Picking Paint… Help?

Ever since I got home from PEI, I’ve been feeling really… inspired.

My mother in law is an incredible decorator. While our styles are different, I love the way she has completely transformed her home. What I love most is that she uses her space so efficiently. She has antique pieces everywhere, and everything  just… fits. It all blends together to create a beautiful living space.

While I was out there admiring her home, I made a big decision I’ve been hemming and hawing about for some time: it’s time to paint my living room.

The Hubster and I really haven’t done much painting in our home since we moved in. There were so many other pressing projects that needed time and attention and we decided to push painting to the back burner. We’ve tackled one bathroom and our front hallway, but that’s it. Everything else was in okay shape, so we knew it could wait.

But after spending a week in my mother in law’s bright and airy home, I knew I wanted to brighten my own.

When we moved in, the living room was painted a mauvey – brown colour that I actually really like… but it’s very dark. Paired with all my dark furniture, it’s a darker room than I’d like it to be. (You can click to enlarge)

This is really the first room you see when you enter my home. It’s completely rearranged differently now, but you can see the colour.

I’ve also added mustard-y gold curtains overtop of the sheers.

Last winter, we painted the front hallway that connects into these rooms. We went with a “greige” colour–a blend of grey and beige that I quite like. It now looks so bright and welcoming that I would love my living room to match it somewhat.

If you look closely, you can see the living room behind in the mirror and see the difference.

So, here is my dilemma. I am terrible at picking paint colours. My furniture is all dark, and the accents in the room are a mixture of reds, mustards and grey. My instincts tell me that it shouldn’t be exactly the same colour as the entranceway, as you can see it from the room.

So, any thoughts? What colours do you think would look good in this room??