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What are the Pros and Cons of a Purple Living Room?

G. Wiesen
G. Wiesen

As a striking visual detail within a home, a purple living room can add a great deal of personality and color to a house, but there are also some potential pitfalls created by such dramatic color. The use of a color like purple in a living room can make a room very warm and inviting, and furniture selection can often be a bit more creative to compliment the choice of color. A purple living room can also have some downsides, however, as purple walls can make selling a home more difficult and the wrong shade of purple can be visually unappealing.

While a purple living room may be a bold choice for most homeowners, it is certainly a viable option and when accompanied by the proper furniture and other features can be quite beautiful. It is also a very bold choice, however, and if not done properly it could reduce the value of a home unless changed and may simply be unappealing without proper execution. The color scheme of a room can be very important and many homeowners may want to consult with a professional interior designer before creating a purple living room.

Woman holding a book
Woman holding a book

One of the great features of a purple living room is the wide range of color options included within “purple.” While most colors have various shades that can be chosen within the range of the color, purple also benefits from have both different values of light and dark, and tonal ranges between blue and red. Lighter and bluer shades of purple can be fairly cool in nature and create a living room that is pleasant to be within and feels very relaxing.

Warmer shades of purple, such as those that are darker or seem redder, can be quite inviting and may feel more comfortable in cold climates. Gold highlights or focal points are often chosen to pair with a purple living room, but many other colors and especially black and white can accompany purple beautifully. The wide range of shades of purple can also be a negative, however, and too many options may ultimately lead to a bizarre rainbow of purples that never quite come together visually.

A purple living room with too many different shades of purples, from puce and eggplant to lilac and lavender, can lose all direction and become a visual jumble of tones. Too much of any color can become very overwhelming and a room full of too much purple can become off-putting and no longer feel inviting. From a purely commercial perspective, a purple living room can also be a turnoff to potential home buyers and someone may face difficulty selling a home with such a living room.

Discussion Comments

Rundocuri

I think that dark purple walls, tan carpet, and natural wood pieces make a nice look for a contemporary living room. However, it is important to keep in mind that painting your walls this color can be tricky, because the previous color often shows through. Plan on doing at least two coats if you choose to paint your living room dark purple.

Heavanet

@talentryto- I think that you have a good point for the most part, but I also think that some shades of purple look nice in a living room.

Lavenders, pale purples, and lilacs are pretty but remind me of a young girl's bedroom. However, I think that a dark purple living room would be cozy, especially when mixed with attractive, contrasting furniture. For example, purple walls and a taupe living room set would look modern and rich.

Talentryto

I have never even seen a purple living room, but I don't think that this type of decor would work for most people's houses. Unless you are very artistic or plan to have contemporary decor in your room, you should probably rethink this color.

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