Happy Accidents with Color

Look around your rooms. Did you sit down with a master design plan or are there lots of small, happy color accidents that pop out to you? We often find that our less-than-deliberate color choices really boil down to impulses and happy accidents. Our walls, floors, and furnishings are pretty decisive, but with accessories and artwork, each of our rooms sways in a particular direction that is very much about evolution and a natural pull towards specific colors...

In our kitchen, we "accidentally" acquired (through old stuff, new purchases, and unprompted gifts or hand-me-downs) bright red/orange pieces. Truly unplanned. In our bedroom - small objects in greens, blues, and yellows dot the room.

What happy accidents with color do you see at home? Send a photo (or two)! email us at: chicago(at)apartmenttherapy(dot)com

Comments (2)

It's nearly impossible to stick to a master design plan when you're shopping vintage - Sometimes you find something that is so cool and unexpected that you simply must have and it changes your preconceptions about what you think you wanted to do with your space.

posted by bepsf on October 16th 2008 at 12:23pm
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bepsf--this is EXACTLY my problem. I painted my dining room walls a gorgeous brownish-plum color (Sherwin Williams River Rouge) and then the very next weekend visited a local flea market where I found the coolest, tackiest pale blue/turquoise vase in the shape of a fawn that I HAD to put on the credenza. The combination was so unexpectedly stunning that I have now had to rethink the cool/warm continuum of my entire house.

Stupid vase. The $10 it cost will probably cost me 100 times that as I gradually change my color palette to embrace it!

posted by madsarah on October 16th 2008 at 6:16pm
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