Snug & Media Room Paint Colours
A snug or media room is used mostly after dark, so choose colour for lamplight, not daylight. Deep, enveloping shades blur the corners, cut glare from screens and make a small room feel wrapped around you. They're ideal for colour drenching walls, woodwork and ceiling in one shade. Every colour is available as a 60ml sample.
The best snug colours are deep and enveloping. Because the room is used mostly in the evening, under lamps or the glow of a screen, dark colour feels cosy rather than gloomy, and matt walls cut reflections. Colour drenching, with walls, woodwork and even the ceiling in one shade, makes a small snug feel deliberate and calm.
At a glance
- Start here
- Design for the evening. Snugs and media rooms are used after dark. Choose deep, enveloping colour that looks right under lamps.
- North light
- Earthy reds and browns. Earthy reds and browns. Cool north light suits deep, warm shades, which stay rich rather than flat.
- South light
- Inky blues and greens. Inky blues and greens. Warm daylight keeps deep cool colour rich in a south-facing snug.
- East light
- Deep greens and charcoal. Deep greens and charcoal. East-facing rooms are darker by evening, when deep colour feels cosiest.
- West light
- Glowing evenings. Glowing evenings. Warm evening light makes deep greens and charcoal glow.
- Finish
- Matt cuts glare. Matt walls reflect less light from lamps and screens, which helps a media room feel calm.
- After dark
- Judge it under your lamps. Check samples beside the lamp and in the darkest corner. Deep colour changes a lot between the two.
- Sample tip
- Check every change of light. Move your sample between walls. Check it in morning and afternoon daylight, then under the lights you use at night.
Tap any tile to read more.
Warm, earthy depth
Deep reds and browns for lamplit evenings.
Best in north-facing rooms
Deep reds and browns feel like a fireside. They make a snug intimate and welcoming, especially with warm bulbs.
Best in north-facing rooms, where cool light keeps these warm, deep shades balanced.
Inky blues and deep greens
Enveloping cool shades for film nights.
Best in south-, east- and west-facing rooms
Inky blues and deep greens make a media room feel calm and cinematic, and they cut glare from screens.
Best in south-, east- and west-facing rooms. Shinney™ and Bellyetter™ are best kept to south-facing rooms.
Charcoal and soft black
Near-black shades for the ultimate cosy room.
Best in north-, east- and west-facing rooms
Charcoal and soft black make walls disappear after dark, ideal for a media room where the screen is the star.
Beret™ also suits north-facing rooms. The others are best in east- or west-facing rooms.
Sample it the way we would
Step 1
Paint your peel-and-sticks
Each £5.99 sample comes with three paintable peel-and-sticks. Give them two coats and let them dry fully.
Step 2
Stick them around the room
Put them on two or three walls, including the wall opposite the window, at eye level and lower down.
Step 3
Live with them for a day or two
Look in the morning, the afternoon and under your evening lamps. Move them around until you are sure.
Your questions, answered
What colour should I paint a snug?
Deep, enveloping colour: earthy reds and browns for north-facing snugs, or inky blues, deep greens and charcoal for brighter rooms.
What is the best colour for a media room?
Deep, matt colour that cuts reflections from screens, such as ink blue, deep green or charcoal.
Should I colour-drench a snug?
In a small snug, painting walls, woodwork and ceiling in one deep colour makes the room feel deliberate and wrapped, rather than small.
Keep exploring
Cosy Paint Colours
Colour you want to curl up in.
Dark & Moody Paint Colours
Dark colour makes a room feel enveloping, cosy and full of character.
Colour Drenching: How to Do It Well
One colour, every surface, and a room that finally feels finished.
Living Room Paint Colours
Colours that work at eight in the morning and ten at night.