apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I love pink, especially when it's used as an accent color with ivory tones.

These are lovely...usually, when I think of decorating w/pink, it conjures up two problems for me: The horrible, ubiquitous mauve of a decade or so ago...and my old pink tiled bathroom...which I have finally made peace with by painting the walls a medium gray...and I actually like it now.

We have a light pink somewhere between the colors in the third and fourth pictures in our living room. It looks fantastic and not at all... the way you'd imagine a pink room to look?

I'd love to see pink in home decor that manages to not fit it's feminine stereotype. I'd really like to paint a wall or maybe room in my home pink, but I'd like it to feel bold and funky instead of pretty and sweet....I've been looking through old photos from my trip to India (pink is used all the time on the streets of Mumbia without feeling girlie to me...) to try to figure out how to do this. Maybe by mixing pink with darker colors instead of other pastels? Anyone have tips or photos to share?

I really like these rooms. All of them. I don't think it's something I would look at every day though.

I wouldn't like having a dining area that looks overthought, and overly delicate. It just doesn't appeal to me.

my bathroom walls and ceiling are pink. the bathroom has that severely functional look you find in many pre-war/"renovated in the 60s and 70s" apartments in new york city. the pink creates a nice balance (mellows out the look) until i can replace the hardware and tile.

elliebets, i think the only way to incorporate pink that's not stereotypical in feeling is maybe use a hot pink or an acid pink... or pink in unexpected materials. like a pink lucite table or chair, or even just have an area with just pink flourescent lights in a donald judd like corner.

panton chair in pink: http://hivemodern.com/products/?view=sub_product&sid=2365
(paired with a clean-lined dark wood dining table?)

p.s. this came up when I googled "donald judd pink"
http://flickr.com/photos/cynicole_b/2321459591/
flickr is awesome.

years ago, i painted the L-shaped living/dining room of my tiny apartment in Toronto in pale pink. with my blue/pastel rug, endless number of Monet prints and white sofa, it was lovely.

i called it the Pink Palace and filled it with friends and dinner parties and i loved it!

thanks, saya. great suggestions, especially regarding unexpected materials. i love the pink panton chair, too!

Love 'em. Especially the tapestry-esque artwork in the first and fourth photos.

Some ideas for elliebets -
1. yeah, pink with darker shades would look less frou-frou. I like it with earthier tones. (And the first photo here with the turquoise.)

2. Pink splashes in an industrial-ish setting

3. Put it on unexpected materials - I loved the pink paint crumbling a bit from the stone walls in this French kitchen that was posted a few months back. (Search 'pink kitchen' on AT)

4. Let it get a little dirty, ie. Hagrid's pink umbrella

5. Mix it up. Pair soft shades with sassier ones

oh man, I really love these

elliebets , if you have not seen a smoking-pink room by Miles Redd, you MUST. Go to http://www.milesredd.com/

pink is so soothing.

klisina--the miles redd images are wonderful. you are right--the pink room is definitely a must-see. thanks.

it might be interesting to see pink across cultures. i am fond of the swedish look, above, and a friend of mine loves the deep, hot pinks of india, in combination with orange, red and yellow.