This beautiful Scandinavian interior has grey walls throughout, which gives the space a very soft look that is enhanced by the light wooden flooring and the natural colors in the furniture and accessories. The bedroom and living room have both been painted in a different shade of grey, each combined with a different selection of furniture and accessories either contrasting or complementing the color on the wall perfectly.
How to make grey walls work in your nordic interior
A grey wall color works great in Scandinavian interior design, as it complements the light flooring that is so characteristic in a nordic interior. While a dark grey wall like in this beautiful apartment can have a very characterful effect, a lighter grey wall color like in this interior makes the rooms look brighter and more spacious.
You can go with a cool, warm, or mid-grey tone for your walls, depending on the light that hits the room, the furniture you already own, and your personal preference. Below I give some suggestions for wall colors, but keep in mind this is very subjective, and the way wall colors look can differ from room to room.
Grey living room walls combined with a blue sofa and natural elements
You might notice that in the living room the light grey walls are a little warmer, which makes the contrast with the blueish-grey sofa even more apparent. This blue element really stands out in this interior and gives it a fresh touch.
Black accents like the FLOS 265 wall lamp* and the black rattan sideboard add a lovely contrast to this otherwise light palette and the natural wood of the Herman dining chairs by Ferm Living* combined with the cork cabinet add a warm element in the dining area, which is reflected in the asymmetric mirror on the wall.
Grey bedroom walls combined with beige textiles
The cooler grey wall paint in the bedroom forms the perfect base for this cozy bedroom. The grey wall color is matched with grey linen curtains* and a grey fabric lamp, while the rest of the accessories are warming up the room. The dark beige duvet cover* combined with the beige and white textiles on the bed and the beige art prints on the wall cause a lovely play between warm and cool, which has been finished off with black accent pieces in the floor lamp and bedside tables. The custom-built wardrobe has an off-white paint color, which matches the color of the doorframes.
While in the living room, your eye goes straight to the blue-ish grey sofa, here the attention goes to the beige bedding, as those are the elements that contrast most with the cooler wall color.
Which grey wall paint do you pick to achieve this look?
While it is hard to tell the exact color that the decorator has used in this apartment, you might want to try out a mid-grey tone if you are looking to achieve the color in the living room. Farrow & Ball Worsted*, or Purbeck stone* for a lighter grey might work well with the furniture in the living room. The grey wall paint in the bedroom looks cooler, but not blue, so a cooler grey like ‘Lamp room grey’* might be worth a try.
When it comes to picking out a grey wall color, you need to refrain from going too extreme on the warm-cool scale, as the paint color can easily turn out more beige or blue depending on the light in the room. When you buy paint, always buy a sample first*, as natural light in the room influences how the color will work in the room. North-facing rooms will have a cooler light coming in for example, so it’s always important to test, test, and test.
