloured walls/wallpaper.

I don't like coloured walls in city apartments since the rooms tend to be on the dark side anyway (little direct sunglight). I think the suitability of colour for walls depends hugely on architecture, room size, light etc and you really cannot make blanket statements. We have all white walls in an Art Deco apartment with lots of mouldings and glass doors. Anything but white looks silly and overloaded, IMVHO, when there are already so many decorative features in the original architecture.

However, I think coloured walls can be gorgeous in other sorts of accommodation!

Our house is very old and when we moved in the previous inhabitants had it painted in very rich colours. A deep red sitting room, a herby green dining room etc. It did look lovely...but we have now gone for paler walls and it does make the whole place airier and more breathable iyswim.

my livingroom is on the large side, and has a lot of light, when we first moved in I painted the walls cream and it didn't feel cosy at all. Have now painted them a mossy green colour (a dulux one that I can't remember the name of) we have light brown coloured sofas and a plum rug and cushions as a contrast, it works (I think). feels cozier anyway.

You're welcome Vivi - it's a lovely fresh clean colour for waking up to. Not to everyone's taste though; I could see my Dfriend swallowing her opinion when she saw it for the first time (she's very 'neutral').

Depends on the architecture of the house really. Ours is victorian and we have dark victorian colours. Aubergine sitting room, red bedroom, dark green bedroom, midnight blue bathroom (ooooh that's my fave).

I grew up in a Georgian house with bright Georgian colours; yellows, blues etc.

Apartment therapy is worth a look