Ask A Designer™
Ask A Designer™: Gillian Atkins’ Tips For Injecting Color Into A Great Room
Published on January 22, 2025

In this Ask A Designer™ column, Gillian Atkins of LRDS shares advice for adding color into a great room.

Q: A year ago, we moved from a house to a bungalow in the sky, commonly known as a condo. The walls are Seapearl and the trim is Simply White, both by Benjamin Moore. Though it’s one great room, the fireplace area is our living room and the TV area is the family room. Any advice on how to use bold color on either the TV wall or the fireplace wall? — R.L., Hamilton

A: Many of our readers will relate to your desire for a hit of color in your new, all-white condo. Unfortunately, neither the TV wall nor the fireplace wall would work as a painted feature wall because there’s no logical start or stop.
Instead, you can turn your TV wall into a more interesting focal point with storage that hides your tech gear. A wood-panelled unit will transform it into a feature wall. On the fireplace wall, replace the art with something stronger
and more graphic to balance the space. Clear off your accessories and fire tools and use a single, bold, colorful object on the raised hearth. Consider painting the doors of the tall cupboard in the kitchen a dark blue to help draw the eye. Here’s a mock-up to give you an idea of how this could look.
Scroll down to shop elements of the look!






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