Red Sitting Room

If you want to be bold and bring drama and impact to your living room, red is a surefire way to do it. Red is a wonderfully warming colour that can make a room feel refined, cosy, elegant or dramatic depending on how you style it. Its shades range from rich earthy tones with hints of terracotta and rust, to bright pillar-box red, floral poppy red, or deep reds like maroon and crimson.

You can colour drench your sitting room in an enveloping deep red, or simply add red accents to lift a more neutral scheme, and there's a wealth of ideas online for using red, a lot or a little. Here, Mylands shares some expert tips and ideas to consider.

Red living room design tips

Before settling on a shade, weigh up a handful of factors. How do you use your living room? It could be your formal entertaining space, an intimate cinema and TV room, or the place for quality family time, perhaps a multi-purpose space flowing into a dining or work area. How light is it? Consider the room's aspect and how much natural light it attracts, plus wall and ceiling lights and additional lamps; colours look different in different light, so test them to see how they interact with the natural light through the day.

Do you have focal points? Perhaps characterful period features you'd like to accentuate, an ornate fireplace, elaborate ceiling rose or coving, or a striking piece of furniture or artwork you want centre stage, since red is a great way to draw attention to a key focal point. What furniture will you include? The colour of your furniture and textiles, curtains, cushions and rugs, will affect the red you choose, as everything needs to work in harmony, and there may be a red within a fabric you can pick out and echo on the walls.

How do you want to feel? An important consideration: cosy, relaxed and inviting, sleek and stylish, or full of personality with a sense of drama, all possible with a well-considered red room.

Choose your perfect shade of red

With those considerations in mind, start looking for the right red; ordering Mylands colour cards or tester pots to try the colour in situ can help.

Earthy red

Natural, earthy reds give a more relaxed, organic atmosphere than bright, vibrant ones, letting you create a space to unwind, comforting and grounding shades that exude warmth and make guests feel welcome. Look for warm reds with brown undertones, natural shades like terracotta, rust and cinnamon, which pair well with wood, wicker, jute and brick; embrace this natural styling and add plenty of plants to bring an earthy red wall to life. Mylands Dulwich Red is a warm shade with terracotta hints, originally made for Dulwich Picture Gallery as a backdrop to tell the story of its art, and you could do the same to showcase your own.

Deep red

Deep red is intertwined with history, a much-loved shade of the Victorian age, which makes it particularly suited to period homes and a traditional style; use it to draw the eye toward characterful features like panelling or an elegant fireplace. Despite its formal nature, offset it with soft styling, tactile fabrics like velvet, chunky knits or subtle embroidery on cushions, throws and furniture.

Gold is a wonderful contrast to deep red, lifting the room and adding opulence and light, a regal combination that gives a sitting room grandeur. It's also worth considering colour flow between rooms: a bright, inviting yellow-gold hallway makes the ideal transitional space leading into an elegant deep red living room.

Dark red

To make your living room a welcoming retreat, use a deep, dark red; colour drenching the whole room creates a cocoon that envelops you in warmth and comfort, and dark red works well in rooms that lack natural light, so instead of trying to brighten with white, embrace the darkness and play to its strengths. If you don't want to drench the whole room, create a similar effect in a small section, an intimate reading nook in a corner or alcove, defined with dark red, a comfortable armchair and warm, tactile throws, the perfect place to curl up with a book.

Retro red

A playful red with orange and/or brown undertones gives off retro vibes, particularly good for mid-century styling; combine it with muted, earthy tones like mustard, teal or orange, extending the look to furniture with warm woods like teak and walnut on cabinets, coffee tables and chair frames.

Also typical of this style, bold prints are a great way to introduce red without committing to a whole red wall or room, using your retro shade as a base to layer playful prints, whether on furniture fabric or a plain red wall. It's an upbeat, cheerful style with a sense of fun that doesn't take itself too seriously, great qualities for a welcoming, social space.

Bright red

Add an impactful pop of vibrant colour with a bright red, best used as an accent, on a feature wall, furniture or accessories like cushions, rugs, lamps and artwork. Bright red can add a dash of colour to an otherwise minimalist black-and-white living room, sleek styling that works for an art deco look or a modern room, and pairing bold red accents with crisp white makes a striking, impactful aesthetic.

Mylands FTT-009 bright red is ideal for striking accents and graphic elements, so you could create impactful geometric art deco shapes or draw the eye to a focal point like a sleek fireplace or window frame. But if it's drama you want, look no further than Mylands Theatreland™ No.282, the ultimate showstopper.

Floral red

If you like a natural aesthetic but earthy isn't quite your tone, explore floral reds; poppies, dahlias, tulips, peonies and, of course, roses all burst into glorious red blooms, so add some of those spring and summer hues. Mylands Blomster JB.01 is a rich poppy red, inspired by Scandinavian landscapes and designed with British landscaper Jinny Blom, perfect for this kind of design.

Instead of a red accent wall, you might prefer wallpaper with red elements, floral or graphic, then pick out that red detail elsewhere, on window frames, cabinetry or shelving. Go bold with maximalist styling, eccentric floral wallpaper bordered by complementary red woodwork, or opt for a less intense patterned wallpaper balanced by a neutral paint colour like stone, taupe or beige with red accent textiles.