How to make a large living room/playroom feel calm?

[Dogsandcats12345]

I’m looking for some interior design ideas because I am clueless with this stuff.

our living room is 7.45m x 4.35m. One end of the room has a whole wall (4.35m) taken up with floor to ceiling windows, looking into a south facing garden. We use that end of the room as a playroom, and the other end as our living area with sofas/tv. But it’s free flowing between the two spaces.

the whole living room is currently painted a kind of very pale blueish white, with dark grey curtains by the window wall. The flooring is hardwood with yellowish tone wood. Sofas are a light grey silver colour.

the whole room just feels too cold to me. I want to redecorate it to create a warm cosy space. Can anyone suggest paint colours that would work in this largeish south facing living room room? And ways to make the whole space feel more cosy but still work with a ‘playroom zone’ and ‘living room zone’ that is free flow?

the play area is functional but currently has those garish bright orange Ikea trofast boxes, which are practical but not really the cosy feeling I’m going for.

I would use rugs to zone the two areas with something to divide them a bit like a set of shelves or sofa so they feel like two areas.

Pictures and plants and cushions will make it feel cozier too. If the room is front to back is it south and north facing?
If so then I would tend towards warmer colours as you will still pick up the cool light from the northern end and that will need warming up.
I always think greens are nice because they can be cozy and warm but you could pretty much go for any colour as long as it has a warm undertone.

oh I love and cushions and throws, DH gets annoyed by them though but you’re right it probably would help to make the space feel more cosy.

any thoughts on dulux natural hessian for a cosy feel in a big room? Not sure if it will end up being too bland?

i like the idea of a green colour but not sure how to use it in a big room? I’ve seen pictures of some lovely cosy looking spaces with dark green walls, but they were smaller spaces. And I’m not sure if a light green would give the warmth I’m looking for?

and yes, need to go shopping for some artwork and cushions once we have settled on a colour scheme!

Plants always help!

we have a large sofa in our (much smaller) lounge which helps divide the space so one side is the play area, the other side is snug for watching tv and lounging around.

Maybe check out Instagram for some inspiration? Find a room you like and steal the colour scheme.
Natural hessian will work but i am more of a colour person and I would get bored of it. The green doesn't have to be dark. This sort of colour maybe if you don't want anything too bright
https://www.dulux.co.uk/en/products/filters/h_Green/cccId_1977174

I've just done a similarly large south facing room in Little Greene Juniper Ash, it's a lovely softish dark blue that feels really calm and cosy.

If found these articles helpful when choosing the colour:

https://www.littlegreene.com/advice-hub/choosing-colours-for-south-facing-rooms

https://www.farrow-ball.com/how-to-guide/how-light-affects-colour

We had a green living/dining space at our previous space. It was approx 8m x 3.75m with a 4.5m bank of south-facing floor-to-ceiling windows at the living end. The paint we used (Farrow & Ball Olive - an archive colour that we obtained direct) was probably too dark for your requirements @Dogsandcats12345 but imo it was a really cosy space that always felt warm. A huge, colourful Persian rug, interesting art and loads of equally colourful cushions helped! Plants and lamps too....

Natural Hessian wouldn't be my choice for warmth/cosiness as it's way too bland for our tastes which lean more to saturated colours.

Ha! You have virtually the same dimensions as us except we are north facing. The walls are a super pale blush peach, that creates warmth. Other colours in the room are green and blue on the same colour point as the pale peach if that makes sense. The biggest thing that actually helped the room retain it’s calmness was investing in a nicer totter and tumble playmat that went with the room rather than the usual colours. Obviously none of this was helped by mil buying a playhouse that dc LOVES in the most garish colours known to man.

Another vote for green. We have Dulux fresh artichoke in our south east facing kitchen/ dining/ snug area and it works really well with a grey sofa and wooden effect lvt.

Dulux overtly olive is nice- lighter on walls than it looks in tin/online
make sure sofas/ chairs are grouped around tv with a rug so not facing the toys!
also we use blanket boxes as coffee tables and toy storage so you cant see them. Look on fb marketplace for them. Lamps rather than overhead lights.

Id swap the zones around. Living area by windows. I wouldn't want to be looking at kids mess in front of windows. Not relaxing. A few natural folding screens to separate the areas, warm wood or bamboo.
Then 2 rugs. Whatever for kids area, washable. Then search out your dream rug for adult area. Get another tone of wood piece of furniture. Get a tan leather piece of furniture. Arrange furniture as you wish, for socializing, TV, outside view etc. And then, once furniture and rug is sorted, you pick paint! Paint is the last bit, its cheaper than rugs and furniture and comes in every single colour under the sun.

Thought I’d just update this thread, thanks for all the suggestions! I think we have decided on farrow and ball oxford stone, but will get it colour matched at valspar. Hopefully this will help the coziness!

for some unknown reason when we moved in I thought it would be a good idea to get the ikea trofast set in those bright orange colours and stick it in the living room. But it’s just not that practical and way too garish! So I think that will be relocated to the kids bedrooms. Instead maybe we’ll just get a big blanket box to house all the big cars and trucks etc (when do they grow out of the big toy phase?!) and then maybe some nicer looking cube storage or wicker baskets and shelves for all the other bits and bobs

Totally get what you’re saying, but unfortunately we already have a rug, coffee table and sofa that we need to work around. I think (hope?) they will go with the Oxford stone colour. Sofa is silver grey, coffee table is light grey with medium/dark wood top, and white rug with black pattern on it.

Wish I was better at this!

also I think whilst the kids are still very young we want to keep the complete free flow between the ‘play area’ and ‘living area’ of the room. When they are a little older we will probably change it around. Although I appreciate that does mean we will have to put up with some toys in view for a while!

I love the colour you have chosen! When it is done could you post a couple of photos as I'm going to be decorating my living room soon and I'd love to see it😊

I will try to remember to! Probably won’t be until after Christmas at this rate, but it’s good to have made a decision