Fixer Upper's Joanna Gaines Reveals The Perfect Paint Shade For A Funky Living Room
Your living room is much more than a place to hang out on the couch and watch television. As its namesake implies, it's the space where life happens. It is a place for gathering with loved ones and guests, enjoying lazy afternoons and long evenings together, and making lifelong memories. A thoughtfully designed living room creates a space for you to do so while showcasing your style. Selecting a living room paint color is arguably the linchpin of your design scheme. This choice determines what other colors, textures, and styles you'll utilize for furniture, lighting, art, and decor. Many homeowners want to strike the perfect balance between trendy and timeless.
One designer who has perfected this balance is Joanna Gaines — one-half of the husband-and-wife duo behind HGTV's hit series "Fixer Upper." Known for her modern take on traditional and farmhouse homes, she isn't afraid to think and design outside the box to create showstopping homes. In Season 3, Episode 16 of "Fixer Upper," Gaines debuted the perfect living room color for folks craving a funky living room that's still timeless — an unexpected mossy sage green. "We painted all the main living spaces this unexpected green color," Gaines said, describing the choice via her blog. "I chose this green because I wanted it to be a happy, inspiring space." Below we break down why an earthy green color is the ideal shade for your living room and tips on bringing the color to life through your interior design.
Out with neutrals, in with earthy greens
While it's true that neutral colors create a relaxing home, many designers are moving away from all-white color schemes and minimalist designs in favor of something with a bit more balance, personality, and creativity. No longer are homeowners searching for minimalist and uniform designs. Now, the trend is toward a happy balance between minimalism and maximalism that shows off their unique style.
If that isn't enough to sway you toward going green, designers are naming nourishing greens and nature tones more and more in interior design. This means it's the perfect time to embrace a color like Joanna Gaines' earthy green, which provides just enough funky flair while remaining timeless so you won't get bored with the shade after a few short years. A soft, earthy green with a muted tone, it's bright yet subtle. Invoking the warmth of nature, this green creates an inviting feeling and is balanced enough to work alongside various shades.
Describing the happy effect fun green walls create, Gaines said on Fixer Upper, "We're having fun with the colors and with the overall design...We've got this fun green on the walls..." Adding, "This is really a happy place and that's what I wanted." And, the science behind Gaines' choice backs her sentiments. Within color psychology, the color green has been shown to positively affect thinking, relationships, and physical stress and is associated with calm, nature, health, and optimism.
Designing a living room with Gaines' fun and funky green
Joanna Gaines doesn't share the exact brand and paint color used for this living room in the "Fixer Upper" episode, or on her blog, but, thankfully, with the help of online color match tools, you can mix a strikingly similar shade and steal Gaines' living room style. Valspar's Grassy Cliff is one such color match, and most other paint brands can help you snag this shade. And, if you're wondering about design ideas and styles that pair well with a green living room, there's no shortage.
You can take a page out of Gaines' book and use green as a backdrop to invoke more of nature's calming, natural, restorative feeling by bringing in natural wood textures including hardwood floors, shiplap ceilings, doors, wooden tables, and rattan blinds. Since this color is earthy and relaxing, mimicking the shades of nature, earthy tones, and textures will pair perfectly with your green walls, but shiny golds will work better for art-deco emerald tones, and bright colors, contrasts, and patterns are better suited for brighter lime greens.
On "Fixer Upper," Gaines demonstrated that this wall color isn't just for pairing with neutrals, but it also pairs well with unique architectural pieces, furniture, and decor for an eclectic feel. To avoid a busy look, she offset these elements with neutrals for a balanced vibe. However, this color is also versatile enough for use in modern designs including Scandinavian or mid-century-modern, and traditional turn-of-the-century homes.