Welcome to our biggest color event of the year, the Room for Color contest. Every fall, we ask readers to send in images of their most beautiful, colorful room and let the world pick their favorites. Over the next month, we'll be sharing all the rooms we can squeeze into our schedule and, just before Thanksgiving, we'll have your top 4 choices battle it out for the grand prize...and the glory, of course. We started posting entries on Monday and these mover and shaker rooms are the ones that have caught the eyes of our readers so far. Click through for the hot list for Week One…
• Laura
• Washington, D.C.
• Color Tips: Don't be afraid and just go for it! Paint is an easy thing to change, but there is no easier and stronger way to make an impact. I wanted a cheerful, sunny space, and I was able to do so by taking a risk with the bright yellow.
• Lisa
• Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• Color Tips: If you have a favorite color or two, don't be scared to use them. Have fun and play with your colors in all shades. If your kid (or your partner or the voice in the back of your head) suggests a giant black and white striped rug (or some other crazy piece that seems to reflect her or his personality), buy it and see what happens. Once you have the big color (walls, rug, large furniture) in place, take your time with the accessories and don't be afraid to let something sit in the space a while before making a decision about it (keep the receipt)! Making mistakes and switching things up is such fun.
• Natasha & Brad
• Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Color Tips: I think the most important thing is to use colors that make you happy, and then incorporate variations of those colors throughout your house. Aside from looking cohesive, it makes it easy to swap things from room to room and give your house a fresh look without having to buy anything new. And for those who might think my husband wouldn't love a pink room--he does! He helped chose the color and says it reminds him of The Royal Tenenbaums.
• Jessica
• New York, New York
• Color Tips: Don't think about the colors you like in your every day life--wall color and "your favorite color" are two very different things with two very different functions. (I had to learn the hard way that "that light blue color I love!" doesn't look quite as good on a huge scale as it does on a small one.) Think instead about the *rooms* you've felt best in. At restaurants, parties, museums, friend's houses. You'll have a much better sense of what you're getting into--and you'll know you feel great once you get there :)
• Erin
• Columbus, Ohio
• Color Tips: Use what you love! These colors brightened up our backyard so much! Even with the leaves falling, it makes everything so cheery.
• Shilpa
• Houston, Texas
• Color Tips: Never assume two colors won't go together - put them next to each other and see how they work. You may be surprised at how well they look together! Even if the combination doesn't suit your taste but you love each color on its own, try a different value or saturation of one of the colors. Sometimes it just takes a little manipulation of the color to make things right.
• Shannon
• Portland, Oregon
• Color Tips: Live in the moment and choose colors that make you happy. It doesn't matter what anybody else thinks.
• Debbie
• Greenbelt, Maryland
• Color Tips: Bold colors are often more versatile than traditional neutrals. I am happy pairing my turquoise walls with gold, silver, white, black, brown, beige or gray. Dark colors can also stand in for art - a wall doesn't seem as naked when it's covered with a gorgeous color. You can't say the same with white. My living room doesn't get a lot of light and having a bright yet dark color helps with this as well. Anything lighter could have felt very cold, but this color helps keep the room alive even without a lot of sunlight.
• Jessie
• Santa Cruz, California
• Color Tips: You gotta go with what you like. If you don't like color, don't use it. Don't go with all bold. Pick something that can be a bridge or neutralizer for a couple of bolder colors. I mixed in some greys and whites with the lavenders and reds.
MORE ROOM FOR COLOR:
• Week Two: 10 New Must-See Room for Color Entries
Visit the "all entries" page to see all of the rooms so far and give a few of your favorites the thumbs up: ALL ENTRIES - ROOM FOR COLOR 2011
Have a beautiful, colorful room of your own? The entry form is up: ENTER TODAY
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I was surprised by how useful this past was to me due to the myriad photo examples. Thanks.
I would love to see a 360 view of the dark-coloured rooms, both day & night to see light sources, etc and to see how they relate to adjacent spaces.
Thanks, Laura
I liked Laura's and Shilpa's rooms the best; really didn't like the dark blue room, especially with those beige curtains.
Bryan has done a nice job of off-setting the dark color with light, brighter colors, as well as those lucite lamps, which give an air of lightness. Beautiful job!
I LOVE the rug in Jessie's room (last picture) - please tell me where you got it!!!
I love all of this. Thank you so much!
When will there be international entries for this contest? I am so excited to see what people are doing with color outside the states !!!!!
I LOVE Bryan's room. Sooooooo gorgeous!
Does anyone know where I might find an art desk like in Lisa's blue room?
The navy rooms are my favorite even though they read as neutral to me. Dark walls recede during the day and feel so cozy at night. Win/win!
Really great. Thanks for putting one room with no color on the walls. My landlord is adamant that I do not paint the walls. I have color everywhere but love the pop of the rug in this room. It is great
I loved the dark blue walls with the beige curtains. It reminds me of a room I once did in a Victorian where oversized windows faced west. I used pale blue for the walls in a wallpaper that looked like silk fabric that was lustrous. The drapes, blinds, carpet, and fixture were beige. The woodwork was in a dark cherry tone. The furniture was all rosewood -George Nelson table. The chairs were rattan. It was a great looking room and hosted many dinner parties.
The adjacent living room was in all different shades of beige and sandalwood with turquoise and green accents. The adajacent kitchen was in cream and Copenhagen blue with pink accents.
All so very lovely but Bryan's is the clear stand-out. So sophisticated and beautiful.
In the first picture: does anyone know where that cocktail station is from?
Bryan
Does anyone have any ideas for a design difficulty I'm in? My bedroom has 5 doors! I want to cover one bc it is just too much. This might be an opportunity to use color somehow? My headboard will go against a regular wall push all the way in the corner. The wall on the side of the bed will have a door. Any ideas of how to cover it? I can put the bed somewhere else just need to cover the door. Thanks!
Julianna, you could try putting a wall hanging or piece of fabric over one of the doors if you don't need access to it. Or you could do what we did in my daughter's room, which has four large doors (including three small closets) and two additional, smaller doors for a laundry chute and access to a crawl space. We took the doors off one of them and had a little shelf installed, making a small vanity (with lights and a mirror over the work surface). On one of the others we took off the door and hung a curtain instead for access to the shelves inside. The room functions much better and is not nearly so "door-y" any more.
Pretty nice. I love it...
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