I think your room looks really lovely but I do feel your pain with a north facing living room. It has taken me a long time to love mine, but now I do. Like you I thought a light colour and feature wall would magically make it light, but it just looked dull. What does seem to work is a strong mid-tone colour with a lot of warmth, which cuts through the dull light. I chose a warm sage green (ie one with a yellow rather than blue undertone) but there are definitely other colours that would work well too. I found that all my art stood out against the stronger colour and of course there is no sunlight to ruin it, so I simply put more up.

I think a similar sage green would work with your furniture - my desk tops are a similar tone. You have a number of doors so limited furniture placement choices, but if you can create some space around the window and pull the curtains back further (a longer curtain rail?) it will let in whatever light there is. Moving the coffee table to open up the space and let the light bounce against the pale carpet may help too.

I’m in agreement t with Kate. I think you’re fighting against the furniture & the light rather than embracing it.
I’ve done something similar with a dark living room but am planning to change it to embrace a comfortable brown leather sofa & oak furniture.
I feel that yours walls are too light & the feature colour on the fireplace jars because it hasn’t been followed through with that colour anywhere else.
The idea of a sage green is good or a “plaster pink” or beigy pink could be nice too. You don’t necessarily need a feature wall. Would you consider changing the tv stand to something that matches the rest of the furniture?

I have a north-east facing living room and painted it all in a grey-green (Cromarty) and I just love it. It shouldn’t work but it does. If that doesn’t appeal then maybe a soft dirty pink like Calamine or Setting Plaster would. Here’s a picture.

I'm in agreement with the others comments above but the thing is you have to work with the carpets which may (it's hard to be sure) have a pinkish tinge? If thats the case then green could clash if the walls are a pale green. Rooms that are North facing can have a strange effect on colours and creams can shift and look a bit dirty if that makes sense. I would ditch the feature wall as it just stands out and if anything makes the other walls look even weaker. Often the advice is if the room is dark then go with it and 'embrace' the darkness. This is something repeated constantly but not really useful because you may not want to sit in a cave during the day and a very dark room will feel like that (beautiful in the evening though). A mid value colour with some oomph can help as it breaks through the fog so to speak.

Certainly a blue such as a Wedgewood blue would complement the sofa colours and the furniture, it could be on the walls, or you could find a more suitable neutral and eccentuate soem blues in the room.

Can you tell us what the colour currently on the walls is as that may help to redirect to something that you prefer?

I finally managed to banish the gloom in my north facing living room when I painted the main wall India Yellow. It felt very brave at the time but I love it. Yours is a lovely room but I think a lighter/glass coffee table would lift it.

Just to add, I did what Sonia has done by only painting green to the picture rail, then white above and one the ceiling. I think it gives a lightness high up while getting the oomph (love that word!) from the stronger colour.

thank you for all the comments the walls are currently painted a copy of Farrow n Ball slipper satin and chimney Vardo . the carpet is a barley colour with tiny black specks in it

thank you for all the comments the walls are currently painted a copy of Farrow n Ball slipper satin and chimney Vardo . the carpet is a barley colour with tiny black specks in it

I keep coming back to blue simply because of your sofas and the carpet. I love a dirty pink but I'm not convinced the sofa would work with it. Lots of colours that are quite 'subdued' will still look quite colourful on the wall so go easy on how bright they are. What is your sensitivity to cool or warm colours? I ask this because I love the look of cool colours (like Sonia's Cromarty living room) but I just can't live with them. I'm pretty certain I have SAD and so I find cool colours really affect me, I gravitate towards warm colours naturally. Slipper Satin is a great colour in a light room (I have it in my hall) but I think it lacks the guts to work in a darker space.

An ochre or a blue would be my starting point. I would start thinking about test pots and paint them onto large pieces of paper, not onto the walls. This colour is 'Burnt Verdigris' by Fired Earth (lovely paints) from an article about a designer wanting to bring warmth into a lacklustre room.

The room seems nice space but perhaps a little unfinished to me.
Once you have chosen alternative colour if you decide to do so, I would suggest adding a couple of large plants.
(Maybe also add couple of throws to soften look of sofas).

Personally I think this really helps in making a room more comfortable to be in and plants particularly seem to brighten up a room and add visual warmth.

My parents have very similar furniture and recently decorated. Once they took out cushions and plants etc in preparation, the room felt much colder looking with the plain dark furniture.
I am wondering if this is why you have never been fully happy with it, as there is nothing to “soften” the room.

Thanks again For you comments: I do have a very large ’rubber plant’ which i have not brought back since xmas but will bring back in . Colourhappy - thank you for you help - Am not keen on blue as it was blue before this disasterous make over but it always lacked warmth and looked drab and cold. i am tepted to try a few a sage green match pots to see if they would look ok with the carpet as that would also match curtains . would you do the whole fireplace wall , just alcoves or all the room.? or would you scrap curtains , cushions n go for a totally new colour I am not bothered about changing them as i can make them myself - its the suite that is the major expense i would rather not spend .

I would definitely paint all the walls. @Juliet Docherty's advice with big sample sheets is great. You can move them around the room and see them in different lights.

As you say the sage green looks like it would work with the curtains. The orche would be another good choice for a warm and tranquil room. On the other hand, India Yellow would be invigorating and bright. It depends on the effect you are after. Fabulous to have the skills to knock up new cushion covers as you will probably want to go for a lighter coloured pattern that ties in with the wall colour you end up going with.

Green sounds good idea.

A colour I really like is green ground 206 Farrow and Ball. I think it’s is a really nice colour, which looks great against white skirting and I think would also compliment your brown furniture.

My living room is naturally dark too (east/west facing). It had white walls which looked cold and grubby. I repainted the walls F&B Skimming Stone and it seems to work, also brown sofas with teal/natural cushions and rug suit the room. You can‘t see in the photo but there’s some artwork with bright colours which lifts it, as the rest of room is quite muted.

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Gorgeous room

I also struggled with our north facing sitting room . I’m not a fan of dark walls so tried a variety of neutrals . It all finally came together when I hung two large , very colourful canvasses , by a local artist ( Penny Rees ) . The room now looks permanently bathed in sunlight.
For the wall colour I settled on Dulux taupe no. 4 , it subtly changes tone depending on the weather , but always looks good . Wish you luck in finding your solution.

I notice you have a set of double doors what is behind them could they be removed to let light in? If not what about changing to glass doors

Ther is another small lounge / music room down three steps in similar colours but it is very cold in there despite radiators etc so we always keep the doors closed as the room is too cold

I have a really dark hallway and have painted it Little Greene Jewel Beetle, it's a mid to darkish green but somehow also bright and would go beautifully with your gold mirror and brown sofa. I also agree some softening like a big cream fluffy throw over part of the sofa or a cream rug. Would you consider painting the coffee table? It could do with being lighter or brighter. Also, lots of lamps would soften the space, you can get shades in all colours that have a gold lining and are very warming. I think if you go for rich warm colours it will be lovely.

I'm loving this discussion as I also have a north facing fairly gloomy front room. I've tried several remedies over the years and found peachy shades work best for me as pink tones are hard to do, they go from baby pink to strident in a blink! Peachy would tone with the leather suite. I have glass doors to capture light from the hall which is also N facing but it helps. Is there room to put the TV on the coffee table instead of its stand? You'd then get more light reflected from the carpet, I know carpet isn't reflective! A big mirror behind the small sofa to bounce any light from the window? Hope you find a solution - do let us know how it goes.

I have the same north facing issues, same carpet and same furniture as you! This is what I have done and I love the sage green - cosy at night and fresh during the day with the black giving a bit of drama. Green is F&B Cromarty.

For the room too heavy dark furniture, and you told that already. It is too heavy. My advice remove all and look around , start with a hanging bigger TV on the wall instead the mirror, mirror move to the left wall by the door( if you looking straight to the fireplace) Now keep going, do what just you like , I would get lighter and not too heavy furniture. Maybe fireplace would be better in some subdued color like one from your curtains. That expands area. Here from my latest project . For the inspiration. Brighter colors brightens the room . Good luck, looking forward to see your success.

Sitting Area · More Info

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I would look at darker, cosy colours. Two of my favourites are ‘Goblin’ by Little Greene Paint Company - a lovely deep green. I painted our very dark snug in Goblin and it has transformed it. It looks great in daylight and at night, and the white skirtings and doors look really crisp against it. I will post a photo shortly. You’ll need some pops of colour with it - we have a yellow velvet sofa which looks great but it will also look great with your leather sofas, just add some colourful cushions and perhaps a rug.

The other colour that I love is Farrow and Balls ‘Green Smoke’ - a classy, sultry green which would also work well with your furniture. Either way I’d paint all the walls to get the full effect, just doing a feature wall will not give enough warmth.

Green Smoke images below. I will add Goblin shortly.

I love sage green, I think it's a good in the middle colour.

Here are the photos I mentioned in my earlier post, my snug/office painted in Goblin by Little Greene Paint Company.

As you have little light my recommendation to help feel warmer and cosier is Teal which works well with dark furniture and you could add pops of colour with orange, gold, ochre accents to make it feel warmer.

I have added some images below, the wall colour is Byzantine in Autentico Paint.