To paint all four walls of my small living room a very dark green?

[SoupForLunch]

It's Christmas very soon and we're throwing our living room together, otherwise I would give a bit more time to thinking this through. We live in a pretty small 1930s semi. We have a large, lovely light, south-facing kitchen diner and a tiny north-facing living room (I have started called it the snug, like a twat). Would it be unreasonable to just ignore all the people wringing their hands and saying 'Oh, a dark colour will shrink your room' and paint it F&B Calke green? I want to embrace the smallness, and the darkness and make it cosy. I'm thinking all four walls as I find feature walls a bit twee / coy / dated. We have a lovely velvet sofa in dark denim blue, a little open fire and very nice 1930s lighting (main and wall). What do you think? Anyone else done similar? Anyone got any photos?What have you hung on the walls, frame and art-wise? Also, for extra info, my partner is a painter decorator so the finish will be great and we can paint over quickly. I'm talking myself into this. Thank you Mumsnet.

Do it
All those rich jewel colours will look amazing

Go for it. Dark walls make a small room feel cosier. And if you don't like it just change it in the New Year.

And it's very fashionable to have walls in dark colours like this green or Hague Blue, so your room will seem very contemporary.

Beautiful colour. Keep the ceiling and skirts crisp white though to define it. Go for it. Your house, your rules.

Agreed. It will look ace. Do the ceiling too!

I’d get a wonderful mirror rather than art

If you want to, then why not.

I wouldn't because I never like any paint colour other than white, and it would take several coats to cover a dark colour

Sounds fab / please show us when it’s done!

It won't be so claustrophobic if you paint the ceiling *white and the tops of the walls by about 12 inches wide. Breaks it up just enough.

*or any other light colour 😁

So it. I did this with our tiny front room and I love it, bronze greeny brown olive colour from Little Green, its perfect at night with the fire lit and sets off the pictures on the walls and the wood floorboards nicely too. Warm. Spent years painting a tiny house white and bright and it never made it seem any bigger, or brighter. Its a snug room now and my favourite colour, no regrets at all.

Do it. It will be lovely. I love a dark room

It's beautiful alright but I've been there done that the last time dark colours were in and not only do they chip and mark easier they are a nightmare to repaint. It'll take multiple coats to cover that when you want to have a change.
Personally now when I want to make a room cosy I use furnishings and paintings to do so.

Sounds bloody lovely.

I’d love a snug. And I’m not much of a twat 😉

Do it do it do it. And then show a pic. Ta.

It sounds lovely! Go for it.

Sounds lovely op. Please a post a pic when finished (with the fire lit!)

Beautiful colour

I have studio green in a room. Calle green is positively pale by comparison . Do it, it will be lovely.

Our front room is dark blue/grey. It's cosy and lovely in winter. In summer we mostly sit at the back of the house or in the garden.

Use the app on dulux to try out a similar colour on your room before buying - it’s really handy to simulate

DH really wants to. I'm unsure as we have a dark green velvet sofa & armchair. I'm also pregnant and can't be arsed, so I said he can paint it himself if he wants to, which almost guarantees it won't happen

It's currently dark green on one wall, and a pale grey on the other 3. It's only about 10 x 11 ft so quite a small space. Some poor quality photos attached!

This is what I’m about to do! But I can’t find the right colour. Don’t know f anyone watches the Ranganation but there’s a guy goes by Pride of Wales - I want the colour he’s got on his wall but I can’t seem to match it. I’m also not sure whether to do skirting, architrave and door in the same dark colour or not….

I've a small room (dining/study/whatever) that I painted a deep green as an experiment in strong colours rather than the usual trying to make it feel bigger with light colours which I find a bit boring. It's one of my favourite places to be at any time of day and all year round: cosy at Christmas and in the evenings with low lighting, peaceful for wfh, cool in the summer. It's been a successful experiment for me so I'd def recommend it!

Lovely

BUT

• In all the photos I’ve seen of dark coloured rooms which look good, there is always a lot of light colour as well. In your photo example there is a light carpet, white ceiling, light cushions on the sofa, and lots of light background pictures breaking up the green. You need to do that IMO in order to avoid dark cave.

• Dark colours do show any chips/cracks a lot more. If your room is prone to cracks (eg loose plaster here and there) consider carefully.

• Personally I can’t get used to blue and green as a colour combo so with your navy sofa I would probably go ochre or plaster pink on the walls instead. But I’m probably out of date.

I tend to think the 'dark colours shrink a room' is a bit of a myth. I think it will make your room look cosy. Go for it!

Do it! My friend did it in a Similarsounding house and it’s gorgeous

Go for it as long as partner happy to go over it later if doesn't turn out as expected.