Well here it is, I’m happy to show off my new and improved dark teal living room. It all started at the beginning of the new year when I decided the living room needed a new look. I moved everything out and rearranged furniture bringing in a few new items like the ottomans from other parts of the house. It made such a difference!

I love the new layout, it’s about 1000 million times better than the old way, and I can’t believe I didn’t think to move the furniture around sooner. The space seems twice as big now, mainly because the view from the couch isn’t pointed in the direction of the entry way but into the dining room. The couch is also set farther back from the tv which is tucked away in the corner. Having the distance between the sofa, tv and the dining room makes everything seem so much less compact and condensed.

The new arrangement prompted us (me) to try out some new paint colors. This had been something I had considered doing for awhile. I’m not afraid of painting, I really enjoy it actually, plus I’m quick and efficient, so the thought of painting the room a few times and testing and living with different color options didn’t intimidate me. My living room was painted 5 different colors all at the same time, it was craziness. I was debating between bright white and 4 shades of dark teal blue.

As you know if you read the blog, the white looked good, and pretty, and light and airy, but I couldn’t get past how it looked against the dark wood work found throughout the main floor of our house. I just couldn’t pull it off without painting the trim white too. The biggest thing for us was the combination of woodwork and white walls and how it reminded us of apartment living, we just couldn’t get over it. So white is reluctantly out, too bad, I wish it could’ve worked.

Blue is in. After considering 4 different shades I went with the one that was the most similar to what we had only darker and more saturated, which is exactly what I had in mind. I think we made the right choice. We painted with Benjamin Moore’s “Dragonfly” and I love it mucho!

Typically dark colors enclose a room, but our room doesn’t feel that way, instead it feels cozy and open at the same time. We can sit in the living room, and see the snow and the neighborhood outside our decently sized windows. The gray winter colors from the overcast sky and the bright white snow outside our windows reflect light in a way that only feels like the midwest in winter. The light pours through the windows and illuminates the house. The contrast of the bright light against the dark walls is kind of amazing. We feel like we’re in our own little nest away from all that cold. There is something extremely comforting about the feel of a cool color like teal, against a world of white and gray. It’s kind of like absorbing your habitat. It effects me in a very real way and makes the icy cold not so icy and miserable.

Anyway, enough of that poetry. This room looks awesome and I love it. If you live somewhere dark and cold don’t be afraid of having a dark room in your house. You’d be surprised at how warm it can actually feel.