Furniture upholstered in jewel-toned velvets, mohairs and chenilles adds both bright color and sumptuous texture to a room with soft matte brown walls. Glossy red paint on a desk (fifth photo) or smooth blue leather on a dining chair provides a gorgeous contrast too. But if you're not quite ready to commit to bright furniture, jewel-toned accessories will do the trick just as well. A candy-pink throw blanket (sixth photo) is an energetic touch in a mostly neutral room. Even something as small and fleeting as a vase of flowers can bring a brown room to life.
Our dining room (last photo) has a brown accent wall, and my husband and I labored over the color decision, waffling between browns that were more purplish and those that veered toward black. Ultimately we went with Benjamin Moore's Bison Brown, and we couldn't love it more! It's beautiful on a wall that looks out onto a garden or a view; the outdoor view really pops against the dark paint.
Have you tried this color scheme at home? Please share!
(Images: Marie Claire Maison; Jessica Helgerson; Design*Sponge; Amanda Nisbet; Decorpad (5 and 6); Livingetc; Susie Nadler)
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Sweet! The second picture shows the exact color combination between rooms that I have been imagining for our new apt-- chocolate brown paired with airy blue-gray. I also love pops of red with both colors. It's great to see that this looks as amazing in real life as it does in my imagination!
I don't like the spaces that are ALL brown... that looks too dark to me. A few brown rooms (such as a cozy chocolate-brown bedroom) look great.
i love chocolate brown with orange and also magenta. that first room is great.
Intelligent, sophisticated design. This took some thought! While I admire the modern posts with white walls, it is a much easier look to achieve than this.
10
Yes!!! I love the red/brown color combination with a neutral background of cool grey:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualingual/2544389767/in/set-72157594505190197/
i LOVE the Filipino Brooms on the Wall!! For years ive been trying to convince my girlfriend that theyre art!
You've just won me a bet!
I think this palette was the inspiration for Crate and Barrel's fall line of bedding:
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1274&f=33420&q=pillow&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1
I love it!!
Lovely - chocolate brown is warm, beautiful and easy to live with. I'd be happy to live in any of these rooms!
I have actually used this color scheme in my living room. Lowe's Bird House Brown on the walls is dark chocolate - looks great with the white glossy trim, white sofa, jewel tone accents. The adjacent dining room is a muted red -- Brazilian Flame from Wal Mart. I got the paint colors from those used in a local home decor boutique. I was a little scared when I first put up the brown paint because it is much darker than the taupey/cocoa I saw on the walls of the boutique, but now I love it. The colors give the rooms a very lounge-y sophisticated look for evening entertaining-- which is primarily when I use these rooms.
I'm a big fan of chocolate-hued walls. While some people may argue that a brown room may seem darker or smaller, I think when done right, the hue adds rich warmth. Also, I like adding punches of blue to brown.
Chocolate is nice, but the room better get lots of natural light.
Really beautiful and sophisticated. I love the dining nook in the last spot. It looks like the house is in Florida or California maybe, so the darkness of the paint nicely offsets the brightness of the yard beyond the windows.
This is gorgeous. If I wasn't such a chromophobe, I might try something like this.
I need that sofa! Where for art thou thoughtful colorful clean lined thing?