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.

@TyrannysaurusXXrightshoarder

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….

Wickes' Estate Green and Olive are very similar tones, my sister had them in her kitchen. She had white skirting and architrave with it which brightened it up without looking too odd, but the light olive would look nice on the trims.

Thread derailing over!

I painted my walls a vivid bright pink. I didn't like it, so I painted over it a few months later. The joys of being divorced My ex would have made us live with it as some kind of misplaced penance for having made a bad decision.

Do it, it's (relatively) to change your mind.

Do it! Our north facing living room is painted in F&B de nimes. I love it!
Haven't done the ceiling though. Victorian house, no picture rails but coving and ceiling is white. It's super cosy at this time of year with fire on and lots of colours in cushions/rugs/throws and Christmas tree 😊

I am about to paint our living room a dark blue, I think the colour is Valspar Lapis Lazulis. We have a medium tone wooden floor going down. I cant wait!
Go for it.

We have recently painted our smallish, north-facing sitting room in Mylands Stockwell Green. It looks fab, imo.

It's probably not quite as dark as the colour you are thinking of but it's dark enough to be really cosy at this time of year. With candles burning and a couple of table lamps it is just lovely, but during the day it's not gloomy or claustrophobic either. I think we probably could have gone a shade or two darker really but I was a bit nervous about it being too much (I shouldn't have been).

However, we do have white above the picture rail and on the ceiling, plus a huge mantlepiece mirror and a pale rug all of which help to keep it from feeling oppressive.

Go for it OP!

Dark colours in north facing room can be brilliant if done right and you go for the cosy vibe.

To hell with what anyone else thinks. If you like the idea, do it. It does work.

you might bump into them at night

@AwkwardPaws27

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!

You so need to do the whole room. The green wall looks fab with the furniture. But the room looks drab and dull if you look at it from the other angle with the white wall.

We have a small north-facing living room that is entirely Lick's Green 02, which is a bit like F&B's Card Room Green. We have a light floor with dark sofas and an off-black radiator. I love it! It's so cosy, especially with our log burner.

Do it! It's easy enough to change should you become bored of it.

I just went to B&Q a few days ago to get a sample of this green. It's a little bit more dull in real life and I'm still sitting on the fence as generally I prefer brighter colours. But I first saw someone on Instagram use it, so it must be gaining popularity.
I say go for it, especially as your DH is a painter! Having to paint over the dark colour is one of the main things I'm hesitant about. Post a photo if you do, please!

Do it. There's an interior designer online who paints into her ceiling too, so you'd continue the green maybe a foot or so into your ceilings so it gives the illusion of higher ceilings and more space in the room. Can't remember who but it does look good in her photos!

Yes go for it! I have a few dark rooms. I think they do look lovely with the same colour ceilings and woodwork. My sitting room is all in dark blue apart from the ceiling which is lighter. Do look at Abigail Ahern.

I don't know about Calke Green but studio green is lovely.

I agree dark colours make a room look bigger, you lose all the edges.

I do the skirting and the coving dark too, it makes the ceilings seem higher

I think it would be awful - dark and depressing - but I’m clearly in the minority

Do it! If it's north facing it will never be light anyway. I painted a very tiny north facing room a very dark colour against everyone's advice and it looks brilliant. I love it.

Yes! Our loft room is Calke green, all the walls and ceiling too. It's really dark and takes it well!

@JaninaDuszejko

Our bathroom (including the ceiling) is Bancha which is even darker. It does have two windows and the suite is white, I've also got rattan mirrors and light linen blinds. A lot cheaper than a new suite and I love it.

I say go for it and do the ceiling and woodwork either the same colour, a blue or a lighter green or possibly a light pink. Don't have a white ceiling and don't take the ceiling colour down to picture rail height, unless you want to pretend it's the 80s.

We have a dark blue Room and have done all the things you've said don't do and it looks amazing, fresh and modern. Everyone has complimented it - taking the white down to picture rail height in particular is the best bit - nothing 80s about it!

@Alieninmybody

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.

Paints have come on a lot, though. I've had a dark-ish green bedroom for a while now, and it's never chipped; I recently tried out a colour in our hall that needed painting over, and it was just fine with two pale coats.

I would love to do this but we live in an old cottage and I’m not sure it would suit. We’ve got a massive dark oak beam over the fireplace and I think an emerald green would really show it off.

Double post, sorry!

But: I'd do it. My bedroom is F&B Breakfast Room green, which looks similar from the picture you posted. We only bought it as we got it cheap when our local Homebase closed down, and we thought we'd take a punt. We have quite low ceilings, but we've got white-painted floorboards, and I like it.

I did this in our small bedroom, despite the naysayers, and I love it. It is indeed cosy and lovely.

It's not like it was ever going to be a big room, regardless of how it was painted, so we leaned into "small, dark, cosy".

Not to my taste- but if it floats your boat then do it.
The first picture you showed looks dreadful to me- so much clutter, stuff, looks like a village pub.
But I like light, minimal, scandic, wooden type suroundings.
To much stuff, clutter and bright colours makes me stressed.

Absolutely do it, but Calke Green is not dark. F&B Duck Green or Dulux Woodland Fern 1 are beautiful dark greens.

Do it! I love strong colours and think that all white or light colours is not always the answer to making a room feel amazing. Sometimes cosy is perfect. I'm about to do my kitchen in Little Greene olive colour, have a look, but it was a close decision between that and F&B Bancha which another poster mentioned upthread.