A Rug Sets the Color Stage
[pinterest]
A reader recently wrote and asked if I would help choose a paint color for her new living room redesign. This is the rug she recently purchased to work with her tan sofa:
She wondered if she should use a tan/beige color on the walls or not. I told her to visualize what it would be like to see your tan sofa up against a tan wall. I think that it might end up making the room look a little boring and not offer any contrast: 
Also, think of how dark the rug will stand out in your room. Optimally, all your furnishing should work ‘together’ to make the room cohesive including your walls, floors and large furnishings.
Imagine how bottom heavy this room above would be with a dark rug on the floor. So what colors should we look at for the walls?
I would not suggest black for the walls, so that leaves us with blues and purples and/or grays. Here were a couple of my suggestions to get samples of to see how well it works with the rug:Benjamin Moore Montpelier AF- 555:
Benjamin Moore Luxe AF-580:
And one more color suggestion is Storm AF-700 which is a beautiful gray which depending on the light, can also look like a pretty blue or a soft lilac-blue color:
I have used all three colors and they are beautiful wall colors. We will have to wait and see which color works best with her new rug and tan sofa. Then she has to paint a large sample board to see how it looks with her different lighting. We do not want the walls to look too purple. Do you have any other color suggestions? Love to hear them! I will be sure to post which color was the winner.If you need help selecting paint colors for your home, contact me today.