Please help me, Billy and I have a caramel/butterscotches leather living room suite. Our house is small and we are looking to paint it so that it appears larger. I don't want to use a dark color which has been suggested with this color before..is there a lighter alternative so I can compliment and still get the feel of a larger living area
Since Caramel is sort of a neutral color you could go with just about any color you want. Do you have a favorite painting, or picture you are using in the living room? You can use the color schemes in that to paint your walls. Going with a lighter shade. Have you thought about using more than one color? That can be very striking...
if you're looking to blend your furniture with the walls, then go with browns, oranges (like rustic red/orange) or red (dark red, brick red). these colors provide enough contrast that it'll make the room seem larger, not necessarily darker. you can accessorize the room with cool colored (yellow, green, blue) pillows, candles, rugs, window treatments, etc. The warm colors provide a feeling of energy and coziness. or you can do the opposite - go with cool colors for the walls like light yellow, melon green or light blue. these colors lighten the room and gives it a feeling of calmness. Accessorize the room with warm colors (red, brown, orange).
Something in the tan family or a light taupe would work. I would also suggest painting the trim (baseboards, window and door frames) the same colour if the space is really small as this will give the room the appearance of more space. You could use an eggshell paint on the walls (low shine, but not flat) and a semigloss paint (low sheen) on the trim in the same colour to give the trim subtle definition. And if you don't like it... it's only paint - you can buy some more. Have fun!
Less contrast between the larger pieces of furniture and wall creates a more spacious feeling. It's really that simple. Obviously you want the walls to compliment the color of the furniture. You can look for paint strips that best match up with sofa and choose the lighter shade of your sofa color if you want a more neutral wall color. Take a cushion to paint store to find a color strip that matches up. Remember the sample color will appear more intense on a whole wall. While there, take other paint color strips and put with cushion and see what happens. You might find a green or blue that looks good with your sofa, which is basically a neutral and could go with lots of colors. Just don't go too light on walls as that will make the furniture appear bigger in the room. Before choosing the paint color be sure and decide on other items like draperies, pictures, etc. Look around and find these choices first. So you don't paint yourself into a corner. You don't just paint the walls and then hope to find all the rest of your decorative needs to go with the paint. Paint color is one of last choices to buy. If sofa will be in front of windows then your drapery choice comes first. Remember leather may look best with a more textured material to balance the weight of sofa--or a printed material.
