A woman has shared the painting mistake she did when redecorating her living room, which made it feel ‘heavy’ and ‘closed in’ – but there’s a simple way to fix it
Painting your own home can feel hugely rewarding, but it’s not as easy as it looks. If you’re looking to remodel or you’ve just moved into a new property, your first port of call might be to give the walls a fresh coat of paint. You can hire painters and decorators to do this for you, but it’s often much cheaper to do it yourself if you’re able to.
No matter whether you paint your home yourself or not, the colours you choose are entirely up to you. But one woman on social media has claimed you could make a huge mistake with your colour choices that leaves your room feeling “suffocating” – even if you think it will look perfect.
Derya Berber shared a series of pictures on Instagram of her living room, which she had painted a stunning shade of green she “loved”. But because she didn’t want a white ceiling, she went ahead and painted the entire room the same shade.
While she believes the room looks “beautiful and moody” whenever she takes photos of it, she can’t stand the way it looks in real life, as it feels “heavy” and “closed in”. As a result, she stopped spending time in her living room because it made her feel suffocated and unhappy – despite loving the colour.
However, Derya has shared the quick fix she used to bring life back into her living room. All she had to do was change one thing about her paint job, and it ended up becoming one of her favourite rooms in the house.
Instead of using the same shade of green everywhere, Derya repainted the top quarter of her walls and the ceiling a lighter shade that allowed more light to bounce into the room. She said the room felt “perfect” as soon as she’d repainted it, and would encourage anyone unhappy with their paint job to try changing up some of the colours.
Derya also pointed out she would definitely try “colour drenching” – which is the process of painting an entire room one shade – again, but just didn’t think it was right for that room specifically.
She wrote in the caption: “We all make mistakes – especially when decorating. I love colour and experimenting, but I have to admit I got it wrong with this one. Our north-facing living room looked beautiful in photos, but living in it felt heavy and closed in. It’s a good reminder – always decorate for how a space feels, not just how it looks.”
Commenters on the post were quick to tell Derya they were impressed with how the room turned out after her paint change. Many also thanked her for helping them realise how they can save rooms they thought were doomed.
One person said: “As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. And now you don’t sit wondering whether it would look better colour-drenched. It looks great.”
Another added: “I adore our dark colour-drenched bedroom, but my mum hates it. It’s interesting how we all respond differently to colour, light, and space.”
A third posted: “This might be the first time I have seen people post decor or changes that didn’t work! It’s so helpful to see, and thank goodness I’m not the only one.”
Meanwhile, another painting hack was recently shared online when a couple said they have ditched using any white paint in their home and haven’t looked back since. White paint can be used to make a room seem brighter, but it gets dirty quickly and can make some spaces seem too cold.
The couple said they opted for a shade called “drop cloth” to create a “softer transition” between the walls and the woodwork. The Farrow & Ball website describes it as a “gentle mid-grey beige” that is “neither too yellow nor too grey” – which is perfect for adding lighter shades to a room without going all the way to clinical white.
Set against the rich red tone of the walls that the couple used, the woodwork paint still appears white, but it’s not as stark as genuine white paint would be – and it won’t be such a headache to maintain. In the caption alongside the video, they said: “POV: You finally convinced your husband to stop using brilliant white on all the woodwork.”
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