Blue Paint Ideas for Every Style of Living Room

Is your living room in need of some attention? If it’s time for redecoration, then a blue colour palette could be the way to go. Blue living rooms are on trend right now. Scroll through Instagram and you’ll notice the popularity of blue decor. Why?

Blue is a perennial favourite. Now more than ever, we crave the feelings of freshness and optimism that you get with natural blue tones. Imagine the uplifting feeling when you gaze into a cloudless blue sky or dip your toe into a clear, blue sea.

Blue is supremely versatile and works with myriad design styles. Whether you want a sleek, modern living room, an airy, coastal style room or a dark and cosy living room; there's a blue paint colour to work with your interior design choice.

Walls in Walpole™ No.42, Woodwork in Long Acre™ No.102

The Elegant Heritage Living Room

For living rooms that boast period features of centuries past, pale blue walls set off the traditional decor perfectly. The stylish combination of light blue and white is classic and elegant. It has been used in stately homes and royal palaces for hundreds of years.

With a serene backdrop of pale blue walls, you can add pattern, texture and vibrancy with soft furnishings, flooring and artwork. The calm blue paint allows interesting period features, such as fireplaces and coving, to stand out.

Add touches of grandeur with showstopping elements like ornate chandeliers, stunning artwork in luxe gold frames and beautifully-crafted, patterned furniture.

Mylands' Hawkesmoor™ No.112 (pictured on the walls below) is a delicate, almost silvery-blue which is cool, calming, and an ideal partner for white or deeper, darker colour tones.

Walls in Hawkesmoor™ No.112

The Mid-Century Modern Living Room

Teal is such a favourite colour right now and its popularity shows no sign of waning. The blue-green shade is welcoming, warm and sophisticated. Those qualities make it an ideal paint colour for entertaining spaces like a living room or dining room.

Teal is an earthy, natural colour reminiscent of the sea. It’s on-trend now, as it was in the 1960s. Consequently, it works well with other colours in the mid-century colour palette. Mustard yellow, burnt orange, olive green along with teal, are fantastic shades to use in mid-century modern decor. This colour palette is very well-balanced and reassuring.

Style it alongside mid-century wooden furniture such as a sideboard or coffee table in rich, dark woods like teak or walnut to get that 60s look in your living room.

Walls in Burlington Arcade™ No.216

The Glamorous Jewel-Toned Living Room

Dark blue provides the perfect backdrop to pops of bright colour. Jewel tones work particularly well - think emerald green, ruby red, amethyst purple and golden yellow. It could be a bright green sofa, bold blue throws, vibrant red armchairs or hot pink cushions. The injection of a strong colour introduces an eye-catching focal point. Luxurious textures like velvet are ideal for this glam decor. It’s indulgent and enticingly tactile.The dark blue decor deflects attention onto the vibrant, jewel-toned accent pieces. To avoid the dark blue becoming overpowering, crisp white walls and ceilings add much-needed lightness and contrast. They also provide a polished, finishing touch.

Shelving in Blueprint™ No.50, walls in Pure White™ No.1, with hallway walls and architraves in Stone Castle™ No.71 and Lock Keeper™ No.18

The Light and Airy Scandi-Inspired Living Room

Tall ceilings and beautiful wood-panelling lend themselves to creating a Scandi-style living room. Everything is pale and calming - the flooring, the paint colours, the textiles. It promotes natural light, making the room feel really bright and airy. This powder blue and white colour scheme can help small spaces to feel bigger and more open.

The partnership of blue and white can also evoke the beach house, nautical style. Coastal chic works with either navy blue or pastel blue. As with Scandi-style, nautical decor also enhances natural light and encourages the feeling of simplicity. Natural textures like wood, rope and stone are ideal for this type of home decor. Both styles are complemented wonderfully by adjacent blue walls in maritime tones like aqua.

The living space pictured below showcases Mylands' Walpole™ No.42 - a blue-grey paint colour that is really fresh and welcoming. Interestingly, the soft blue-grey paint Long Acre™ No.102 is used on the woodwork with white paint on the walls. This calming colour is said to aid concentration, so it would work well in a home office or study too.

WALLS IN Walpole™ No.42, WOODWORK IN LONG ACRE™ NO.102

The Dark and Cosy Living Room

How do you use your living room? How do you want to make the space feel? If its focal points are the comfy sofa, open fire and supersize TV, then this style of living room could be for you. Light and airy it is not. It’s dark, cosy and comforting. It’s a snug-style living room that may make you want to hibernate.

Embrace this feeling. It’s not a style that you can dip your toe into with just a feature wall. You want to create a cocoon by covering all the living room walls with a deep, dark blue paint. Consider painting the ceiling in the same deep blue shade, to evoke that fully immersive atmosphere. It provides a seamless, smart effect and it blurs the edges around the room. It can work well in a small living room, embracing the snugness and making it a feature.

Mylands' Mayfair Dark™ No.218 is a rich, navy blue paint with slight red undertones that feels opulent and intense. It is just the deep, dark blue paint that would work in this style of living room.

Walls in Mayfair Dark™ No.218

Three simple ways to introduce a splash of blue to your living room

Does the thought of coating all of your living room walls in blue paint feel somewhat daunting? If you're not ready to embrace totally blue walls, then there are some alternative ways to inject some blue colour into your living room.

Blue Shelving

Blue shelving adds a stylish statement and provides a wonderful backdrop to showcase beautiful, coloured accessories and books. Painting shelves a bold colour can bring life to a neglected nook or it can transform an area of the living room entirely. Try royal blue, cobalt or ultramarine for zingy and lively shades of blue.

The gorgeous blue shelving unit pictured below is an eye-catching feature. It is complemented by neutral walls, textiles and furniture.

Blue Sofa

Make your furniture the showstopper and keep walls neutral. A striking, bright blue sofa will become the room's focal point. Use neutral interior paint colours on the wall to provide a light contrast. A navy blue sofa would work wonderfully in a coastal style white living room with navy blue accent colours.

With a heritage style living room, pale blue walls will complement more elaborate furniture. Stay traditional with a decorative, patterned fabric sofa in sympathetic colour tones.

Blue Panelling

Painting the woodwork and panelling of your living room can really enhance the aesthetic. Dark blue panelling gives a sophisticated and yet inviting feeling. Think chic members club. It provides a space in which you want to relax and enjoy your downtime. This can be restricted to one section of wall. It could be the lower half of the wall that's panelled, leaving the upper section to be painted a lighter colour or perhaps it is just one aspect of panelling.

Similarly, you can draw attention to a fireplace by painting the surround or the chimney breast in your choice of blue. It's a lovely way of drawing the eye to that particular architectural feature. Using another colour on the adjacent walls will soften the look.

Walls in Bond Street™ No.209

Whatever your interior design style, or preferred shade of blue, you'll find the right blue paint colour at Mylands.

Take a look at our guide for more paint ideas and living room decor inspiration.