2025 is sure to go down in home decor history as the year of brown interiors. And where better to use this grounding, cosy shade than in the living room? And if you too are feeling the longing for some coffee, toffee and chocolatey shades then our brown living room ideas are sure to come in handy.
Following the 70s, the heyday of decorating with brown, the earthy colour quickly became seen as outdated and was forgotten about. But this year is seeing the comeback of the colour brown which presents a host of living room ideas.
You can partly credit Pantone’s colour of the year for 2025, Mocha Mousse, for the resurgence of brown. But the mood for earthy shades including brown has been a rising living room trend for several months before Pantone’s announcement.
‘Brown is trending in 2025 as it reflects a growing desire for comfort and a connection to nature,’ says Victoria Foster, interior stylist at ScS. ‘With earthy tones becoming a mainstay in design, brown offers versatility and pairs beautifully with popular biophilic elements like plants and natural fibres. Its ability to evoke warmth and stability resonates strongly with current lifestyle trends.’
Brown living room ideas
‘Brown is calming, and gives a sense of stability or solidity – it’s quite reassuring as a colour,’ says Sarah Henry, managing and creative director at La Manufacture Cogolin. ‘Brown can bring warmth to interiors, and provide a strong anchor to a rich colour palette.’
And that’s exactly why this colour makes the perfect base for a living room colour scheme. This is how to create a stylish and well-balanced brown living room.
1. Layer textures
Brown is a lovely warming and cosy colour. But if you don’t break it up with some other colours, browns can end up looking a bit too flat. So if you really want to embrace browns, and perhaps even colour drench your living room in brown, then various textures will be your best friend – as Kelly Hoppen’s said, texture is one of the most important elements in any room.
‘Decorating with brown in 2025 is all about creating warmth and depth,’ says Alex Stubbs, Flitch interior stylist. ‘Use a mix of textures – think plush velvet cushions, woven throws, or even a leather armchair – to add interest. Pairing brown with natural wood finishes and layered lighting will give your space a timeless and inviting feel.’
Victoria at ScS agrees, ‘Layering textures – like a plush velvet sofa with a jute rug – keeps the room visually interesting.’
2. Pair with natural finishes
Brown is an earthy colour – and earthy tones in general are one of the biggest home decor trends of the moment. So why not lean into the earthiness of your browns and pair them with natural materials and textures for a soothing and cocooning feel?
‘Pair these with natural materials like wood, leather, and woven accents to create a cosy, grounded atmosphere,’ Victoria at ScS says.
3. Go for some Mocha Mousse
Brown is one of the biggest colour trends of 2025, partly thanks to Pantone’s colour of the year, Mocha Mousse – a delicious and soothing shade of brown. So whether you’re looking for a new living room paint idea or an accent chair for the lounge, decorating with the trending Mocha Mousse shade would make for the perfect choice.
‘Mocha Mousse shines in spaces like living rooms and bedrooms where you want a cosy, welcoming feel,’ says Sam Deeble, home interiors expert at Woods Furniture. ‘It’s easy to incorporate the colour in these rooms too – you can utilise soft furnishings like pillows and throws as well as furniture like armchairs and accent chairs.’
4. Layer tones for a sophisticated take
Brown has got a bad rap as being an old fashioned, traditional shade when it comes to decorating. However, as this fine example shows, tones of brown and gentle taupe can exude an air of contemporary style, that feels both cosy and sophisticated in equal measure for a favourable living room colour scheme.
Layering is the key to mixing a brown tonal colour palette, working different depths of the shade on walls, flooring, furniture, wall decor and soft furnishings to create a beautifully harmonious brown scheme.
5. Cocoon with grounding neutrals
A soft earthy shade on living room walls aims to create a safe space in which we can take comfort from the busy world outside. To be brave with this grounding colour, a great paint idea is to incorporate the ceiling in the same shade, to create a cocoon effect of colour, making it feel more immersive.
Dulux’s Brave Ground paint available on Amazon, as seen above, is a warm and grounding neutral shade ‘that will enable people to draw upon the strength of nature to help them find the courage to embrace the future.’
6. Set the scene with woodland wallpaper
Embrace the brown tones of nature with a woodland themed decor. The best way to make a decorative statement is with a hero living room feature wall idea.
The dominating branch and foliage pattern of this bark-brown coloured wallpaper helps to captivate this cosy living room. Surrounding a traditional log-burner it’s the perfect pattern to create a rustic country-feel.
Lighter brown tones of taupe on the armchairs and the earthy tones of the accessories helps to build upon the beauty of this brown living room scheme.
7. Make it feel retro
Brown is the perfect shade to anchor a retro decor around. With accents of punchy burnt orange and versatile grey this nostalgic look can be enhanced with plentiful touches of wooden furniture to inject the brown element.
‘To make a brown living room pop, introduce contrast through accents in bold colours like mustard or burnt orange, Alex at Flitch confirms.
8. Use wood panelling on walls
Smart wall panelling ideas are more on-trend than ever right now, offering a great way to decorate walls with warming brown tones without having to commit to paint shades. This approach is a more contemporary way of decorating with solid shades of brown, as natural wooden textures lend more depth to the look.
Wooden wall panelling pairs beautifully with solid wooden floors to create a cohesion of texture and colour. Tan leather furniture pieces, like this statement Massimo curved ribbed lounger in brown tan leather, are a great way to keep the look modern.
9. Complement brown with warm reds
Create a warm and inviting space by mixing chocolate brown hues with earthy red pigments. The rich colour palette works perfectly with natural brown wooden flooring, adding a warming element.
In a living room or bedroom, cushions and throws in this warm colour combination, especially in touchy-feely textures, invite you to cocoon and retreat as you feel at one with nature.
10. Combine golden brown with mint green
In this space, Dulux has combined two consecutive Colours of the Year – the caramel-beige Spiced Honey and minty-sage Tranquil Dawn, available at B&Q. The contrast in colours creates a statement look that is both cosy and fresh, soothing and strong.
‘Brown pairs effortlessly with earthy greens, soft creams, and even blush pink for a contemporary twist. These colours complement brown’s warmth and create a harmonious palette that feels serene and inviting,’ Alex at Flitch says.
11. Let white features pop
Brighten up your whites by placing them against a backdrop of warm brown. In this rustic living room, Spiced Honey gives a strong definition to the skirting and door frames, as well as the simple structured white sofa and monochrome prints ready to be hung on the walls.
12. Embrace country living
Texture is everything in this country living room, from the burlap-coloured wallpaper to the tweed sofa to the chunky wooden mantel. Hints of red and orange add heat to the more neutral brown tones.
13. Sink into brown velvet
Choosing a luxe fabric like velvet in an earthy colour like brown gives a living room a smart yet not too stuffy look. Expand on this further by mixing in shabby chic painted wooden pieces with stylish grey accessories.
14. Mix sandy browns with blush pink
Fresh sandy browns can look so pretty with soft candy pinks. And by choosing a soft brown sofa, you can use it to tie together furniture in different wood finishes.
‘To make a brown living room pop, introduce contrasting colours. Brighten the space with accent colours like blush pink through cushions, throws or artwork,’ Victoria at ScS suggests.
15. Use a tan sofa to add character
A coppery brown sofa can transform a living room lacking in features. Its rugged look tips a hat to American Colonial interiors, particularly when teamed with bold Ikat prints.
‘Lighter shades like tan can work brilliantly for smaller spaces. These tones bring a modern, sophisticated edge without feeling overwhelming,’ Alex at Flitch says.
16. Stay sophisticated with taupe
Grey living rooms are timelessly stylish but if you can’t decide between brown and grey, go for taupe. It brings the best of both in the form of a neutral backdrop that is warmer than grey, but that can also blend with it.
FAQs
Is brown a good colour for living rooms?
‘Brown is the “Mother Earth” of colours and like all good mums it’s versatile, supportive, warm, elegant and familiar – a quiet hero,’ says Marianne Shillingford, creative director of Dulux. ‘It’s a colour that we instantly recognise and feel safe with plus it works beautifully with everything we already have.’
‘Soft, warm browns work beautifully on their own in places where you want to relax like bedrooms and living rooms. Teamed with other colours, brown becomes a neutral colour and it can create very different looks from energising to tranquil depending on its depth and tone.’
Can you mix brown and grey in a living room?
You certainly can pair brown and grey in your living room. Until recently, grey has been the go-to neutral shade to decorate living rooms with. And even though grey’s popularity has been fading over the past year, it’s still very prominent in many people’s homes. So if you want to pair your existing grey living room decor with a new influx of brown, you certainly can – as long as you keep a few things in mind.
‘Brown and grey can create a stunning modern living room when combined thoughtfully,’ says Victoria Foster at ScS. ‘The key is balance: use warm shades of brown, like tan or walnut, with cooler greys, such as charcoal or dove grey. Incorporate a unifying element, like a patterned rug or cushions that include both colours, to tie the look together. Add texture, such as a grey wool throw on a brown leather sofa, to ensure the space feels cosy and cohesive.’
How do I add colour to my brown living room?
You can add colour to a brown living room with accents throughout soft furnishings, furniture and accessories. If you have chosen brown walls but are looking to add a mint accent colour you can add this secondary colour with a luxe rug or statement cushions on a sofa.
We’re excited for the cosy year that 2025 is sure to be, with colour trends favouring cocooning shades like brown. And with the many brown living room ideas to choose from, we’re sure to be incorporating pops of this earthy shade into our lounges.
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