How awful is this colour?

[RachyB86]

We have just spent a small fortune having the majority of our home decorated for the first time ever, it’s still ongoing. It has been a huge upheaval and I am fed up of living around the decorator, it is actually making me quite depressed as we are now 4 weeks in…however - I hate this colour paint!! I adore the emerald and gold wallpaper, but the colour is just so drab. Should I book a repaint?! If so - what colour?! (In case it’s not clear, I am not good with this stuff, I thought this would look nice but clearly I got it wrong 😩) everyone is telling me to live with it because I am finding the whole decorating process so stressful they think I’m crazy to voluntarily go through it again, partner included even though he doesn’t like the colour either.

YABU - it’s not that bad, just live with it

YANBU - yes it’s awful, change it (please give a suggested colour too!)

Wallpaper: Boutique Marquise Emerald Geometric
Paint: Dulux Natural Wicker

This sounds brilliant, I totally should have done this 😖😖

Weirdly I have this wallpaper on my desk right now as I’m using it to upcycle a 1930s cupboard! It’s a nice wallpaper - very retro.

But the yellow is awful. I agree that matching the wallpaper is a good idea - it would be dark but dramatic!

Sorry but looks awful in that space and doesnt complement the wallpaper at all

The easy option is just to paint it white and add some pictures etc. to break it up a bit.

Our newbuild was painted that colour and I hated it with a passion. Must be the cheapest one they can buy in bulk.

We were told not to decorate for 6 months to allow the house to dry out first - at midnight on 5 months, 31 days I had the rollers out!

I’ve come on to defend the natural wicker paint. I have it in my lounge and I bloody love it. It’s a lovely warm cream and I love neutral colours so suits me perfectly. Hope you get your decor sorted so you’re pleased with it op. 😊

It looks fine love, don't overthink it.

Did you match the walls to the other colour in the paper?

Because everyone's screen is going to show the colours differently. And none of them will bear any resemblance to the colours in reality

I think the magnolia painted walls need to be a stronger colour.

If you are going to go for a strong wall paper you need a strong paint to complement it.

Cant really tell on my screen as the paper looks black and gold. But if it is green then would a more mustard yellow do the trick.

I get bits of flooring and wall and trim paint swatches and door handles etc and put them together in the room and swap out stuff over a few weeks before deciding on the colour.

FWIW if in doubt I always start off with what way the room faces and is placed and refer to Feng Shui to look at colours. I always think that FengShui as an interior design idea has many good points.

It's too yellow to sit next to the green and gold imo. Try cremini mushroom from valspar or dead salmon if you are a f&b fan

Nonbio46 I think in a lounge with a lot of natural light it does look good but when it is in a hall way with little natural light and with a much darker wall paper it can look quite drab

Sorry OP, but it's magnolia 😬. If I want a white that isn't a white (iyswim) I used natural Hessian by Dulux. It's the perfect neutral in my opinion and pairs easily with other muted colours or pretty much any wallpaper. It also hides a multitude of sins. I'd book a repaint or paint it myself (time permitting obvs). Good luck 🤞

Some big prints in a colour that stands out against the walls and a few big plants? That way the walls may disappear into the background.

I think it’s too yellow. You could go for a more taupe pale colour? I think the yellow of the natural wicker is just too much with the wallpaper (which I love by the way).

if you have somewhere near that has dulux trade, they have the best sample strips with varying intensities of the same colour which I find really helpful!

I'd just change the lighting to something abit softer and leave it. Get it done again another time or just put that lovely wallpaper up all over. Tbh it wouldn't take long to paint yourself but only do stuff like that if you are supremely confident.

you could see if there’s any furnishings, paintings, textiles that would help marry/knit the two colours together.

If you decide to go with a new colour, I recommend Brewers Albany Colour Chart. The have their colours arranged to that the whites with blue tones are arranged above the blue colours and so on.

I think getting the right shade of white/cream in a room is soooo difficult.

We use a shade called Landry white (I think) in our house. When my Dd used it for her house it just looked really yellow.

It’s not awful and it looks nice and fresh.
If it helps I had my living room and hallway repainted straight after I had them decorated because I messed up the colour choice.

Held your wallpaper up against my little Greene paint chart and I would do Pearl colour. It's a light blue green grey.

The paint looks very yellow although not offensive.
I'd be inclined to leave it for now and then maybe paint it white instead.
The wallpaper looks very nice though 👌

Use this:

Ah OP, same thing happened to me. Although the decorator thought I was mad, we had it re-done straight away. I felt silly but it was 100% the right thing to do and it felt like a relief when it was done. It will always bother you. I'll always do big sample patches in future!

Sorry, I don't like that yellow either!

Sorry, but I don’t like the wallpaper at all. It’s far too dark and bold a print for such a small space. It looks like something you’d see in an Indian restaurant in the 90’s.

If you’re keeping the paper, then you need a lighter colour to brighten the rooms up so something like a very pale turquoise or a white with a subtle hint of green.

I used to live in a house where the main living room was north facing and felt dark and depressing despite the walls being painted white. I tend to stick with very light colours on the walls and use lots of large plants, paintings and bold prints in the furnishings to add drama.

I like the paint colour ( I like neutrals) but hate, hate the wall paper. It gives me a headache just looking at it.

But that doesn't matter. All that matters is what you think, not randoms on the internet.

I USED TO HAVE THAT COLOUR! I had it in a very dark dining room and chose it after seeing a hallway on a TV programme done with it. It made my room gorgeously toasty and warm.

It has a lot more colour in it than magnolia/ landlord beige.

And I think that's the problem. You've got it up against cold white floor tiles, a very white front door, white woodwork. It doesn't work at all well.

I had it with wood surrounds and a brown toned carpet.

like other people have said, it does look very landlordish magnolia but maybe see how you feel after a few weeks when it is all done and you feel a bit better in yourself. I hear you about the stress, I need to get quite a lot of decorating done and just thinking about the upheaval and the stress makes me queasy so I keep putting it off and putting it off

I think part of the problem is that you have just done the walls and thought through the whole room. I would suggest:

A radiator cover so you can add some knick knacks like a reed diffuser, a candle, an ornament

Swapping the silver mirror for a warmer colour like wood or gold frame. Or leanining into the moodiness of the wallpaper and going for a black frame. I'd probably think about getting a smaller mirror and putting it over the radiator and then using the mirror space for pictures in frames to match the mirror.

Is change the lighting from bright white to warm white.

Then I'd think about the wall colour. But my main comment is that you've chosen a cosy, moody wallpaper and need to lean in to that vibe.