To ask for inspo re: decorating the front room

[Eliza9917]

Posting for traffic. I want to redecorate the front room. Instagram is just grey, grey, grey. I did want grey & white but it's too over done now.

It's a Victorian house with high ceilings and a chimney breast. We've got an ox blood leather sofa.

Floors can be changed and I want to get some thermal curtains. The windows are 10ft bay.

Complete blank canvas except for the sofa.

If I must have an aibu, it's aibu to destest grey & white now.

What colour/style is your front room?

YABU with those features most of the magazines and visionboards are made with you in mind!
Totally dulled out with grey as well though so I feel your pain.
The sofa colour is the tricky bit. Emerald green maybe?

Well I’ve gone for white and grey. That way it’s easy to add splashes of colour and change with the seasons. In summer I’ll splash around lots of yellow, autumn, orange. Christmas will be green and red ... it’s just so much easier to have boring base colours and then add splashes later

That's a very good point MrsPortious

With an ox blood sofa you could go for something dramatic such as Prussian blue and cream or white.

What about a pale duck egg blue?

I’d stick to your plan of neutral and have really opulent coloured throws and cushions that change with the seasons or your mood

I want an oxblood leather sofa but also don't know what colours to go with... Thought grey light make it feel a bit cold?

My mate has an ox-blood leather sofa and she painted her living room F&B Stiffkey Blue (actually, she went to Brewers and got them to colour match the shade in good quality trade emulsion, which was much cheaper than F&B). Her curtains (bay window, but not as big as yours OP) were a William Morris print (possibly Strawberry Thief) in dark blue/dark red.

All the woodwork, including the Victorian fire surround, was white, and it looked fab.

My lounge is dark blue (F&B Hague Blue). Furniture is all dark wood and we have a fireplace with a wood burner. Eventually I'll have a blush pink sofa and a navy velvet one but for now we have boring grey as we have a 9 month old! For the same reason we have a silver carpet but eventually I'll get a proper wood floor.

Another vote for Hague Blue, I have seen it paired with a deep red sofa recently and it looks fab. Goes well with mustard too.

I've found the farrow and ball shops really good for advice. I've taken in pictures of rooms before, explained what we need to keep and what we want to change and asked them what they'd recommend.

If it's high ceilings and has picture rails and big windows I think you can afford to go for quite bold colours

I hate grey myself. It’s been done to death. And I don’t think it would go with an oxblood sofa at all.

I have a sandy coloured sofa & red accents. My walls are Colortrend Aluna which is a very neutral warm colour & I think would be fab with your sofa.

I've just redone mine recently in dark green, I'm quite obsessed with it. I've got a dark grey sofa, with burnt orange cushions and lamp shade with a black and white rug.

I've hung some more pictures since this was taken.

I've found a pic of a feature wall I like but it won't post.

This

Just painted my living room. Chimney breast was Dulux Soft Fauna 2 www.dulux.co.uk/en/colour-details/soft-fauna-2 (is actually a bit darker than it looks on the screen) and the rest of the room is Just Walnut. www.dulux.co.uk/en/colour-details/just-walnut?h=cool%20neutral

Looks nice.

I like that feature wall @Eliza9917, but what colour would you paint the rest of the room?

I have no idea. I need to go and get some colour cards.

I love these colours.

Ours is b&q misty mink (a pale oyster-pink) above the picture rail and Dulux soft truffle below. Recently done and I love it!

We have same kind of house and have gone for timeless (milk colour) on 3 walls and chimney breast with age green in the alcoves and in the fire place (wood burner in place). I think ox blood and a hint of sage green would work really nice, we have a killim rug too so it’s a cosy eclectic kind of feel.

Sage green*

Yeah I'm thinking a green or blue with purple accessories and some gold/bronze/copper bits (vases, picture frames etc).

I love UpstartCrow idea of Prussian blue for a wall colour, I love how rich that colour is.

I agree with avoiding grey; it is overdone and on its way out of style. I am also not a fan of feature walls, because again it is a style trend that is outdated and I feel looks a bit tired.

But the most important thing is that you love your home and feel happy with how it looks, so if you would like a feature wall then go for it.

Your home sounds fantastic and a dream to decorate because of the time period of the house and the blank canvas. I would consider taking your time to make sure you aren't wasting money on trends that will look outdated this time next year. If it were me, I would blend contemporary, custom and period pieces that create a layered feel that is rich with texture and pieces you love. I like being able to honour the tradition and time period of a home in a way that feels current and modern. For instance, if you are looking for armchairs, you could take traditional fabrics like a great deep rich velvet with great tufting on the back of the chair but wrap it around a chair that is has a softer modern shape to it or if you like a more traditional look to your furniture, update the fabric. A traditional chair or bench with a linen fabric is a great look. I also love a modern light fixture (and by modern I mean 1950's or 60s because too modern can look jarring in a Victorian house) in a Victorian house.

It looks like from the photos that you like the rich jewel tone colours, these colours would like great in a big area rug. I am having a bit of an obsession at the moment with Brintons Noir Ruskin Butterfly carpet because I love the subtle pop of the colour (the deep charcoal one with the deep magenta butterfly). You could always find a carpet you love and have it made into a rug.

Same type of property here - grey and white, change colour accents according to seasons.