White brown living room ideas
20 Brown Living Room Ideas You Hadn't Thought to Try
Lindsey Brooke Design
Need proof this earth-friendly hue can be equally as pretty as reliable? Brown, a color often associated with safety and security, can make for the most beautiful living room spaces if you embrace it.
But if your mind automatically drifts to brown painted walls, let's change gears. You can effortlessly layer in this sturdy color in an infinite number of unexpected ways.
From sleek credenzas to hardwood ceilings and entirely brown painted rooms, here are 20 stylish brown living room ideas you hadn’t thought to try.
01 of 20
Arbor & Co.
Light brown leather poufs are teeny pieces of furniture that pack a punch. Not only do these floor cushions moonlight as comfy footrests, extra seating, and kid-friendly coffee tables, but poufs also blend well with most design aesthetics. This light brown iteration shown above is cognac leather (available in vegan or faux options)—an ideal fabric for dressing up historic and farmhouse-inspired spaces in a snap.
02 of 20
Twelve 15 Design Studio
You can never go wrong with adding accent chairs to your living room. These single seats bring comfort while lining up your other living room elements, like your rug, sofa, and end tables. Plus, accent chairs create a seating arrangement that builds a conversation area to relax with friends and family.
03 of 20
Cathie Hong
If you prefer rustic, old-world craftsmanship or a prairie-style look, stick to natural, stained wood for your window casings and baseboards (instead of painting each white).
04 of 20
Forbes Masters
For total mood mastery, paint your walls a dark brown. Here, this chocolately brown painted wall looks classy and demure at the same time. Its darker shade revives this traditionally earthy tone while helping ground the space as a whole.
05 of 20
onurdongel / Getty Images
Looking for a classic look that delivers high drama? Design a brown accent wall with paneling. This ideal backdrop can house artwork or help out a dull wall that's in desperate need of some design magic.
06 of 20
Nile Johnson
For a lively rhythm, dot your room with subtle touches of brown, a trick guaranteed to make any living space feel pristine. Whether you bring this hue in through artwork, lamp shades, or oil-rubbed bronze metaled accents is up to you!
07 of 20
Becca Interiors
If your space lacks texture (a crucial design element), converting your fireplace to stone is an easy way to make your living space visually stunning. Plus, stone fireplaces will forever maintain their inviting appeal and provide a cozy atmosphere.
08 of 20
Bespoke Only
To add an intimate look to your living space, forget the floor and add wood paneling to your 5th wall—the ceiling. This concept is typically best reserved for taller spaces (with high ceilings) prone to receiving plenty of light. However, to offset the darkness a wooden ceiling may inject, keep your textiles and furniture pieces in cheery shades. Here, cream curtains help balance the dark paneling right above.
09 of 20
Bulgac / Getty Images
Decorating with brown in a living space can also mean going ultimately monochromatic. Bring different tints, tones, and shades of brown through your wallpaper, window curtains, built-ins, rugs, and furniture for a zen effect.
10 of 20
Monica Wilcox Design
Since there are so many tints and shades of brown, it’s easy to find a hue that works with your living room style. Here, this wallpaper motif flaunts a juxtaposition of two different browns, forming an elegant backdrop for pink accents to take the lead.
11 of 20
Will Brown Interiors
A brown upholstered sofa can easily create an earthy modern space that's also pet- and kid-friendly. And performance fabric or not, brown won’t show stains as easily as other colors. It's a reliable choice that will look good for years to come. Bonus points: brown sofas (especially leather ones) pair well with other patterns and colors.
12 of 20
House Sprucing
A wooden coffee table is a long-lasting staple and a functional piece that will forever hold its design appeal. Wooden coffee tables can also come in several shapes, sizes, and colors—ideal for any style goals—whether you’re going for a casual, unstuffy look or a traditional feel.
13 of 20
Desiree Burns Interiors
Rattan or seagrass baskets typically come in brown tones. The best part: these baskets are environmentally friendly. Rattan, for example, is one of the most available natural materials in the world. These baskets are also easy to maintain and flexible. Plus, their lidded iterations can keep clutter out-of-sign all while doubling as a piece of décor (or pineapple as shown here).
14 of 20
Decorilla
If you live in a warmer climate, pick a neutral brown tile for your flooring. And if you choose a porcelain tile, you'll definitely reap its benefits. Porcelain is typically slip-resistant and extremely strong, a great option for pet and kid-friendly spaces. If you’re not a fan of the traditional tile look, try wood plank tiles instead—tiles designed to look just like wood (but without the upkeep of natural wood).
15 of 20
Lindsey Brooke Design
Built-ins offer an attractive display space (and a great shelfie moment), becoming a timeless addition to any home. Plus, you can use built-ins to frame your fireplace and television all while adding storage to showcase your collectibles. Truly, built-ins offer an outstanding aesthetic that will spruce up any sized space.
16 of 20
Black and Blooms
Brown brick is a perfect way to add depth and warmth to your room. And when treated correctly, it can be super durable and great for high-traffic areas.
17 of 20
Ashley Montgomery Design
Curtains are a practical design addition that can also enhance the beauty of your home. Blackout curtains are specially designed to block out more light from entering your room (whether it's streetlights, car headlights, or sunlight). Here, these checkered light brown curtains add an earthy, soft touch to this living space.
18 of 20
Rikki Synder
Your big-ticket items like a cushy sofa and rug spearhead your space's design, but what brings a room together depends on the power of accessorizing. Enter: ceramic décor pieces. Ceramics look stylish, and have been around for centuries.
19 of 20
Brophy Interiors
If you still have carpet on your main floor, consider a hardwood swap. Hardwoods come in several shades of brown, and can truly warm up an otherwise cold, uninviting space. If hardwood isn't a practical option for your budget or lifestyle, try engineered hardwoods, luxury vinyl planks, laminate, or porcelain wood plank tiles for the same effect (but with two added bonuses: less money and maintenance).
20 of 20
Ferrer
Bringing in bold brown art is a beautiful way to recast a plain space. Larger pieces of art can also look more sophisticated and chic than grouping together smaller pieces if you have an extensive wall to fill.
20 Red Living Room Ideas That Will Never Go out of Style
Steal This Classic Brown and White Neutral Living Room Look
Call it mocha, putty, java, cocoa, earth, or weathered tan—the color brown, in all of its safe simplicity, is having a moment.
Vivian Johnson for Angela Grace
A clean, white backdrop with warm, neutral accents is a tried and true approach to a classic living room in a restored Victorian San Francisco apartment.
There’s a little irony woven into the idea that all young executives in ZIP codes affiliated with cutting-edge tech want to do in their down time is reconnect with nature—especially at home, even if they’re living in high-floor apartments and tiny bungalows without much, or any, outdoor space.
We’re seeing shades of brown creep back into interiors, replacing coastal grays and blues and busy eclectic trends with its subtle, sophisticated, assured sensibility that is too lovely to be boring.
“That’s all I’m hearing from my clients,” says Angela Scaletta of the Bay Area interiors firm, Angela Grace. “They want soothing, natural materials, and colors that are found in the natural world. It’s all neutrals.”
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Sure, maximalism is in for some, with its electric color and head-spinning prints. Bold art and and sculptural furniture with ’80s overtones is, too. But if you’re in a rental apartment, like the one pictured here near the Sea Cliff gates, investing in wallpaper and custom shades in bold pattern, or a detailed paint job, isn’t sensible. And if your brain is already feeling taunted by the constant barrage of information, coming home to even more stimulation isn’t ideal.
Angela Scaletta of Angela Grace Interiors created a sophisticated neutral living room in a client’s San Francisco rental using a restricted palette of white upholstery and brown accents.Vivian Johnson
When you see the tastefully appointed living room, above, it won’t come as a huge surprise to hear that Scaletta spent some time early in her career in the design department at Pottery Barn. There’s a quiet, understated aspect to her work that really plays in San Francisco, where apartments with white-washed crown molding and ornate Edwardian fireplaces are coveted rentals.
But a nod to the classic, minimal interiors of the ’90s also works in this Venice Beach bungalow designed by Christine Vroom, with a mix of warm brass accents (like this Kelly Wearstler-designed light fixture) and coppery throw pillows (see below).
Taupe linen curtains, coppery-growth throw pillows, a Loloi rug with brown and cream fibers, and natural leather accents make the earthy palette of this Christine Vroom-designed living and dining area in Venice come to life.Sara Tramp Photography
Classic brown accents can bridge the gap between traditional and modern, layering the warmth of natural leather, plant dyes, untreated wool, unglazed clay pottery, and rusted metal accents.
Here’s how to re-create a neutral, mellow palette with plenty of warmth and texture—on a budget.
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Start with a Simple Rug
This beige and creamy washable area rug from Ruggable is a solid imitation of a vintage Moroccan style, for a lot less.
Marrakesh Beige Ivory Rug, $89-$619
Add a Natural Leather Chair
A vintage leather safari chair will set you back a pretty penny. But this Oslo mid-century inspired chair, available at Home Threads, is a deal for under $500.
Oslo Mid Century Arm Chair, $472
And a Coppery-Brown Throw Pillow with Soft Texture
A velvet pillow adds softness, texture, and warm color to an all-white sofa.
Velvet Throw Pillow, $14.99
Mix in Terracotta Accents
A candle holder from Anthropologie adds a subtle, sculptural element.
Moroccan Ring Taper Candle Holder, $46
And Finish with Vintage (or Vintage-Inspired) Art in Sepia Tones
Don’t have family heirloom art to hang on the wall? Or time to find someone else’s discarded inheritance at an estate sale? Brush Wiz offers hand-painted replicas of classic oil paintings, from landscapes and Fauvist masterpieces to proper portraits, for under $300.
Infanta Isabella, The Ruler Of The Netherlands, $259 and up
Splurge on a Pop of Pattern
A hit of modern print keeps the room rooted in the present tense.
Leah Singh Marianne Pillow Cover - Rectangle, $178
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Living room in brown tones 50 photo examples - Portal about construction, renovation and design
3.2 Brown - green
Peace of mind, peace of mind! These words perfectly reflect the concept that interiors decorated with brown color carry. Noble natural shades give housing thoroughness and measuredness. It seems that even time among such walls flows slowly and serenely. Are you interested? Let's then pay attention to the design of the living room in brown tones.
Modern living room design in brown
Combination of brown and cream colors in the interior of the living room
Brown color for interior decoration
Bark, cinnamon, brown… One vocabulary line. Feeling of naturalness, naturalness and closeness to all living things. It is considered a natural color, including shades of earth and fallen autumn leaves. According to its effect on a person, it belongs to neutral shades that pacify and soothe, give a feeling of comfort and security.
Living rooms in brown tones are preferred by melancholy, privacy-loving and nostalgic people. In such an interior it will be convenient to relax in the evening after a hard day from the hustle and bustle of city life. Those whose work is associated with noise and bright visual effects will feel especially calm here.
Brown shades are soothing
Small living room in brown tones
Brown shades in the interior of the living room bring a sense of stability and stability. Thinking about various important issues in such a room, decisions are made balanced and deliberate. Rest among such walls is calm and serene.
Remember! Emerald, turquoise, orange, blue accessories will add brightness and dynamism to the brown living room. Sometimes a few pillows on the sofa or vases with paintings are enough to make the room sparkle with freshness.
Brown color often appears in incredible shades, different, unlike each other. By choosing the right color for the living room, they can correct shortcomings, for example, visually stretch the room or expand it. Light shades will be able to visually increase the height of the room and increase it in depth.
Spacious modern living room with brown elements
Brown furniture in a modern living room design
They will also help to recreate the right mood. For a cold and gloomy room with north-facing windows, you can choose light brown with a yellowish tint. Brown with red or red nuances will give the room cheerfulness and optimism. And shades of chocolate brown will turn the most ordinary living room into a luxurious hall with a cover of mystery.
These colors are not contraindicated even for small spaces. You need to follow the rule, the smaller the room, the more light surfaces you need to match the main tone, and make more bright accents.
Combination of brown and blue colors in the interior of the living room
Brown color with green color in the interior of the living room
Orange color in combination with brown color in the interior of the living room
Shades of brown shades everyone will find the one that he personally likes. Because brown options are chocolate, cocoa or coffee, shades of wood and cinnamon. All of them are well suited for decorating a living room in various styles.
- Chocolate or coffee color goes well with ivory. In a pair, both white and milky are suitable for it, thanks to which the interior can turn out to be solemn and stylish;
- Cocoa, coffee with milk and all bleached colors successfully fit into the interior in collaboration with light shades. Even a pink or peach stripe of wallpaper will add romance and sensuality to a brown living room;
- Cinnamon is combined with milky color, creating an atmosphere of comfort and coziness. And when combined with yellow or red, it adds passion and energy to the interior;
- The color of wood, combined with other natural shades, charges the atmosphere with positive energy. Such an interior becomes calm and organic.
The most popular combinations
Brown color with its noble character wonderfully sets off many colors. Blue, yellow and green are perfectly combined with it. The most successful combinations are obtained from classical unions.
Brown - white or beige
This interior has an elegant look, the contrast gives it solemnity and harmony. The classic design involves walls in two colors: brown and white or beige. Such a technique is also popular when not the entire wall is made in a contrasting color, but part of it, for example, a niche behind the TV.
Large objects look good in contrast, for example, a beige carpet on a brown floor or vice versa. In modern furniture designs, this can be a sofa of a simple, concise shape, made in one color, and a lot of pillows in the second leading shade. For such a living room interior, coffee tables made of wood are selected in the usual rectangular shape without unnecessary elements.
Brown-Green
Also a traditional combination. For it, green is used in a grassy, marsh shade, avoiding bright, flashy accents. In this version, classic living rooms are often performed, measured and a little heavy.
Upholstered furniture is selected with rounded parts. Well, if it is made of brown leather. In such an interior, the presence of natural wood in warm shades is mandatory. And it can be a cabinet wall made in the style of an English living room, a dining group from the same collection.
The walls are green and the ceiling can be finished with wooden beams. If the design of the living room is done in lighter colors, copper, olive, then dark brown furniture is selected.
Brown-blue
Bold and bright solution. In such an interior, the main emphasis is on contrast. If the walls are finished with wallpaper of the main color (it can be partners with a large print and plain), then sofas in blue will look interesting. With the opposite option and heavenly walls, they acquire a brown sofa, complementing it with blue pillows. In such an interior, textiles with contrasting patterns will be appropriate.
Blue may have shades. For a modern living room, a rich dark color would be appropriate, and light colors are more suitable for the classics. Brown with turquoise and gold trim is the perfect option for lovers of everything elegant and stylish.
Brown-yellow
Such an interior will be truly cozy and homely. Yellow furniture and various accessories will bring the energy of warmth and tranquility. Interiors are considered classic, where all shades of golden, orange, brick, orange are found.
Selecting furniture for the brown living room
Since the name of the color means bark, it is clear that the main material for making furniture in the living room is wood. Such items always look stylish and noble. Furniture with chocolate or whitewashed facades looks spectacular. More popular shades of cinnamon and light brown, matching the texture with natural wood.
One of the most popular items in the living room is the sofa, often made in brown leather or textile. This is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also practical, as stains are less noticeable on such upholstery, and it is easy to care for it. If there are children in the family, then instead of leather upholstery, you can buy furniture with modern materials that are softer and warmer to the touch, but very easy to clean. You can balance the brown color of the sofa with heavy curtains of the same shade. And as a highlight, add transparent curtains of a green or blue hue to them.
For a small living room, you can purchase a small sofa, and if the area allows it, it can be modular furniture complete with white or beige armchairs. A pouffe is also purchased for such a set, and not necessarily from the material from which the main furniture is made. With its light shade, it will help to dilute the deep shade; sofa cushions or a blanket also get to match it.
Unless the owners want to recreate the spirit of old England with a dark interior in their home, then cabinet furniture is matched to the dark walls: a wall, a rack, a chest of drawers - in light brown colors. It can be shades of chocolate, cappuccino, cocoa, bark of trees of various species, stained wood. They will bring warmth and comfort to the living room.
The role of accessories
Accessories can enliven any laconic interior, give it comfort and warmth. There are many possibilities for a brown living room, as a few stylish touches will add brightness and charm to the room. It all depends on the imagination of the inhabitants of the housing and their desires.
- Bright pictures or family photos will enliven the brown walls. The frames for them are selected in the style of the interior, for example, elegant wooden ones for classics, and simple aluminum ones for high-tech or minimalist style;
- Bright cushions or a blanket can be beautifully arranged on a brown sofa or armchairs. Moreover, according to the texture, the material can be any, fabrics with prints will also look good;
- The contrasting carpet next to the sofa will also attract attention. For example, a natural skin or a carpet with its imitation will fit well into a loft style with brown brick walls;
Very important! Try to maintain a sense of proportion so as not to oversaturate such an interior with natural drawings. It is necessary to strictly dose the number of leopard or tiger patterns so that they do not turn into a banal kitsch.
- Home flowers will also fit well into the interior. They will become not only a living decoration of the living room, but will also be in perfect harmony with solid wood furniture. Place flowers on the floor and window sills;
- An original chandelier and wall lamps made of crystal or glass will add sophistication and brilliance to the living room. Large mirrors in the interior will help to visually push the walls apart;
- Living room in brown tones can be implemented in many styles, not only classic but also modern. With the correct supply of the main and contrasting colors, such a room looks respectable and noble, there is no place for fuss. If you like a quiet family life, calm home evenings, then this living room design is perfect for you.
Tips for the right design
- If the living room is going to have a lot of brown surfaces, then you need to use materials with different textures and patterns. The same performance with the same type of textures threatens that the room will be faceless and blurry. Brown color makes it possible to combine materials such as wood, stone, leather, brick, skins, mats and others;
- This color is perfect for luxurious interiors, it looks soft and elegant with gold, glass, fur, in harmony with expensive fabrics and crystal. In the old days, estates and rich houses were often decorated in this shade. Therefore, today the brown color also characterizes the desire for high cost and excesses, not allowing the premises to look tasteless and pretentious;
- It is not recommended to combine brown with gray. Combinations with black and purple will also be unsuccessful.
Brown living room - 85 photos of brown interior design ideas Halls made in brown colors are in demand, they are embodied in different style solutions: rococo, empire, modern.
Perhaps the only disadvantage of brown is its ability to "weight" the space and thicken the atmosphere.
It has many tones: the color of bitter chocolate, oak, a shade with orange splashes. Brown color in the living room provides a feeling of comfort and reliability.
What colors to combine with
It is wrong to fill the whole space with brown, not allowing another shade to play in tandem with it. Let only the furniture upholstery, the floor and maybe the color of the walls be brown - everything else should be either light or bright!
Photos of a brown living room show that most often designers combine the main color of the finish with a light shade. There are two tones of white: milky (cream) and snow-white. The first goes well with brown, the second does not.
White is the most easily soiled color, for a living room visited by many people, it is unlikely to be universal. You can replace it with a cherry, emerald or peach shade.
Brown - the color is quite dark, it needs to be "diluted". It is important that the light color is in harmony with the wood and the floor.
The living room does not always function as a relaxation room. If the owners are going to put a desktop into it and turn it into an office, it is best to add a green tint to the strict brown.
Living-bedroom can be framed in brown combined with red or turquoise. If the living room serves as a dining room, it is appropriate to give the room liveliness and dilute it with yellow accents.
Let the furniture be brown, and the lamp above it and the dishes yellow. Green will help create a feeling of closeness to nature. It is enough to install a couple of prominent plants in the living room and decorate the sofa with bright pillows.
Rust color is not always appropriate in the interior. However, upholstered furniture of a “rusty” color looks advantageous against the background of light wallpapers.
Properly placed color priorities make a brown living room a cozy place.
Tips
A brown living room is involuntarily associated with sweets. This feature can be skillfully used: let there be a couple of coffee gulls on the table in the hall or sweets.
Designers do not recommend hanging suspended ceilings or installing mirrors in a brown living room. The best option is to make the ceiling matte, creating a contrast. Brown curtains in the living room, combined with peach-colored walls, can expand the space a bit.
There is little light in such a living room, so you should not aggravate the situation by installing stained glass windows. Ordinary plastic with laminated frames will do. The doors selected for them look noble. You should beware of chrome lamps, unnatural, too yellow light.
Brown has the property of bringing objects closer together. You should beware of its shades in small and narrow spaces.
The most classic version of the design of the brown living room: light walls, expensive parquet flooring, plain upholstered furniture with a restrained design.