10 Best Paint Colours For Your Living Room Accent Wall
Paint colours are always on the top of the list of questions that I get as an interior designer. Every time I visit a client in Chatham or Windsor we get to talking about paint and often the topic of accent walls come up:
Are they a good idea? Sure. As long as it’s on the right wall and intention with the overall design.
What colour should we do? Well, that depends on the other hard surfaces in your space and on the large pieces you already have in your room.
Will you help me pick a colour? Yes. We offer paint colour consultations both in-home and online. Colour is complicated because it depends on SO many other factors in your room. However, I’m going to share my top 10 accent wall colours here in this post to get you started with some ideas.
Before picking ANY paint colour for your space, it’s important to choose everything else for the room first. Repeat after me: paint colours should always be chosen LAST. I will avoid the urge to run out and pick paint when starting my project. Choosing paint at the beginning of a project is a common mistake, but it can really impact your ability to pull together a well styled room.
You’ll want to consider the hard finishes of the room like your flooring (especially if you have a tile floor or a bossy wood like cherry, yellow oak, or something with a heavy grain pattern!). Your fireplace surround. Your window colour. And also any wall coverings like wallpaper.
Also, large furnishings like your rug, drapery, and sofa should all be considered when choosing your paint colours.
Once you’ve examined all of those elements and are ready to move ahead with a colour, here are some of my favourite go-to’s listed by colour type.
Photo: Bria Hammel Interiors
1. Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore
This is a softer more greyed-out navy that plays nicely in moody rooms or softer neutral rooms.
Photo: Art & Spaces
2. Dress Blue by Sherwin Williams
This is the colour of our doors in our home because it’s a crisp clean navy without any purple undertones to it.
Photo: Studio Mcgee
3. Salamander by Benjamin Moore
Salamander is dark and moody and changes colour with the light. It can read a dark moody grey at times, or an elegant natural green colour.
Photo: Kristina Lynne
4. Wrought Iron by Benjamin Moore
Black can be tricky because if it’s too black it can bring back some major 1980’s vibes. Wrought Iron is a lovely soft black with just the right hint of warmth.
Photo: Art & Spaces
5. Blue Bayberry by Dulux
Blue Bayberry is a complex teal colour. It sometimes looks like a lovely dark green and other times can be a great saturated blue. This is the colour we used in our front double parlous in our 120-year-old Victorian home and is easily one of my favourite paint colours ever.
Photo: Better Homes & Gardens
6. Bryce Canyon by Benjamin Moore
Colours of the earth like clay oranges are really making a strong comeback. I just love Bryce Canyon because it’s not glaringly orange. It’s a little bit pink. A little bit brown. And a little bit orange. Which makes it just right in my books!
Photo: Dulux
7. Butter Cookie by Dulux
Yellow can be tricky because it often picks up green or orange. If you want a light sunny yellow that isn’t overly strong for your living room accent wall then Butter Cookie is a great choice.
Photo: Jason Bertoniere Painting
8. Barnwood by Benjamin Moore
If you want to do a deep grey that still feels warm, but doesn’t look brown in the light then Barnwood is a fantastic choice! It’s warm, but not too warm so it’ll still look grey in most rooms.
Photo: Benjamin Moore
9. Hidden Sanctuary by Benjamin Moore
Purple is the most difficult colour to decorate with because it can easily come off looking cheap. Yet it’s easily one of the most popular colours out there!
I love Hidden Sanctuary because it’s clean enough to not read grey, but not so saturated that it looks like you threw up Prince. It’s a soft lavender colour that partners nicely with any clean neutral.
Photo: Benjamin Moore
10. Aphrodite Pink by Benjamin Moore
If you want a pink accent wall in your living room, but don’t want it looking like a nursey, this colour is sophisticated enough to work in the most grown-up of spaces.
Avoid making paint mistakes
Paint covers more surface area then anything else in your home so it’s important to get it right!
Our paint colour consultation service allows you to get professionally selected paint colours that you can be confident will work in your home so that you don’t have to pay the painter to come back or live with a paint colour mistake.
It’s an affordable flat-fee service that we can do in-home or virtually.
The first step is to book a free discovery phone call. On this call I will ask about your project, the number of rooms and colours we are considering, and ask which colours you are leaning towards so that I can come prepared with samples in that range of colours. We will talk about how it works and book a time to do your consultation either in-home or virtually.