16 Living Rooms Perfect for Those Who Only Want a "Pop" of Color

Neutrals are having a big moment in interior design, and they're not likely to be going away anytime soon. But if you love color just as much as you love neutrals, it is possible to have both. Whether you want to add small items like throw pillows or go big with features like accent walls, adding a touch of color to your space can have a big impact.

From formal sitting areas to Southwest-style homes, these living rooms are perfect for anyone looking for ways to add a pop of color to a space.

Use Color to Define a Seating Area

Sarah Reed, designer and owner of Arbor & Co., likes to keep furniture neutral in a living room.

"If you want to add pops of color to a living space, I always say use the decor for that feature or one accent chair that you won't get tired of," Reed says. "I stay mostly neutral with the main furniture pieces and then add pops of colors like greens and yellows in either the textiles, like throw blankets, pillows, decor, or coffee table books."

We love the way this living room is mostly neutral, but has pops of color to define the seating area to the right of the sofa. Red, teal, pink, and patterns help to add visual interest to the space.

Add a Blue Throw Blanket

This neutral, Southwest-style living room uses a small yet effective pop of color: a brilliant blue throw blanket. Throw blankets or pillows are such an easy way to add color to a space—and easy to switch out seasonally or when you want to try something new.

Blue works so well in a neutral space, and pops not just against creams, whites, grays, and wood tones, but even less common neutrals like olive greens, as seen in this space by Michael Keck for Emily Henderson Design.

Mix Textures

Designer Candace Plotz likes to use color as a way to add interest and personality to a space.

"Starting with an area rug is best; from there it provides you with the opportunity to pull colors and incorporate accent pillows, artwork, and accessories," Plotz says. "When it comes to your pillows, be sure to mix it up. Think different textures such as velvet, linen, and of course, pattern."

Paint Built-Ins

Pops of color don't have to be neon or bright. In this living room, a more subtle teal color still adds a bold touch to neutral furniture and walls. If you have built-ins or other alcoves in your space, painting these a different color is a great way to add depth and visual interest to your space, and really make those features stand out. We love how the deep teal paint color works against the marble fireplace as well.

Incorporate Colorful Wall Art

Wall art is a perfect way to add a pop of color to a space, and even a single piece can be the focus. This calming living room by Cathie Hong Interiors adds color to an otherwise understated space while the orange art print adds some tonal interest alongside terracotta pillows and brown-beige accent chairs.

Hang a Gallery Wall

Reed also likes to use mostly-neutral living rooms as an opportunity to add color with a gallery wall.

"I love to feature local artists and fun Etsy prints in a mixture or colors," Reed says. "I love using floral prints and colorful art as a way to get that little pop in."

Go Bold With a Sofa

If you live in a space with all-white or light gray walls, opting for a sofa in a bold color is a fun way to add some color to your space. In this living room by Desiree Burns Interiors, an emerald green velvet sofa adds a nice pop of color to gray toned walls and a gray loveseat. Mixing in other velvet accessories like throw pillows (including another pop of color with yellow) ties it all together.

Paint a Brick Fireplace

Architectural features like fireplaces are another fun opportunity to incorporate some color into a living room—as long as you aren't renting the space. This fireplace is painted in an unexpected bright teal, and the addition of velvet accent chairs in a subtle mauve color help to make the fireplace the focal point of this room by Mary Patton Design. A bright pink framed print above above the mantel also draws the eye.

Choose Colorful Furniture

This living room proves that you don't have to choose between a bright sofa or a bright accent chair—why not do both? The wood accents and white walls help to tone down the bright pieces of furniture, but the soft blue of the sofa, red of the accent chair, and even the green of the coffee table arrangement add nice pops of color that bring the space to life.

Focus on Throw Pillows

This simple yet stylish living room lets the architecture of the space do lots of the heavy lifting while small touches of color in the throw pillows add to an otherwise neutral palette. The result is a light and airy living space that feels inviting but doesn't take away from the main feature: the view.

Enrich Your Space With a Bold Rug

If you want to keep your furniture and walls neutral, try adding a rug in a bright color to add some color under foot. Neutral-colored chairs, walls, and light fixtures in this living room allow for more playfulness in the artwork, throw pillows, and area rug. The result is an absolutely stunning space that feels equally relaxing and cheerful.

Choose an Unexpected Color

Mustard yellow may not be the first color that comes to mind when we think about adding color to a space, but this living room proves it should be. The mustard-colored sofa is a lovely contrast against white walls and pale blue shelving units on either side while a gallery wall draws the eye toward the sofa.

Blend Bright Colors With Earthy Tones

Living rooms with a mostly earth-tone palette can still benefit from a pop of color. A bright green chair works in this living room by If Walls Could Talk because other greens are used throughout the space in the throw pillows, decorative accents on the coffee table, and even a potted plant.

Create More Than One 'Pop' of Color

Don't want just one pop of color in your space? Take a cue from this living room and try adding a few different hues via the artwork, coffee table books, and decorative florals. We love how all of these shades are the same color pink while the rest of the accents and furniture remain a bit more muted.

Paint an Accent Wall

One of the most striking ways to add color to a room—either just a touch of color or something more dramatic—is with an accent wall. While this living room keeps the accent wall pretty toned down with a soft pink, it still adds some visual appeal. And how perfectly does the mustard and white throw pillow pair with the pink wall?

Add Color With Fabric

"If you don’t know what color you’d like to bring into your space, look around you, there are influences everywhere," says Bren Petrunick, creative founder at Simply White Interiors. "If you choose a color that is found in the environment right outside your window, that connection to the outdoors will draw your eye outward, making your space appear even larger than it is and grounding you in nature which will inspire balance and relaxation." 

This bright green chaise brings some of the green from the garden into the living room and coaxes the soft green out of the tile fireplace surround. Chaise longes add instant luxury to a space, so you might as well make them it more of a feature in your living room by making it colorful. This living room is proof that one can incorporate color even into formal sitting areas.