My living room was beige for 8 years, now it's mustard and teal and I can't stop looking at it

I moved into my place back in 2016 and just left the walls the boring builder gray-beige because I was scared of commitment. Then last month my sister dared me to paint one wall mustard yellow while she was visiting. I said no way, but she literally bought the paint and brushed the first stroke herself. So I finished it that night and the next day added teal curtains and an orange rug. It sounds like a clown car but honestly it works. The trick I found was keeping the furniture neutral, like the couch is plain gray, so the walls pop instead of fighting. Has anyone else tried a crazy combo and had it surprise them, or did it end up looking like a disaster you had to repaint? I'm curious if mustard and teal is a known thing or if I just got lucky.

2 comments

2 Comments

the_gray7d ago

gotta say, I love that you let your sister just go for it, because that's exactly how my bathroom ended up with a dark forest green ceiling and nobody regrets it. I think bold colors work way better than people expect as long as you ground them with neutral pieces like you did with the gray couch. mustard and teal are actually a classic combo in a lot of mid-century design stuff, so you didn't get lucky, you just stumbled onto something that's been proven for decades.

blair_butler477d ago

Actually, mustard and teal go back way further than mid-century stuff. That combo shows up all over the place in like 1920s art deco design, too. There's this old hotel in my hometown that has original tiles in those exact colors, and it's been there since like 1928. So you're right that it's proven, but it's got deeper roots than most people give it credit for. The gray couch trick still works though, that's just good sense.