Orange is a vibrant color that can be overwhelming, so you'll need to tone it down without eliminating what makes it unique. That said, you've probably seen plenty of tacky orange rooms, so you'll need to avoid that, too. So, how do you avoid creating a room that's tacky or blindingly bright? Grey will tone the room down, so we found some tasteful Orange and Grey Living Room Ideas to help you out.
1) Grey Base With Black and Orange
While there may be two colors you're focused on, most living rooms have at least three main colors to create a feeling of depth. Since you don't want to get rid of what makes your room special, we'd suggest using a base of grey and adding black and orange. For example, the room in this photo is mostly grey, with two critical pieces of furniture that are black and orange. The black expands the range of colors by adding a new shade to the greyscale, while the orange acts as a bold accent.
2) Grey and Gold
Orange and grey as a two-color scheme can look flat, so you'll want to introduce a third or even fourth color. You can add a new color and maintain your theme by using something that's similar to either orange or grey. Gold is a beautiful way to do this because it's similar to orange, but it has a sparkle that orange doesn't. Try using small amounts by getting things like this grey carpet threaded with gold so that the gold doesn't take over from the orange.
3) Silver
Adding metallic versions of your main colors will not only add dimension by introducing a third color but also add a new texture. While adding gold accents is one option, you can also add silver accents to spice up the grey areas or even add large amounts of silver if you find you like the look. You can see several examples of ways to add silver decorations in this video from StyledByShakira and decide how much silver you want to use.
4) Black and White Floral Images
Black and White art pieces are perfect for a room with a two-color theme that includes grey, because there are so many art options that are black and white with a single color focus. For example, you can get a piece like this one from Amazon that's black, grey, and white except for the flower petals, which are orange. This focus on a single color creates a bold look that'd match most orange and grey living rooms beautifully.
5) Even Mix
As you design your living room, you'll have to decide how much of each color you want. For example, do you want more orange, or do you prefer using it as an accent? Since orange is your brightest color, you probably don't want to have more orange than grey unless you're using a third color as a base. At most, you can use an even mix of grey and orange, and perhaps a third accent color, like the designer of this decor pad room did.
6) Geometric Triangles
Geometric patterns are a popular way to mix a neutral with a brighter color like orange. They're an excellent way to use the neutral color to tone down the brighter one while accentuating the boldness of your more intense color. You can see that in this rug from Amazon with grey, orange, and yellow triangles. While the grey keeps the orange and yellow from being overwhelming, the geometric shapes direct focus on the sharp lines and bolder colors.
7) Solid Color Art
If you choose the right tone of orange, you can use wide swathes of it without creating areas that are overwhelmingly bright. The tone used in these images from Sarah Mcallister Creative Styling is ideal for broader areas of color so that you can use it for something like an accent wall or a large painting like the one in her first photo. The large, primarily solid-colored painting is like putting up a small accent wall without repainting anything.
8) Pumpkin
One neat and creative way to use the color orange is to find things in nature that are orange and use them for your decorating. This can take the form of putting out orange and yellow flowers, decorating with gourds or pumpkins, or finding dried sprigs of grass to decorate with, but those types of decorations sometimes take up a lot of room. You can even get something with a natural, colorful pattern like curtains with a pumpkin and leaf pattern.
9) Mostly Grey With Orange Touches
Since orange is the most vibrant of your two colors, you can create a more toned-down but beautiful look by mainly using grey and adding touches of orange. You can watch this Carissa Cleans It All video to see how a room that's almost entirely grey with just a few orange pillows can still have a classic orange look. Darker oranges like the one used for the pillows in the video look excellent paired with medium-dark grey.
10) Vibrant Clouds
Orange is the color of fire and sunsets. It's a powerful color, and your living room can show that by including decorations with those powerful elements of nature. One way to mimic orange in nature is to get paintings like this abstract one from Amazon. This particular one looks like turbulent orange clouds at sunrise or sunset, adding vibrancy and strength to your living room. These are intense enough that you can use a painting like this as an accent in a primarily grey room with just a couple of orange accents or in a space that's mostly pale orange.
11) Nature
When you bring nature into a room, there are so many ways to do it, from adding gourds to using floral patterns. One simple way to do it is to have a good old-fashioned painting of a nature scene. These are excellent, subtle ways to add little bits of color, and these kinds of pieces are wonderful for a light grey room with small orange touches or a white room with orange, grey, and brown touches.
12) Neutral With Orange and Grey
Orange and grey can both be vibrant and powerful colors if you choose the right tone, so if you love those two colors and want them both to have the spotlight, you can start with a neutral base so that you can give equal attention to both colors. For instance, you can start with a white room like the one in this picture and add darker oranges and greys. Since you're only adding a little bit of each color, using textured surfaces like the textured lamp and fireplace makes them pop even more.
13) Grey Rug With Orange
If you have a neutral-colored room and don't want to renovate fully, you'll need to look for pieces of furniture that add a lot of both colors to your room. One way to do that is to get a light grey rug like this with large orange speckles and pair it with one or two range items, like an orange lamp in the same tone. This'll help spread the color throughout the room without adding a lot to your budget.
14) Patchwork
Patchwork designs look wonderful in old-fashioned and seasonal rooms, and an orange and grey room can be either. For an orange and grey patchwork, you'll probably want something like this piece with orange, red, and a couple of shades of grey. This patchwork would look lovely in a room with any combination of the colors in it, so if you ever want to change things up and add more orange, more grey, or even a little bit of red, it'll still match the room.
What impression are you trying to give with your orange and grey decor? Did any of our decorating ideas help you design the perfect living room for you? Please tell us about it in the comments below!
