Need ideas on colours for living room

[CarolinaWeeper]

Our living room is large but North facing so I need a paint colour to brighten it up. Floors are eventually going to be a warm oak (currently hideous carpet from previous owners). We have one dark grey and one dark blue sofa and I'm planning on getting a persian style rug when we switch to wooden flooring.

I have no idea what colour to paint the room that will be warm but also brighten it up. I know I don't want white or anything grey.

Do you want a pale colour or a bright/strong colour?

Some more information about the room would be helpful, such as dimensions, natural light, any built-in furniture or curtains that you need to consider. Do you have an aversion to any particular shades, other than grey? As bravotango asks - pale or strong colours? Could we have a photo? How exciting to be starting from scratch!

I'm not averse to a strong colour but worried about making the room darker. It's 20ft by 11ft with a bay window at one end.... North facing. Nothing built in I need to consider, we've recently bought it and it needs full redecoration throughout. I'd love to put a pic but worried about it being identified as I know people in real life on here.

If you're brave, what about yellow?! We've just done our very dark Victorian hallway in a soft but strong yellow and it's great with wooden floors and white details (picture rails/skirting etc). Otherwise neutrals that aren't grey can look timeless and not dark/cold - I would avoid anything that has blue undertones. Something like a very pale pink or a green with yellow tones rather than blue.

I was thinking yellow too - a deep shade would be nice

Pale pink

Pale pink or yellow

Can't go wrong with yellow

Strong golden yellow was my first thought when I read the description of the room

Citron by F&B looks lovely. Get a few samples and see what works in the light of your room.

We have f&b citron in a north facing room. Always looks cheerful & works well with blue / grey furniture & accessories

Oh I hadn't considered yellow at all but I like those F&B ones. I'd been looking at pink ground as a potential colour so will get a few testers try them out!

You can choose a colour from any Hue Family on this colour wheel for a north facing room.

The secret to it being a success is pairing its nuance with the available quality of light.

Nuance? Value (lightness) + Chroma (colourfulness) = nuance.

Whether choosing darks, mid-tones, lights, you need enough Chroma to bust through any potential gloom.

You can see to which Hue Families these colours belong using their Hue Angle on the colour wheel above.

Pink Ground is a lovely colour to use in a north facing room. I have it in a north facing bedroom, where it looks both calm and warm. I also have it in my south facing kitchen, where it looks different, but equally lovely!

We've used Yellow Ground if that helps! Feels very classic and "buttery", very warm.

I’d go for something like Neptune’s silver birch or smoke which is a like a grey blue. Or possibly F&B denimes, or pigeon. Sometimes it’s better if you have a north facing room to just embrace it and go dark to make it feel warm and cosy, using a dark colour in a north facing room doesn’t mean it will make it dark as long as you choose a paint with a warm undertones!