How To Choose a Carpet Color for the Living Room

Learn how to choose a carpet color for your living room with our expert guide, covering everything from selecting vibrant shades to the impact of lighting. Make your space cozy and stylish with our tips for a beautiful, inviting aesthetic.

The color of a carpet or rug is a central element in any room's decor.

It can be the difference between a room looking dull or boring and one looking trendy, stylish, or interesting.

The stakes are even higher when it comes to your family room. Just think about how many people you'll have there over the years and how much time they'll be spending!

This is why you want to do it right, whether you're remodeling or moving into a new home. 

Our guide on how to choose carpet color for the living room will help you create beautiful aesthetics with inviting vibes.

Choosing Carpet vs Rugs

Many people use the word "carpet" to describe both wall-to-wall, permanent carpeting and area rugs. I just want to clarify that these are two different things and the process to pick them should be different.

Rugs are much easier to change out than installed carpet. For this reason, it's usually best to go with a more neutral color if you were looking for a permanent carpet.

If you are shopping for area rugs, there's more opportunity to go for a bold pattern and colors. Just think of the lifespan you want your carpet to half and the longer that life span is the less bold or trendy you should likely go with your choice.

How to pick the right color carpet for your living room

Here are the steps to follow to carefully choose the right color carpet for your space.

Step 1: Consider Brighter Shades

Many interior decorators will tell you to start your carpet color journey by pinpointing a few colors that you're naturally drawn to.

While I fully support this approach, I encourage you to take it a step further and select the brighter shades of your favorite colors.

This is because I like to match the feel of a room to it's purpose and use.

In the case of a living room, opting for vibrant carpet colors or warmer hues evokes a cozy and engaging atmosphere, perfect for conversation.

I know what you're thinking: What if I want a neutral color?, and I can't blame you. Neutral colors are timeless, and they're easy to incorporate into any color scheme or decor type.

Luckily, when I say vibrant colors, I don't just mean red, pink, or orange. You can go for warm neutrals to get that brightening effect while still gaining the benefits of neutrality.

Examples of warm neutrals include beige, tan, caramel, terracotta, sand, camel, and charcoal colors.

Choosing rugs that incorporate these colors will help your living room feel warm and inviting without the carpet being too bright and distracting!

Step 2: Think Contrasting Colors to Existing Paint or Furniture

If you're choosing a carpet color with your living room walls already painted and furnished, then you should keep a few things in mind.

Avoid matching the carpet color with the color of the walls or the furniture, mainly the couch. While it may be tempting to go for the "easy" pick, you'll just end up with a blob of color that looks bland and too single-note.

If you want to choose a carpet color from the same scheme, make it on the brighter or warmer side. This way, your carpet will show a matching tone but with enough difference to bring life to the room.

If you want to spark as much interest as possible, choose a carpet color that contrasts that of the wall paint and couch. Such a pop of color adds personality to the living room, boosts its vibrancy, and creates a focal point that draws attention to the space.

Feel free to play with patterns, particularly stripes and geometric shapes. These can be in bright colors or neutrals, and either way, they'll add excitement and style to the space.

Step 3: Carpet First, Walls Second (if Possible)

If you're renovating or redecorating, you have what I like to think of as a golden chance.

You see, with the walls of the living room still a blank canvas (or a canvas that you'll paint over!), you can wait and paint after you pick a carpet.

Keeping in mind that carpet colors are limited while paint colors are practically endless, this delay gives you much more freedom with both carpet and paint selection.

You won't be bound by a color scheme that's already in place, so you can go with any carpet color or pattern you like.

From there, you won't have a hard time finding paint in a complementary shade or even in the same color as one of the carpet's smaller accent shades. 

Step 4: Don’t Forget the Lighting

As you figure out a carpet color for your family room, you should factor in the effect of the room's lighting.

Natural light, for example, can make colors appear more saturated. So, choose the carpet shade depending on how vibrant you want the final look to be.

Similarly, artificial light can cast a bluish or yellowish hue on the carpet. Choose fluorescent lighting to match cool-colored rugs and incandescent lighting to bring out a carpet's warm tones.

Whatever carpet you choose - taking the time to pick it thoughtfully is the best way to ensure you are happy with the look for the long term in your home!