Which Color Works Best With a Red Brick Fireplace? - Living Room Design Challenge

I’m sharing a living room design challenge that had a dominant red brick fireplace in the space.

This came from one of my Instagram subscribers in my last monthly Q&A. She wanted to know how to make this room feel more fresh.

Her question was not about the fireplace or the tv wall, which were big items that I thought needed to be addressed in the room.

They were about furniture.

She wanted to know if the coffee table was too big and she said she would love some furniture recommendations too.

I felt like I needed to address the whole room here, because it is a nice big space with some interesting features and it could be a really exceptional living room with just a few changes.

I also thought that addressing the furniture only (and yes, the coffee table is too big and there is too much black leather) wouldn’t quite make a cohesive, “designed” space.

It needed a little bit more. And I felt like it needed color.

My blog contains affiliate links. Any purchases, at no additional charge to you, render me a small percentage, are most appreciated and make this blog possible. :-)

Living room with red brick fireplace and blank looking tv wall.

Bay window with black leather sofa in front.

The first thing I did was the furniture layout. I wanted to make sure I addressed her furniture concerns and then I thought I’d work on the walls when I thought that through.

She sent me dimensions, and this plan is drawn up to scale.

Furniture layout in large living room

I really love the idea of two barrel shaped chairs in the bay window. They will fit that space better and you can really use the space in the bay better this way.

I was replacing a sofa here, so I wanted something big and comfy. I love the light upholstery and remember, you can get performance fabrics on everything these days so that look wears better.

After the hard edged, masculine look of all the black leather, I wanted something light, neutral and cushy. (In the back of my mind I was eyeing those all white bookcases for some color, so I didn’t want too much color in the upholstery.)

Next, I wanted the same idea with the sofa, but in a more boxy look. I don’t want these to appear to be a matched set.

I love the idea of nesting tables here and these would work and give some flexibility with all the upholstered seating in this room.

Next, I wanted a statement leather chair, so if someone in the family was missing their leather furniture, I would have one main piece that could answer for that. :-)

What I loved about this color of leather is that it echoed the brick. :-)

And let’s not think of this brick as red anymore, let’s consider that it is really kind of warm terracotta.

There is plenty of room for an ottoman to match too. It would look great in front of a bookcase that would be painted a color, right?

Now I had to settle on the color and where to put it.

I love dark painted built-in bookshelves. To me, they just look so much more custom that white.

And in this room, with the brick and the warm neutral on the walls, I felt the white just looked like a bit of a nothing-burger, like no thought went into that at all.

Large living room with red (terracotta) brick fireplace and blank tv wall.

Of course, that big wall where the tv was bothering me some too. It just felt ignored and needed some attention.

I had the idea to wrap color on the that wall and carry it to the bookcases, but the bookcases don’t line up with that soffit area there. :-(

So, I suggested that they remove the crown and modify the top of the bookcase to have them line up there so the color could wrap the room all at the same level.

I marked up this photo with some color to show the idea of the paint color application.

You can see that I sketched on some applied moulding in big vertical rectangular shapes. That’s a really simple application and a nice way to add some depth and interest to a big wall. This creates a more finished look and feels more cohesive to me.

I’d also do some draperies at the bay window in the color of the walls there to bring this color to the other side of the room.

The nice thing about this color being applied to these two areas is that we don’t have to mess with the tall ceiling walls and the fact they are open to a hallway and to other parts of the house.

There is a beginning and an end to this color and we don’t have to concern ourselves with where to stop it or how it transtions elsewhere.

You can see I chose a green-blue color, it is Sherwin Williams Stargazer. If you are ever in doubt on an additional color to bring into a space, look to the opposite side of the color wheel.

Sherwin Williams Stargazer

Here, our dominant color was the terracotta brick, so going with a green-blue like this is a really lovely combination.

Sometimes I’m a fan of painting the brick, but I’m not here. I like the idea of adding color to this space so much. There is a lot of wall area and the room needs it.

During this process I was looking at rugs. You have to think about those early on, as there are more limitations on rug styles and colors than there are paint colors.

When I found this rug that combined terracotta and the Stargazer color with an overall neutral look that would work with the existing wall color, I knew I had it.

Plus, this is a transitional style and the pattern would not show any kind of soil or spills!

Rug that combines terracotta and green-blue color with neutral background.

I added this perfect round woven look side table that comes in a warm color, similar to the leather chair and the brick! I’m getting excited here! This would be perfect between the two lounge chairs in the window.

Now for some pillows that work these colors too.

I think it is done! Now it is time for the homeowner to pull it all together. I hope I get to see pics of how it turns out. :-)

Storyboard for room with red (terracotta) brick fireplace. carlaaston.com

More terracotta color schemes

Here are some more terracotta and blue-green scheme rooms. These two colors go together so well!

You can subscribe on my Intagram profile for the small fee of $2.99 per month. Get your design or decorating questions answered in my group there, during my monthly Q&As.