I used this unexpected Farrow & Ball paint in my living room – but this simple tweak transformed the space

Brown living room painted in Cola by Farrow and Ball.

Cola, by Farrow & Ball, isn't going to be everyone's first choice for a living room. As the name implies, it's a rich, dark brown, but its base of red pigments gives it a depth and the ability to pick up light – a little fizz, just like the soda it's named after. 

And I love it. It was the only choice for our living room color, a west-facing room without loads of natural light, where we hunker down, watch movies and TV, cuddle the puppies on a big squashy sofa. We wanted a color that made us cocoon.