I am in the process of picking out paint colors for my living room. I have Taupe carpets. Can anyone suggest wall colors that will not clash or colors I need to stay away from? I would like to stick with light colors. I am not conceren with match furniture at this point. Thanks!

 

what goes with taupe? the question is, what DOESN'T?!?!

don't you have ANYTHING you need to work with? asking a broad question like that will get you answers ranging from black to white & everything in between.

what's the woodwork? painted or stained? if it's stained, take your cues from that. wall color needs to accentuate any wood tones.

taupe is a neutral - most anything will work. i'd go lighter or darker for interest. matching it exactly would be almost impossible and/or boring. if it's on the grayer side of tan, then you might avoid a yellowy tan color. stay more toward an off white that doesn't have a yellow cast to it. but as far as actual colors go, your choice is as endless as the rainbow.

 

Thank you for your quick reply. I am not currently in this house yet but settle and move in next month. I am starting with a very blank pallet. The house is 30 years old but has all white walls and this Taupe carpet. The dining room is connected to the living room and we will be installing a butterscotch color hard wood. Our wood furniture is cherry. I chose the butterscotch to contrast the cherry dinning room set and the cherry living room furniture. I am now wondering if the butterscotch hardwood will look to "yellowy" or if I should have gone with a "gunstock" or darker color hardwood.....
as for your thoughts on wall color- thank you! I didn't realize taupe was so versatile! Not being in the house yet has left much to my imagination.

 

butterscotch? hmm..... hard to say without seeing it, but i'll admit - i'm slightly worried. i wouldn't want an orangey or yellowy floor with reddish cherry furniture. i'd go with something more reddish brown, but lighter or darker than your furniture (probably lighter). especially with taupe carpet nearby. taupe is grayish, and sometimes has a lavendar cast to it. yellows & oranges would be hideous with it. but if it's really more beige, you'd be okay. all very hard to say from here!!!

also, picking a wall color now - with nothing for it to go with - will make your choices for everything else so much harder. i know it's tempting to paint now before you get furniture & a bunch of stuff in there, but how on earth can you choose a wall color from an unlimited number of colors when you don't have any upholstery or draperies or anything yet? i would wait to paint til you get in there & start filling it with stuff. finding sofas & drapes & rugs, etc is hard enough without having to match them to a randomly picked wall color. it's much easier to find one piece first, like your sofa, then choose chairs to go with it, then drapes, then paint. this method works better & then you can decorate room by room, which makes the whole process less overwhelming than trying to pick paint for the whole house right off the bat. take it one room at a time and build outward from whatever your source of inspiration is.

have fun & congrats on the new house!

 

My sister and brother-in-law wanted desperately to paint their entire home before moving into it. At least then things would be 'fresh' and they wouldn't feel an urgency to decorate rooms ASAP in a more personalized style.

So, we painted the entire house in White Dove. It's a softer white, goes with everything, and is a very pretty color (not a harsh white).

So, it's not what I'd personally opt to do (I like color too much!) or prefer to do, but I do think it's a decent option.

 

thanks you both for your advice- it has truly been a HUGE help to me! I did go and take another look at my hardwood options and found a red oak with a gunstock stain by Bruce. It looks like it may compliment the cherry better and not clash with the Taupe carpet. As for the carpet- I got a sample of it and still love it! It is pretty light in color but depending on the time of day and lighting it looks grayer or browner. As for the walls- I do think I will hold off. They are currently white and I will be content that they aren't wallpapered with something terrible!