I love pink and it's not just because I'm a girl. There's an association with it (think pink cheeks, strawberry ice cream, pink lemonade) that speaks to something new, tender, delicate and fresh. But getting pink right can be a challenge. Get it wrong and you can feel like Alice drowning in a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. Get it right though and pink can be modern, sophisticated and, yes, even tough. Here are some pink rooms we've noticed across the web that get that delicate balance just right...
from Domino. Image by Paul Costello. Sophisticated, slightly classic furniture keeps this from toppling over into frou-frou.
Miles Redd grounds pink with a dark red tufted sectional.
also from Domino. Image by Miguel Flores-Vianna. A subtle wash of pink adds a touch of warmth and flattery to a bright, sun-filled space.
via Style Files. The teal chair, rough wooden table and red shelf make it work. Click here for a more subtle pink kitchen that caught our eye back in January.
Betsey Johnson's all pink apartment, which we've blogged before, works because it's so over the top that the pink becomes a neutral. Chartreuse accents keep it sophisticated.
Designer Mary MacDonald grounds pink with black, charcoal, burgundy, nautical blue
With the possible exception of MacDonald's room, all these rooms look very feminine to me. Sophisticated and well-designed, but feminine nonetheless. Nothing wrong with that, but . . . pink is girly, there's no denying it. Too girly for my tastes (I am female).
view Griffin's profile
Griffin: I've often thought that as well â however, I'd never actually been *in* a decently-done pink room before. It's actually really nice, psychologically, IMO. Just a positive color. I have a room that's closest to the StyleFiles room now... very different, but similar in that wood tones and the presence of a few other strong color elements to balance out the pink. My pink is not that extreme, but still not pastel.
Anyway, I'm just trying to say, (if you've not seen it in person) check pink walls out in person sometime and see how it feels. I was *blown away* that no-nonsense me would go for it, but I did and I love it.
view twelvethirteen's profile
I love that washed-out, super pale pink Domino room. All the others are a bit too full on.
view first5times's profile
I love pink and red in combination. Since I live in a male-majority house, though, I guess I have to settle for pink-and-red in my wardrobe instead of my living room.
view Lisa Hunter (Montreal)'s profile
I live with a male and our master bedroom has a fuschia accent wall and a matching fuschia comforter... and a hot pink lamp shade and two pink lava lamps... oh and the pink frames for the pictures.
But I only recently decided to bring more colors into the space, so I pulled in the mostly blue painting from my dining room, a brown monkey lamp, and a few colors of candles beside the lava lamps.
Our office also has pink thrown up all over my side of it. Pink chair, pink in the rug, lamp, stapler, you get the idea. I'm a pink freak, and since I enjoy the color so much, I let the whole world know. Don't they design rooms on Dress My Nest from wardrobes? Well that's exactly where my pink comes from :)
view iheartmini's profile
love the pic with red sofa
view LaDonnaNichole's profile
iheartmini,
sounds intriguing! send us some pix!
abby
view abby's profile
The only pic I like is the one with the red sofa....the rest of them are waaay too girlie for me! I love pink, but I use it more with accent pieces rather than painting my walls with it.
view suzy8track's profile
The room with the antelope head is from Royal Tenenbaums, I believe. One of my favorite movies ever, and it had great decor throughout. And the link to "delicate balance" appears to be broken.
But, yes, pink rooms can indeed be lovely.
view Caitlin in Seattle's profile
I love the pink wall and red sofa...it looks great.
view da90027's profile