Color Ideas for Walls and Decor

My second baby is now four months old and I’ve transitioned her from the co-sleeper in our bedroom to the crib in her nursery. But other than sleep – at night and for naps, she actually doesn’t spend much of her time there. More often than not she’s in the main part of our house with my toddler and me, watching us play and interact, eat our meals, and go about our day.

Floor cushions are hot items right now. They make great alternative seating to accommodate extra dinner party guests and they’re perfect for back patio garden parties during the summer. Every shop from West Elm to Serena & Lily offers plenty of options, but depending on your budget they can be a little on the pricey side.

It’s no news that green hues soothe and relax, particularly when used as wall paint, surrounding a room, its furnishings and its inhabitants in a calming color. But how do you keep from choosing the wrong green and making your space look lame? Easy: Choose greens that are a little bold and different, but still relaxing. Here are six successful paint color picks from house tours.

Paint color and light go hand in hand, and are a complex couple. Your paint color will look different depending on the light that it’s exposed to. The tricky part is this: light is never consistent and how it shines depends entirely on time and context. Learn the different light variables, and how color responds, and you are well on your way to becoming a paint master of the universe.

In this post on easy-to-live-with paint colors, a number of you asked for a post on paint colors that go with wood trim. Ask, and you will receive! Here’s a roundup of some successful colors from our House Tours that allow wood trim to shine. When it comes to wood trim, neutrals are an easy choice, but as some of these rooms from our house tours show, having wood trim doesn’t mean that you have to be a shrinking violet. Bold colors can work just as well! TOP ROW: 1.

Indigo might be the dark blue of the moment. However, it is nothing new to home interiors; it’s a stylistic reincarnation of navy blue. Indigo and navy are both a dark blue bordering on black, but one color name is associated with an eclectic style, while the other expresses a traditional style. We love it, whichever name it goes by. Indigo is a natural dye extracted from plants and has been around the world for centuries.

For a long time now, white-painted woodwork has been de rigeur in the domestic interior, so much so that it’s almost a foregone conclusion. But this is slowly changing: we’ve seen black woodwork popping up lately, and now grays and bold hues are making their voices heard as well. If you fancy this change but aren’t sure what to go for, let this trim-spiration sourced from around the web be your guide.

I always find that painting is (relatively) easy and affordable, once you’ve selected your colors, but the process of getting your choices narrowed down is the lion’s share of the work (and for those of us prone to fretting over design decisions, the potential stress, as well).

We’re still in the dog days around here, but in our hearts, we’re thinking ahead to our decor plans for fall. These ten homes from our tours each used a cozy, crisp, or dramatic paint color perfect for fall. So we found out the color names and manufacturers so you can copy these looks. Above: A dramatic bedroom in Deep Space by Behr. Benjamin Moore Moroccan Spice Ricky & McCary made their own taupe mix of Benjamin Moore paint. Melinda and Mark picked Rustoleum chalkboard paint.

Color. Color. Color. It’s such a powerful aspect of our lives, and yet most of us probably haven’t stopped to think deeply about color as a concept. We appreciate particular colors, arrange them, and live with them, but there’s so much more to color than those actions may let on.

Paint colors are like nail polish to me. Some people stick to a few tried and true, goes-with-everything signature colors, while others prefer to switch it up with the changing trends and seasons. If by any chance you’re one of the latter (when it comes to paint, not nails), we’ve hunted down some of the best of-the-moment shades for your walls.

One of the things that Farrow & Ball is known for is its very carefully edited, strict palette of 132 paint colors, which, in a show of true British prudence, care and custom, is added to quite infrequently. Well, color lovers can rejoice, because today is one of the rare occasions where their colour card is updated. Nine new colors are being released in celebration of the brands 70th anniversary year and we’ve got them to share.

In a recent Apartment Therapy ‘Favorite Rooms’ post, someone described their bedroom as “Dark and Stormy.” Perusing through the photos, I agreed with the adjectives; the wall paint color was reminiscent of the greenish blue color of a stormy sea. I realized I had seen several wall paint colors recently that also fit the dark and stormy style. I spot a trend – one that could lead to dramatic and bold spaces.

Got writer’s block (or painter’s block, or are just in a general creative funk?) The color of your walls might be one of your culprits. It’s no secret that color can seriously affect your mood (we’ve previously explored how it can make you happier in your home, and highlighted the psychological merits of ROYGBV), but there are two colors in particular that can stimulate your creativity and productivity.

It’s no secret that the fields of fashion and interior design are closely linked, often borrowing inspiration from each other and adopting similar trends. However, the two industries follow different schedules: fashion is able to move a little faster, creating new collections and generating trends multiple times per year, while interior design moves at a steadier pace (after all, who wants to or could afford to redesign their home a couple times per year?).

When it comes to color, Pantone is the alpha and the omega. The company’s new app, Pantone Studio, is a workhorse for designers, but has some fun features for the rest of us, too. Pantone’s put everything they’re known for into this app, including articles and research from Pantone Color Institute and Color Guides with thousands of swatches.

If you’ve ever seen photos of the houses in New Orleans, you know a wide-ranging, daring mix of colors adorns this city’s architecture. Any time I stroll the streets, I’m inspired to get bold in my own home. Even those these color combinations are on the outside of these homes, consider these pre-made palettes direction for the inside of yours.

Today is a colorful day—three paint brands have announced their 2017 color of the year. Let’s see what hues our future has in store. If you’re tired of gray’s near domination of neutrals for the past five years, then you’ll be pleased to see that Sherwin-Williams has gone with a hue that mixes it up. “Poised Taupe celebrates everything people love about cool gray as a neutral, and also brings in the warmth of brown, taking a color to an entirely new level.

The accent wall has been a “thing” for a long, long time. More than just a way to save on money and time when painting, adding an accent wall to a room in your home can be a way to add life to a dull space. It can be a way to introduce a bold color — but not overwhelm the rest of your decor. But even more than that, adding an accent wall can be a way to make rooms appear bigger or smaller than they are.

If we saw these while scrolling through Instagram, we'd be quick to double tap.

As we’re known to say around here, painting is an easy and inexpensive way to totally change the look of your space. And while colors come in and out of vogue (neutral whites and grays have reigned supreme for quite some time now), it looks like people might now to be more willing to add a little more hue to their homes.

Normally, we have to wait a little longer for Color of the Year announcements, which hues that brands and companies predict will be big in the coming year. Even though we’re only halfway through 2017, we already have gotten news of a few picks for 2018’s signature shade—and they’re all taking a dark turn.

People have strong opinions on color—in general, and especially the ones they choose to live with and add to their homes. So we find it inherently interesting to see if certain areas prefer one color over another. The people at BEHR recently studied paint sales across the country, and determined each state’s most popular shade.

Musical icon Prince Rogers Nelson was practically synonymous with purple. From his 1984 cult film Purple Rain and various song lyrics, to his wardrobe choices and decor at Paisley Park, the plum hue played a big part in his identity. Now, Prince’s estate and the color authorities at Pantone have named a shade after the Purple One.

Sometimes the best way to decorate, particularly when you don’t know where to start, is by looking at nature itself. Plenty of decorators will tell you that they find color combos in nature, or that you can’t go wrong with a nature-inspired floral or foliage pattern. And don’t even get me started on the crazy plant lady trend, which I’d wholeheartedly participate in if keeping plants alive were actually a strong suit of mine.

When John and Melissa bought their Pennsylvania home, they wanted to create a space that would grow and evolve with them and their family. That’s why choosing the right wall paint color was even more crucial: They wanted something bold, timeless, and flexible. In addition, their paint choice had to be versatile enough to accommodate future additions to their home — perhaps a new sofa or different wall art. The winning hue is purple, and the source for this shade is surprising!

If you’re over the hues of 2017, you’re in luck—paint companies are steadily releasing their trend reports, along with their 2018 Colors of the Year. Today, we have the pick from Sherwin-Williams, which is “mysterious,” “opulent,” and “inspired by wanderlust.

The sofa is arguably the most important piece of furniture in your home (based solely on the amount of time you spend on it). It’s where you binge watch episodes of Broad City and Game of Thrones; where you collapse after a long day of work; and where you curl up with a good book on an obligation-free weekend.

Color is a really powerful tool in design. But it can also be a debilitating one if you’re unsure of what colors you like and what works best in your space. Or maybe you’re worried about getting tired of anything bolder than white or wood tones. You’re not alone. The good news is that this is a very common design dilemma, and a few simple designer tricks can make it easier to start embracing colors both inside and outside of your comfort zone.

And no, it's not blush, again.

Christiane Lemieux embodies the kind of effortless chic that my decorating dreams are made of. She always knows the right print to mix with a stripe, and I swear she was one of the first mainstream designers to bring birds onto bedding and upholstery in a big way while at the helm of DwellStudio. Well, this lady boss is back at it with her latest venture, The Inside, which combines on-demand printing with furniture design to create fashion-forward made-to-order pieces.

Pepto pink—and all its rosé-colored incarnations—really enjoyed a moment in 2017 in the home and fashion design space. And by moment, I mean a whole year (or two). Personally, as much as I enjoy a pop of pink here and there, I’ve had enough of it already. Which got me to thinking, what’s going to be the next “it” color? A few decorator friends told me it would be off-white, but, as essential neutrals, cream and beige never really went away.

By now you’ve probably heard of Gen Z Yellow. We first introduced you to term late last fall, and now that Millennial Pink fatigue may be starting to set in, and Pantone’s own Ultra Violet still seems a little esoteric and dark, perhaps you’re ready to take this shade of sunshine for for a test drive?

Designing with books is no novel concept. We’ve all explored the many ways chic reads can enhance a rooms aesthetic. From coffee tablescapes and color-blocked bookshelves to color-coded and clever ombré displays, books have proven to be the finishing touches and cozy details that make a house a home.

While we still have six months left of 2018, that hasn’t stopped paint companies from looking forward to 2019 and beyond. If you’re dying to know what colors will be hot for the last year of the decade (we’re looking at you, renovators and redecorators), Sherwin-Williams just announced their color forecast for next year. Here are its picks for color trends for 2019.

We’re halfway through 2018, and you know what that means? It’s time to start trend forecasting for 2019. Just yesterday, Sherwin Williams shared their color forecast for 2019, but PPG Paints is taking it one step further and announcing their pick for the Color of the Year. So what shade do they predict will reign supreme next year? Night Watch, a deep, almost jade-like green.

Are you nervous about pulling the trigger on a possible new paint job? It’s only normal to have a bit of decision paralysis on such a seemingly big decision. What colors do you choose? What happens if you change your mind once it actually dries on the wall? What happens if–gasp–you don’t like it? We consulted several of our favorite designers to ask them what exactly you can do to prevent any paint-related disasters from occurring in the first place.

As we inch closer and closer to 2019, the 2019 Color of the Year predictions have started steadily rolling in. The latest contender? Garden Patch, a grassy green from Dutch Boy Paints. While announcing the shade as their choice for Color of the Year, Dutch Boy described the hue as “not too deep and not too primary.

Trends in interior design don’t move quite as quickly as they do in fashion, but the home market still follows the runways to some extent. And if this past New York Fashion Week and the recent award show red carpets are any indicators, neons are about to come back into the collective color story after chalky pastels, moody indigos, and metallics have dominated for so long.

Remember our epic guide to white paint? We figured it was time to ask designers about their blue crushes as well—you know, those just right shades of cornflower, ocean, cerulean, navy, and everything in between. Blue typically isn’t a polarizing color. Most people gravitate towards the spa-like, tranquil quality of its lighter shades, while others love the darker side—the energy of aqua, the intensity of midnight. Sure, you could go about picking a blue paint color alone.

My two biggest passions in life are probably design and word play, so give me something that combines the two and I’m practically in heaven—like with greige, that aptly named neutral color that’s the perfect combination of gray and beige. But in all seriousness, greige really has become so popular in recent years that it’s now on the unofficial list of colors you need to know.

We’re finally in the last quarter of the year, which means the 2019 Color of the year announcements are streaming in more steadily than ever. The latest contender? Benjamin Moore. On October 10, the paint brand gathered design editors, interior designers and other industry folk at The Grill & The Pool at the Seagram Building in New York City (a bastion of mid-century modern design). After a few minutes of socializing and a welcome glass of champagne, it was time for the big announcement.

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?

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.