Color Ideas for Walls and Decor

It happens like clockwork, doesn’t it? Right when you think the year is just getting started, a bunch of paint and color companies unveil their Color of the Year, the one hue they think will reign supreme the following year. Of course these shades aren’t a simple as “yellow” or “teal.” They tend to have very descriptive, nuanced names like “sunflower yellow” or “Bermuda sea aqua.

I love color and really think any shades can work year-round in your home if you’re a big enough fan of them. And sure, colors are seasonal—white feels like summer, pastels read as springy, and darker shades are always going to be more autumnal or appropriate for winter. But the magic is really in the mix. Most shades can go either way, depending on what you pair them with.

With names like Peyote Picnic, Palo Santo, Negroni, Harvest Moon, Surf Camp, and Tanlines, Backdrop paint is not yo’ momma’s hardware store stockpile—it’s the latest in the burgeoning direct-to-consumer paint market. Even the packaging in which your Backdrop paint samples arrives is motivational: The envelope is emblazoned with the message, “Here’s the start of your perfect finish.

I unabashedly love the Color of the Year hype. I follow every announcement, write about quite a few of them here at AT, and without fail, consider buying about 100 things in each chosen hue. So, no matter how many brands come out with their own announcements, I am here for it every. single. time. Luckily for me, these announcements usually kick off in June and continue throughout December, so I have plenty of time to bask in the COTY glow.

The one place I’ve been seeing a lot of color lately is in bedrooms, and things are getting dark. Navy and midnight blues, charcoal grays, deep teals, and even black, which is the trickiest to pull off if you don’t get a lot of natural light in your space. But it’s doable. The word on the street is that this trend might actually be beneficial for sleep—either it helps you drift off easily and/or stay asleep longer.

If you’ve recently decluttered your home with the KonMari Method, you may be thinking, “What’s next?” With a clean slate and your home in harmony, these hues with joy-sparking names could be the key to a happier space.

If it feels like you’ve been seeing life through rose-colored glasses lately, it may be because life is great. But, it also may be because there are more shades of pink used in interiors than ever before. In the past 100 years, the connotation and representation of the color pink has changed.

These days, IKEA is coming up with tons of their own hacks and ways to creatively use their products. To be fair, they’ve kind of always done this in their catalogs. But thanks to their blog, which they’re regularly updating these days, we don’t have to wait until the catalog drops each year for a dose of inspo. Lately I’ve been loving their bedroom images.

Q: Hi! We are FINALLY painting our big ugly house. It is currently a crazy salmon hot mess [photo below]. Our taste is actually very modern and we love how the inside has turned out. We’re trying to figure out the outside, especially the paint color that might be okay with the red roof we have… We love white or light grey but are wondering if this is the best idea for our house. Maybe white trim and a slate grey door?

Color can be a funny thing. While many people, including myself, feel comfortable and confident donning black head to toe (LBD, anyone?) the idea of using black in interiors is one met with extreme caution. The moody hue is restricted to furnishings and accents, but why? For fear that the room will be depressing? Too dark? We rounded up 13 (because we’re not afraid of a little superstition) happy, chic and cheery rooms that all just happen to be cloaked in black.

We’re only a few months into 2017, but that hasn’t stopped Pantone from looking inside their colorful crystal ball. At the International Home & Housewares Show in Chicago this week, the international authority on color gave attendees a peek into what’s on trend for 2018.

The coziness of a small space — or the closed-in, cramped feeling of one — isn’t always due to how few square feet it is. What you fill a small room with matters, for sure. But another vital element is the color you coat the room in. Conventional wisdom has always advised to use lighter colors to make walls recede (and a room feel larger) and to avoid darker hues (which might make the walls feel like they’re closing in), but that’s just not always the case.

In the event that you have a whole lot of time on your hands, consider stimulating your neurons with this massive 5,000-piece CYMK puzzle. Created by German designer and illustrator Clemens Habitcht, this complex puzzle is the larger, decidedly more challenging relative of the 1,000-piece game he released in 2014.

Whether you’re a fact-checker hoping to test the accuracy of your knowledge of design history or excite yourself by poring over a plethora of Pantones past and present, you can get your design fix by perusing the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum from the comfort of your couch. No worries about long lines or being crowded out of your favorite exhibit: The majority of the Upper East Side museum’s archive is now available online.

Take a look at some of our favorite ways to intersperse this special shade into your home decor.

When it comes to home decor, collections and color are a match made in heaven. Whether arranged in rainbow order, grouped monochromatically, or organically allowed to form an eclectic visual field, groupings of objects can inject a space with a great deal of character and warmth. Here are some favorite examples from our house tours. 1. Sara & Jason’s Terrific Toy-Tastic Home 2. Sam & Nick’s Dot House 3. Amy’s Apartment: Collections of Color 4.

Anna and Zan’s Massachusetts rental is colorful and cozy and full of ideas. If you’re looking for inspiration for a simple and light filled space but don’t know where to start, take a peek at Anna and Zan’s resource lists!

Name: Sally Worts, husband, four sons, two dogs Location: Skipton — North Yorkshire, United Kingdom Years lived in: 7 years, owned My home is a barn conversion in a tiny North Yorkshire village. We don’t have a village shop or a pub but what we do have are wide open views of the countryside straight outside the back barn doors and that is priceless. I live here with my husband, two sons, and two dogs. We have two older sons as well but they have left home now.

Are we ready for spring? (Are you kidding? Of course we are.) But it also never hurts to be a little extra prepared. Happily, Society6 is having their Get Ready for Spring sale, giving us the perfect excuse to fill our shopping carts with bold patterns and vibrant colors. The site is full of one-of-a-kind designs for your entire home, including art print, decor and furniture.

The countdown has begun for when Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle will welcome their first child together. If we’re being honest, the countdown began the day that it was announced the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were expecting. The new royal baby is due in April 2019, which means we’re getting *very* close.

Am I the only one who wants a complete makeover every time another birthday rolls around? There’s just something about starting a new year that feels like the perfect time to try out a fresh look. My own is coming up next week and I’m already planning to dye my hair a new color and maybe get another ear piercing. And it turns out, IKEA furniture is a fan of the new year, new me mantra too.

Colorful front doors are all the rage right now—just take a quick scroll through Instagram and you’re bound to see dozens. The best part is that you can’t really go wrong shade-wise, so now is the time to be creative. Feeling shy? Try transforming an interior door with a pop of paint and you’ll be amazed at how much brighter your space will look. Feeling a little more bold? Slap a fresh coat of paint on your exterior door to really make a statement.

Do us a favor and look up at your ceiling. What do you see? Nothing? Yeah, we kind of figured. For years, the ceiling has been the most overlooked, and under-appreciated, part of every room. Sure, you might’ve used some adhesive, glow-in-the-dark stars when you were a kid or added a statement light fixture to the mix, but that’s probably the extent of your ceiling design chops. Or so you thought. Recently, it seems like the design tides are changing.

Making design decisions for your home doesn’t have to be a hand-wringing experience. But there’s something about choosing paint colors for your walls that can seem impossible. With so many options out there, it can make you want to turn to someone else to make the final choice. Today’s Frequently Asked Home question: Which color should I paint my walls?

There are any number of color “rules” you can follow when you’re picking out your home’s palette. The classic 60-30-10 Rule is a place to start. You can lean on the smart suggestions of a color expert. Those looking to add dark colors in a small space might even want to consult some online guidance. But the six stunning homes in this post prove that you can play around with what some might consider “clashing” color combos and pull it off beautifully.

If your living room could use a jolt of color, these images are sure to inspire.

Whether with color, pattern, shape, or something else, dare to try something new and bold with decor in 2019.

Upcycling combined with community revitalization results in a brilliant, purpose-filled space, just like this wonderful arts-themed recycled shipping container project in Venezuela. Spearheaded by architecture firm Pico Colectivo, the Cultural Production Zone consists of several stacked shipping containers adjoined to a pre-existing structure that suffered damage during previous protests in the area.

As we move into 2019, let the stars be your decorating guide.

A room-by-room guide to making the most of your space.

Is it just me or are kitchens getting more colorful year after year? In 2018, we saw a number of stunning tours from all over the world. Murals seem to be an emerging trend. And wallpaper continues to be a new classic all over the house. But I also saw a few kitchens with colorful cabinet treatments that I truly adored. Below, my favorite uses of kitchen cabinet color this year.

On Thursday, Pantone announced their 2019 Color of the Year is Living Coral. We’ve already rounded up paint matches and affordable items for your home, but if you’re on the fence about how to feel about next year’s hue, we asked some of our favorite design pros for their hot takes (and cool tips) on using this bright shade at home. “I just learned that the collective noun for a group of flamingos is a flamboyance.

After waiting with bated breath as countless paint companies announced their COTYs, Pantone, the preeminent color authority (at least when it comes to hype), finally announced their choice for the 2019 Color of the Year: Living Coral. It’s a vibrant, tropical, almost neon shade that marries the best parts of pink and orange in one eye-catching color.

It’s truly the most wonderful time of the year. You know, when the color experts at Pantone will be announcing the 2019 Color of the Year, which will likely happen any day now. We’re on the edge of our ultra-violet seats waiting to see what hue it could be. To help ease and abate our anticipation, we called on some of our favorite interior designer friends to find out what shade they could see Pantone choosing as the Color of the Year.

When you’re curled up inside on a gross, snowy day, the last thing you want to see more of is gray. Escape into a wonderful world of color — without leaving your couch. These bold, beautiful Instagram feeds showcase ultra-radiant homes stuffed full of funky, colorful accessories. Neon accent walls? Hot pink furniture? These designers and home lovers do it right. Liven up your life by following these 11 striking feeds.

Don’t get mad, but we’re kind of over millennial pink. Make no mistake, we were all about the hue when it first burst onto the design scene a few years ago. Part bubblegum pink, part salmon, it was once the coolest way to embrace your feminine side. But now? It feels, well, overplayed. While there are still some ways to make millennial pink look and feel cool again (hint: try pairing it with red!), we’re itching for a new “it” color.

Claire Holt, the Australian actress and star of “The Vampire Diaries” and “Pretty Little Liars,” is living the dream: she recently purchased a 4,600 square foot modern home in Los Angeles, with a pool and some pretty dreamy outdoor spaces. While your home is probably not quite that roomy, there are still plenty of takeaways here for more modest spaces.

Americans spent the last three or four decades tearing out pretty-in-pastel bathroom tiles. Pale pinks and greens surrounded every toilet, every shower, every sink. After spending decades finding the same shades everywhere, it’s no wonder we grew tired of the trend. But it’s time to break out your mortar and grout: Colorful bathroom tiles are coming back.

It’s become more and more common for paint brands to unveil a chosen color for the upcoming year. For 2019, we’ve already reported on Dutch Boy, Behr, and Sherwin-Williams, just to name a few. And to celebrate Valspar’s 10th anniversary of doing annual color reveals, the paint company has decided to not limit itself to just one color. No, they’ve curated a palette of 12, which equals one for every month of 2019.

With a new year comes the opportunity for a new start, including a fresh coat of paint for your living spaces. But with so many color swatches to choose from, HGTV HOME By Sherwin-Williams just made your life a lot easier with their 2019 Color of the Year unveil. The winner is Reflecting Pool (SW6486), a hue of “many personalities” that communicates “a life of balance with a little bit of flair” with its versatility and adaptive skills.

The result is a beautiful space that's stylish, not saccharine.

Face it, millennial pink isn’t going out of style anytime soon. We loved the shade as much as the next person when it first came onto the scene in 2016. But two years later? It often feels stale and played out. If you want to freshen up the celebrated color, try pairing it with red. Let’s get one thing straight: This color combination is a far cry from what you see on cheesy Valentine’s Day decorations.

With sweeping views of the Pacific, an abundance of flowers, and bright colors everywhere, it’s kind of surprising that Hawaii doesn’t have much of a design scene. We mean, what better way to complement the archipelago’s stunning landscape than with equally beautiful interiors? That’s where Dan Mazzarini comes in. As the owner of Manhattan-based design firm BHDM Design, Mazzarini knows a thing or two about bringing a fresh, fun energy to any space.

Because design lovers know there’s way more than just one shade of white paint.

At Apartment Therapy, we believe that your home is your sanctuary—and you should treat it as such. After all, where else can you retreat to after a long day at work, bad date, or busy vacation and just relax? But before you KonMari your space or invest in some soft, dreamy sheets for your bedroom, you should decide on your home’s color scheme.

Forget gray and yellow. This summer, we’re loving the fresh combination of all manner of bright pinks (think fuschias and corals) contrasted against a more traditional navy. Whether accenting furniture or adorning a wall, it can bring a crisp pop to your summer décor. We love how this navy blue sofa is accented with blush pillows and multi-hued pink artwork. Few other colors make an appearance in the living room above, so the navy and fuchsia tones make an even bigger impact.

Sure, white walls are classic for a reason, but why not experiment when it comes to your color choice? There’s no better place to start than red, a powerful hue that’ll perk up any room in your home. Still not convinced? We’ve rounded up some of the best crimson walls we could find from our house tour archives to prove just how versatile this color is. From fiery ruby to deep scarlet, here are some of the most inspiring ways to paint the town (or, you know, your home) red.

Lifestyle brand bando is known for many things—among them are planners and fun. The company’s latest collab with Starbucks leans heavily on the latter, and thankfully, it’s available just in time for summer. The 12-piece drinkware and accessories collection is a follow-up to last year’s successful collab, where 75 percent of the merchandise sold on launch day.

When discussing the topic of how colors affect emotions, Berkeley professor Steve Palmer stated: “There could be some plausible reasons as to why some colors might stimulate creativity or promote sleep or calmness.” Our bedrooms are the windows to our dreams (I made that up, you can quote me), so why not fill them with the colors that stimulate the moods we want to feel before our heads hit the pillow? Here are seven brilliant bedrooms that display an inspiring color story.

With all the focus on varying shades of pastels these days (we’re looking at you, millennial pink!), it can be easy to forget that bright colors are still a consistent design trend, too. Sometimes a simple, solitary pop of color is all you need, but if you’re feeling more adventurous, try pairing two (or three!) together to really pull the room together.

If you’ve found yourself gravitating towards colors reminiscent of outdoorsy vacations this year, you’re not alone. In their first ever social media study, the Pantone Color Institute quantified our collective wanderlust with the four most popular colors of 2018. In the 2018 Colors of Travel study, conducted by HireInfluence, Pantone analyzed a mix of outdoor adventure and lifestyle travel photos with high engagement from dozens of the top travel influencers in the U.S.

Red and blue is mostly reserved for summer cookouts, Fourth of July table spreads, or kitschy beach houses full of sand and white rattan, but that’s all about to change. Blue and red is the newest design power couple, but you don’t have to have an Americana aesthetic to pull it off in your own home. The reason it’s rising to the top of designers’ portfolios and pinners’ decor boards is because of how versatile it is: the pairing has range.

Less millennial and a little more grownup.

And here's how to decorate it at home.

Ina Garten is a total pro when it comes to cooking and entertaining, and lately, she’s been proving that she isn’t afraid to go bold with more than just flavor. Need proof? Look no further than her choice of sofa. This week, the domestic doyenne took to her Instagram account to promote her new book, Cook Like a Pro, set to be released on October 23. But also interesting is what is behind her: her colorful choice of an orange sofa.