Burnt orange is having a major moment in home decor. With its earthy vibrancy, burnt orange transforms any living room into a cozy, contemporary oasis brimming with style and character. But incorporating burnt orange into your living room decor takes careful planning and execution. Follow our tips below on selecting the perfect burnt orange hue, using it effectively throughout your space, and pulling other elements together for a seamlessly inviting burnt orange living room.
The right burnt orange tone can invite relaxation, spur conversation, and make everyone feel instantly at home. So take care in choosing a shade that complements your living room’s size and lighting. Rich, deep burnt orange hues promote leisurely lounging with plush pillows and soft blankets. Crisp, bright versions feel energizing and lively. For spaces lacking natural light, go for lighter shades to keep things airy. Darker hues make intimate, mood-lit corners extra snuggly.
Complementing the Natural Characteristics of Burnt Orange
Warming Up a Space
Known for its vibrancy and energy, burnt orange adds inviting warmth to any living room. The earthy tones provide heat and dimension, making the space feel enveloped in coziness. Decorating with burnt orange encourages people to gather around, whether for long conversations or simply snuggling with a good book. The rich color prompts pure comfort – it’s no wonder burnt orange continues trending in living room designs.
Choose burnt orange as a primary color for living room pieces like sofas, armchairs, ottomans and area rugs. This creates an instant welcoming ambiance. If you prefer low-key accent colors instead of bold burnt orange statements, add dosed of the hue through throw blankets, pillows and subtle wall art. Either approach infuses spaces with the heat, energy and magnetism innate to burnt orange.
Encouraging Relaxation
While vibrant orange tones energize a room, burnt orange offers a deeper, richer effect. The mature, earthy hue provides a soothing oasis within chaotic lives, encouraging leisurely lounging and meaningful conversations. Traditional orange may spur quick movement, but burnt orange prompts people to unwind, whether wrapped in a fuzzy throw or sinking into a cozy armchair.
Choose burnt orange shades with gray, brown or red undertones for maximum relaxation. Browse paint swatches labeled terracotta, cinnamon, spiced apple or rust to sample suitable tones. Compared to bright orange, these deeper burnt orange shades mimic the comfort of sinking your toes into warm sand or cozying up next to a crackling fireplace. It’s a vibe suited for lazy Sunday mornings reading the paper over coffee or connecting with loved ones after busy workweeks.
Keeping it Current
Burnt orange homeowners need not fear decorating faux pas. While the 1970s may have flaunted burnt orange in busy patterns on everything from carpets to appliances, the shade now features across contemporary spaces. Today’s burnt orange fans stick to solid blocks of color, smartly balancing the tone with crisp whites, light blues and modern shapes. These quick tips ensure your burnt orange living room never skews outdated.
- Stick to solid burnt orange hues instead of overwhelming patterns
- Mix in light grey, cream and pale blue for contrast
- Incorporate modern shapes and silhouettes in furniture and decor
Stay clear of equally loud accent colors to keep the mood chilled. Muted navy blue and forest green occasional accents work, but vibrant reds and purples clash. Stick to those guidelines, and your burnt orange living room will feel fresh, not dated. The tone stands in beautifully for a warm metallic or neutral. Have fun and choose pieces you adore over worrying about decor rules. Just include plenty of lighter accents for balance.
Selecting the Perfect Hue
Considering Undertones
Nailing burnt orange’s undertone dramatically impacts how the color appears and makes people feel once incorporated into a living room. Orange base tones with red or brown hints become spicy yet soothing burnt orange. Gray influences brighten the shade. Compare how terracotta, fired clay and rust orange swatches showcase in your lighting before finalizing paint colors. You want flexible hues transitioning seamlessly from daytime hangouts to nighttime nesting.
In rooms lacking natural light, deeper burnt orange offers a cozy, enveloping effect. Brighter versions keep things cheery in already dark corners. For north-facing spaces battling gloominess, mix zingy tangerine or spiced apple undertones amongst warmer terracotta and cinnamon. Strike an ideal balance between inviting and contemporary depending on your room’s needs.
Sample Shades
Burnt orange spans a wide spectrum, ranging from nearly brown to just shy of neon orange. We recommend sticking to flexible earth tones easily spicing up cool grays and blues. Terracotta, rust and spiced apple tones intermingle beautifully in textiles and larger decor pieces without overwhelming. We especially love rich terracotta on entryway walls or rust coloring outdoor furniture visible through living room windows. Tie the scheme together with matching burnt orange pillows and vases.
| Shade | Description |
|---|---|
| Terracotta | Earthy red-orange, named for clay pottery |
| Rust | Reddish brown resembling corroded iron |
| Spiced Apple | Vibrant reddish orange |
Testing Color Swatches
Don’t rely on how burnt orange swatches display onscreen when making final paint selections. Order samples directly from companies like Benjamin Moore and test colors right in your living room. Paint cardboard pieces or poster board and move them around at different times of day. Natural lighting shifts alter tones through the hours. You want flexible shades complementing existing furniture and accessories no matter the conditions.
Using Burnt Orange Effectively
As an Accent
In smaller living rooms, burnt orange accent pieces add just enough color without overwhelming the space. Use textiles to incorporate the tone through pillows, blankets and curtain panels. The texture adds cozy dimension. Or punctuate a neutral color scheme with vibrant burnt orange touches in ceramic table vases, abstract art prints and decorative glass bottles. Just a few accessories prevent a sparse, lifeless look.
As the Main Event
For larger living rooms, don’t shy from burnt orange statements. Paint a feature wall or two in a modern matte burnt orange like Benjamin Moore’s Engaging. Paint ceiling beams the same tone to define the seating area without harsh lines. Bring in large pieces boasting the hue through burnt orange velvet sofas or midcentury lounge chairs. Burnt orange flat weave wool rugs ground the scheme, while sheer cream curtain panels soften bold orange furniture. Just repeat the color through occasional throw pillows and objet for a pulled-together look.
Coordinating Tones
While vibrant, burnt orange plays nicely with other colors for sophisticated, multifaceted living rooms. Stick to a neutral palette of whites and beiges as an airy counterbalance to rich orange statements. Navy blue and forest green make stylish companion colors in occasional chairs or decorative objets. For a trendy take, mix in light pink and olive green tones through art, accessories and textiles.
Handle combining colors with care – matching an equally bright royal purple sofa risks overwhelming the space. Stick to lighter tints of accent colors instead of bold counterparts to burnt orange. And vary textures and patterns to prevent a loud, busy vibe. Remember: burnt orange commands attention on its own without requiring noisy color competitions across a living room.
Achieving Cohesion Through Texture
Fabrics
Living room fabrics supporting burnt orange offer the perfect chance to layer textures for dimension. Use burnt orange chenille upholstery on sofa seating for subtle sheen. Drape window panels in lightweight burnt orange linen for airy softness. Fold velvet and tweed burnt orange pillows into a cozy reading nook. Mixing matte, shiny, nubby and smooth textiles keeps the scheme intriguing while unifying the burnt orange color scheme.
Ground burnt orange fabrics with natural wood and rattan furniture pieces. A reclaimed elm coffee table or woven abaca pendant light balances orange tones beautifully. White washed oak shelving and ceramic table lamps also keep things contemporary yet welcoming. Remember to incorporate living plants like trailing ivy, fiddle leaf figs and succulents for lively vibrancy complementing burnt orange hues.
Your living room becomes a relaxed yet polished oasis with the right burnt orange tone. Lean on terracotta, rust and terra-cotta paint swatches as flexible starting points in creating a space bursting with style, composure and character. Mix and match matte, smooth and nubby burnt orange textiles across velvet furnishings, linen drapes and wool rugs for depth. Ground schemes in natural wood and pottery to complete the look. Follow those guidelines, and your burnt orange living room design shines as the ultimate modern gathering sanctuary.
