Please help me choose paint for a modern, boxy living room that’s looking cold and empty.

[cheeseandbranston]

my modern boxy living room (currently builder’s white) is looking cold and harsh.

please recommend an eggshell that is a creamy colour with some kind of brown in it for warmth. Can’t be an out and out pink or yellow, but some warmth is needed.

sofa is an olive green and other key pieces are wood, green plants, gold frames, and some white marble.

I hate any greys and mushroom, and am not a magnolia sort of person either.

I am stuck between wanting something gorgeous and not having the confidence to go beyond neutral because it’s hard to imagine and I can’t face getting it wrong.

thank you very much!

Don’t use eggshell on walls- it’s a matte finish paint for woodwork. You just need a matt finish paint.

Go to a large DIY store - grab some testers, put lining paper cut into large squares on your walls held on with masking tape, paint swatches on your walls in a reasonable size then look at them for the next week or so to see how you like them. Some paint companies have a VR system (think dulux has one) so you can see what the colour would look like on your walls.

Ps, go for the colour you love best. The worst that can happen is that you have to repaint the wall. And I think from the other items you describe in the room, a colour drench might be they way to go where the ceiling, woodwork etc are all in the same colour - you can use the instore paint mixing service to get an exact match in an eggshell if one isn’t offered by the manufacturer of the wall colour you’ve chosen.

Happy choosing!

Colour drench! That sounds confident!

Noted on the eggshell vs Matt thank you

Leather I or II by paint and paper library

I have fired earth ecru and it is lovely. Warm but still neutral and with the colours you describe

the ochre one they do is also nice

Dulux natural hessian

Go for it. Your home is for you, not anyone else. I have some pretty ‘out there’ choices in my house and have done since I had my own places. I love interior design, interior design magazines etc. Have you tried asking ChatGPT with a photo of the room with your things in it? You could ask it to replicate some of the colour suggestions above? Personally, i think something with a strong peach hue might suit.

Have a look at Lick paints for inspo. I think this might go well in the space you describe with an olive sofa?

https://www.lick.com/uk/product/orange-05-matt-paint

I'm currently in the process of painting a room and I'm using Coat paints for the first time. Ive done a lot of decorating, and it's the best paint I've come across and will only need 1 coat. I wonder if 'Rooted' could be a good shade for you: https://coatpaints.com/products/earthy-neutral-pack

Dulux Timeless is an off white with a very slight brown tone. Johnstone's decorator centres are great for getting paint mixed to the colour you want. They also can match a range of other brands' colours. Don't buy the off the shelf emulsion from the likes of B&Q - trade paints are more expensive but have better pigments and give a better finish.

I think the setting plaster or blush pink type colours would look nice. They’re good neutrals and only look pink at certain times of the day, so aren’t overly pink as you mentioned. You could also paint the ceiling the same colour.

Dulux Almond White.

We have Dulux toasted almond as our neutral in the house.
We have it in living room with black sofas and green soft furnishings and it also complements the sage green dining room next to it. It's also in the hallways, one of which has huge white cupboards and the other more neutral, brown, antique brass accents and we just used it in the bathroom too and it works well with navy in there.

I have a similar small boxy snug and we have school house white by farrow and ball on the walls. It’s a true neutral, not to yellow, pink or grey toned. We also have a green sofa and it goes really nice!

We have Antique White throughout (Victorian home) and it's very soft on the eye and not at all magnolia.

I don’t think this looks mushroom-y, I do think it would work really well with the olive green, wood, plants and gold. Mylands marble matt emulsion is beautiful to paint with

mylands.com/products/cadogan-stone

Thank you it’s lovely

Lush green, yellow and apricot soft furnishings, botanical on curtains, lavenders and purples on wall art

My one is pink beige, red sofa, grey carpet, brown and grey furniture, mustard, yellow and cream on curtains, few oil paintings of rural scenes

Isn't Toasted Almond a Crown paint colour?

You're right Meredusoleil it is a crown paint.

Another vote for setting plaster - our bedroom is that colour and I love it, it’s so warm and relaxing without feeling in your face.

Have you tried uploading a picture of your room to ChatGPT and asking it to try different paint colours? I feel like that could help with the challenge of not being able to imagine what your room will look like, and therefore not having the confidence to pick a colour and moving ahead with it!

Little Greene have a 'sweet treats' range that might have some suitable colours, Mochi might be good. Little Greene paints are gorgeous and thick and their Intelligent Matt Emulsion can be used on walls and woodwork and radiators and doesn't need an undercoat (and is wipeable).

A few people have mentioned F&B setting plaster, gorgeous colour but you need 3 coats of F&B. Apparently their Modern Emulsion is the hardest wearing paint on the market. It has more of a sheen than the Little Greene Intelligent Matt Emlsion though.