Take A Peek Inside Emily Henderson's Moody Family Room
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If you've been toying with the idea of capturing a dark, moody vibe within your home, 2024 may be the year for you to ditch the beige and embrace your inner boldness. Feeling doubtful about making the switch from light and airy to moody and cozy? Fortunately, interior designer Emily Henderson of "HGTV Design Star" fame is here to inspire you to start with one room by sharing her very own moody family room. The room showcases moody elements like a dark paint color, mood lighting, textured walls, and oversized furniture. "It has such a clear vision and vibe," Henderson said in a YouTube video. "You know exactly how you're supposed to feel in this room."
In the video, the "Design Star" winner also offers tips to those who are interested in tackling a dark, moody space within their home "like a designer." She details her process — which included a helping of self-doubt — when it came to committing to a dark paint color. The designer even admitted to painting her family room a lighter shade in a moment of panic — "I chickened out, y'all," she said in the video — before eventually repainting it the dark hue she originally wanted. "Turned out I still just wanted to watch TV in a dark, cozy den," she said.
If you're looking for both practical tips and encouragement that will inspire you to create your moody abode, Henderson's advice is for you.
Emily Henderson's advice for designing a moody room
When it comes to choosing a dark color for a moody room, Emily Henderson suggests considering a "monochrome vibe" once you've found a moody paint color that you love. This approach includes selecting a paint color, furniture color, and main décor color that are all within the same color family. "This room, more than any other room, really proves the importance and power of the right paint color," she said.
In Henderson's family room, that color family is dark, cool-toned green with blue and gray undertones. You can find different shades of cool dark greens on the walls, the sofa, the rug, and even the lamps. This bold use of color is accented by textured beadboard walls, oversized statement furniture, wood elements, a moody fireplace, and a gallery wall of vintage seascapes.
When it comes to an accent color for smaller pieces of décor, Henderson has chosen an analogous pairing, meaning that her accent color (gold) is next to the room's monochromatic color family on the color wheel.
The designer's final tip for designing a room overflowing with cozy moodiness is well-planned lighting. "I have not one, not two, but four different kinds of lighting in this room," she reveals. The lighting choices in the family room include bright overhead task lighting for completing puzzles or playing board games, wall sconces for highlighting art pieces, a ceiling-facing chandelier for ambiance, and table lamps for a warm, cozy glow.
Picking a popular moody paint color
If you're in love with the dark green color on the walls of Emily Henderson's family room, you can get your hands on the exact hue by purchasing your own can of Sherwin Williams interior paint in the color named Still Water. If you'd prefer a moody green that's just a bit lighter, Sherwin Williams also has its 2022 Color of the Year called Evergreen Fog available. When selecting an accent color for a green room, analogous choices include golds or blues and complementary shades include shades of red or purple.
For those looking to go all out on the dark and moody trend, there is one paint shade that is begging to make a home on your walls: Behr's 2024 Color of the Year called Cracked Pepper. This soft shade of black can make any room grand and brooding in the most welcoming of manners. Since black is technically the absence of color, you can pair it with any accent hue you like, although rich golds, bronzes, and reds create a particularly striking contrast for maximum moodiness.
Don't forget your statement piece of furniture. Steal Henderson's look with an oversized sectional or — depending on the size of your room — scale it down to a smaller piece that still makes an impact, like a chair-and-a-half. You can currently snag one by Ashley on Amazon for around $585.