Color Ideas for Walls and Decor

Still not sold on how to bring in a crazy bold paint color into your home but still open to the idea at least? These ten rooms will undoubtedly persuade you to choose the colorful path. Going with one strong, bold color, these spaces show that using color in the right way in the home can be both powerful and empowering. Here ten ways you can bring in one bold bright punch of color in a room.

Want to make something stand out? Highlight it in black. In most homes, trim elements like crown molding and window and door casings are painted white, but these rooms turn that convention on its head — to dramatic effect. In the Birmingham, Michigan home pictured above, black trim creates a beautiful framework for a mix of antique pieces. I like that the trim matches the picture frame, making it feel more integrated and deliberate. Here’s another room in the same home.

Looking for a very modern way to incorporate a splash of pink in your home? Turn up the temperature and go hot hot pink. Hot bubblegum, hot fuschia, even hot neon pink will work. For doubters, here are twenty examples to prove you wrong: Craving more pink? Try our Color Search tool for more visual inspiration: ROW ONE: 1. Rohde’s “Opportunistic” Design Laboratory 2. Rohde’s “Opportunistic” Design Laboratory 3.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive pick-me-up, there’s nothing quite like a little bit of color. Pictured above is a cheerful closet-turned-office in Laura & Ray’s Art-Filled Austin Home. Painting the back wall of the closet a bright yellow transforms what might have a been a drab space into a cheerful focal point for the whole room. Read on for further inspiration from three real-life spaces that were transformed with color in the space of a single Saturday.

Adding a dark or dramatic color to a wall in your home can be scary! But also extremely rewarding when the result comes out gorgeous. If you need more than inspiration — like some actual paint color names that have worked in real-life homes — you’ll find a small but potent palette in this post. Here are some recent darker, moody real-life wall paint colors from house tours we think would be a great addition to a wall, DIY project or furniture piece.

We see rooms in every hue here on Apartment Therapy, but this week, we’re taking a cue from the American flag. Inspired by Old Glory, we hunted through our house tours and found 15 beautiful rooms in shades of red, or white, or blue, or sometimes all three.

Colorful walls are cheerful, and light walls can be peaceful, but I think dark walls are soothing and cozy. Those two adjectives sound just right for a little one’s room. I’ve recently transitioned a guest bedroom with an almost-black accent wall to serve as a nursery. Although for a minute I thought the existing color might seem overwhelming or unhappy, I quickly realized it was a soothing and yet modern backdrop for baby. (Photos to come, once I finish the room!) TOP ROW 1.

I recently confessed my Paint Color Prejudices (“white/grey/cream only, please”) to my color-loving partner, and admitted that I had no idea how to go about bridging our wildly-different tastes. Well, progress has been made. Here’s some advice on how to get from staring at each other incomprehensibly in the paint aisle to actually buying paint you’re both excited about. 1. Pick paint samples with abandon: they’re just pieces of paper.

The color wheel is a basic tool for decorating, especially for beginners. It’s your guide to choosing color schemes that work. Here are the basics and most common strategies, along with tips on how to navigate the wheel to get the perfect paint job. THE BASIC COLOR WHEEL First, a refresher on the basics: The classic color wheel is made up of 12 different hues. One half is considered cool colors, and the other contains warmer hues. Beyond that, the wheel is further classified into: 1.

Every spring I seem to reconsider how I feel about pink; that is, April and its blossoms remind me of the color’s merits. Whether you’re someone who likes the color all 12 months of the year or somebody less convinced that it deserves attention, take a peek at how different shades could work for the furniture in your home. While I love the first image, I generally prefer the use of pink when it’s a little unexpected. (After all, hot pink is not a color for playing it safe.

Losing sight of your emotional goal is a mistake often cited when homeowners choose the wrong color for a room. If you’re after a calm room, the experts say, you’ll have to stay away from your favorite color red. But the truth is, just like people, colors can surprise you. Here are more than a dozen rooms where the vibe of the room goes against the conventional color personality. Some colors can’t change their stripes, so to speak.

The easiest way to add color to a room is by painting the walls. But how do you infuse a room with color if you’re not allowed to paint? Of course, there are many solutions — from decorative accessories and art to pillows and throws — but the biggest impact can probably be seen by introducing a vibrant rug. Lets see how these (mostly) neutral rooms get transformed by a colorful rug! 1.

We all love some spaces more than others. Here, for example, are two beautiful bedrooms. The first one belongs to Gregory and Jenny in Venice, CA, and the second is Sooz Gordon’s place in Scotland. One is light and bright, and the second is dark and cozy. Which do you prefer to sleep in?

We hear often that many folks are paralyzed about how to start decorating their home. We don’t blame you; there are a lot of things to think about/consider/decide. If you’ve been living in a blank or boring room for too long, what you might need is a narrow set of guidelines to stick to so you can get started. And a limiting but still fabulous palette is just the way to go.

Bold paint colors in your home are not for the timid, but if you love to surround yourself with color, then here are some combos you may want to try. Don’t limit yourself to the walls — try bringing some bold color to your furniture, floors, ceiling, or trim for some interesting color play in your space. And if you’re thinking about joining the color adventures but hesitating, start with a smaller room like a powder room, den, laundry room, etc., and feel it out. TOP ROW: 1.

Painting an entire room teal or mustard or charcoal can seem like a lot: a lot of color, a lot of work, a lot of paint, and a lot of repainting if you hate it. But just one wall? One wall is totally manageable. Bold accent walls are perfect for those of us who love color- just not too much color. Here are some of our favorite examples from Apartment Therapy’s House Tours. FIRST ROW: 1. Kristen and Mike’s Mid-Century Oasis 2. A Bright Beautiful Bungalow From An Ohio Trio 3.

Are you painting a room in your house to achieve a peaceful atmosphere? Whether it be a bedroom or a living room, a foyer or a kitchen, your color choice can affect the mood you are trying to set.

Blue is a favorite wall color choice, and for good reason. It’s often an unobtrusive color that blends into the background and offers a hint of calm and serenity. But blue isn’t always used as just a whisper of a color. Take a look at how some of our recent house tours showcase blue in their rooms, in ways that range from a peaceful hue to a confident statement. Top Row: 1. Cory’s Former Factory Loft in Berlin exhibits the beautiful payoff of not being shy with color. 2.

Color warms, brightens and enlivens; it’s why we often advocate for its frequent use! Adding in color with accessories, furniture and art is an easy way to create a color palette that fits your personality. But sometimes small color mistakes can lead to unhappy design side effects in your home. Here are three common color missteps, and the easy ways you can redirect your home’s color palette back on track!

Name: Jamie Bayer Location: Logan Square, Chicago, Illinois My name is Jamie and I share a two story loft with two fuzzy kitty roommates in Chicago, Illinois. The apartment is 1,100 square feet with an open floor plan and plenty of light. I live in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. This is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Chicago as there is always something going on! In the summer we have farmer’s markets, street festivals and outdoor patios.

Feeling daring? Have a paint project planned this weekend and want to find a color that will really get you out of your comfort zone? Painting your walls, architectural elements and furniture bold colors is one of the best ways to add interest and personality in a space, make your home stand out, and make your home look good. We’ve got some gutsy hues from real-life homes to take the fear out of worrying they won’t work (you can see they do!).

Blue — it’s a versatile color that in its darkest hues is dramatic and moody. It can be bold, uplifting and energizing. It can mix with other hues to create stunning teals, turquoises, dusty bluish grays and more. Barely there, it’s a hint of color that soothes and softens. Want to pick a blue for a wall or furniture paint project this weekend and know it’ll look amazing? Check out these 20 real-life examples of blues used in house tours — including paint names!

One of the best decisions I’ve made in decorating my home has been choosing a dark paint color for the room where my husband and I watch (a lot of) TV. These five homes that show how the look and feel can work in other living rooms too. In addition to minimizing your TV’s presence when the lights are on, a dark wall color creates a cozy feel. The color doesn’t have to be black — deep blue greens (Images 1 and 5) work well too.

We had some house tours from folks not afraid of color this week. Rich, soothing and energizing, these colors would complement a lot of styles. And as evidenced from the gorgeous real-life spaces that accompany these hues, you know they work. Grab wall paint color inspiration from these actual rooms for your own color project this weekend.

We’re glad to see the colorblock paint trend continue into 2014. Paint is always a great way to add interest to a room without major commitment or a big budget and colorblocking takes it to the next level by adding unique interest to your space. The possibilities are endless, it really depends how creative you want to be.

It’s unstable, reactive and even toxic but that hasn’t tempered our obsession with the fragile beauty of Verdigris. If you’ve seen an old, rusty penny, you’ve seen verdigris in nature; it’s the greenish-blue patina that forms on copper, bronze or brass when it’s exposed to moisture. Just take a look at this artist’s reproduction of what a brand new Statue of Liberty must have looked like. Statue of Liberty, copper construction.

I don’t know about you, but all the places I’ve lived as a renter have been painted an awkward, almost-yellow taupe. I first encountered it on all the walls of my rooms in college, so I call it “dorm yellow”. Despite over five years of living with it (and knowing it could be worse!), I haven’t figured out how to decorate with sandy yellow walls. Happily for me, and all of us in this situation, there are a bunch of renter-friendly solutions to yucky walls!

Instead of commenting on everyone else’s colors of the year, I’m going to do something I’ve been threatening for years — pick my own. Each year paint companies put out a set of color recommendations for you, dear consumer, that indicate trends and suggest options for you and your home that will make you feel comfortably in style.

The first thing you see as you step off the street and walk into Colorova, located just south of Saint Germain, is the black, white and red diamond wallpaper on the adjacent wall. As the name suggests, this place is all about color, from the rainbow-colored crocheted chairs to the colorful pastries and cakes that are so artful, they look almost too good to eat.

Personally, I couldn’t wait to find out if I was having a baby boy or a baby girl, but plenty of parents prefer the surprise. However, few parents want to wait until after the delivery to put a nursery together. If you plan on painting your walls, this might leave you with a conundrum – what color? Today we’re just going to look at just one color – green – and see how it works, with different accent colors, in both boys and girls rooms.

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.

With these frigid temperatures, I want to spend more and more time warm in bed (begone, polar vortex!). While I generally love a good dose of color, winter whites of the non-snow variety are very appealing to me right now. These bedrooms are neutral but not boring because they use texture (the rugs, pillows, and blankets in images 2 and 3) and shine (the mercury glass lamps and silvery pillows in image 1) wisely. 1.

Anyone else spend a good portion of today in bed wondering how it’s going to be possible to step out into the cold? Even if the weather’s warm right now where you live, weekends were meant for snuggling in bed and contemplating warm, cozy spaces. Scroll through the ideas found in these rooms — they won’t actually raise the temperature, but they sure might make you feel a bit warmer today.

Talented photographers share their skills with Apartment Therapy in house tours and blog posts all year long, but some shots just stand out and stick with us. A great photograph is one that captures a subject’s spirit perfectly, that pulls you in to the visual experience and that inspires. These a few of our favorites from Apartment Therapy photographers in 2013, chosen by Maxwell, our founder.

We’ve said it a million times and 2013 was no exception: the best, cheapest and easiest way to dramatically transform your space is by using color. In fact, the hardest part of any painting project is probably deciding which color to choose. We got you. Here are 10 of the best in our series of Paint Color Portfolios to inspire you to make the leap to a more colorful home in 2014. 1.Coral Bathrooms 2. Black Bedrooms 3. Dark Green Kitchens 4. Dark Blue Dining Rooms 5. Light Grey Nurseries 6.

Whether you’re into deep, rich wall colors or not, going for a dark color in the bedroom may seem scary — after all, no one wants to feel like they’re sleeping in a cave! But with dark grays, rich browns, tantalizing jewel tones and even a “shocking” cobalt blue, the proof in these stylish bedrooms from our house tours is convincing.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know by now that Radiant Orchid, a medium-toned pinky purple, is Pantone’s color of the year for 2014. As Janel mentioned the other day when she broke the news, it marries well with grey (the real color of the year in my opinion), as well as creamy whites and metallics. And, may I add, it’s a great color for bathrooms and bedrooms, where it reflects off your skin and makes you look amazing (I know, my bathroom used to be this color).

There is something so wholesome, tangible and satisfying about felt. Not only is it warm and comforting, it’s also majorly colorful and energizing as well. Which might just make it the world’s perfect fabric for wintertime. Projects and ideas abound, and this is your guide. Here are some products and projects that will give you the warm fuzzies: These cute boxes were made using inexpensive stiffened felt (called E-Z Felt) found at a major craft supply store.

What bland optimism. Just look at all those smiling, happy white people. If there was ever a more striving crawl towards generic homogeneity, I’d like to hear about it. And if this utopia was built in the 40s and disintegrated in the 60s, then for a moment it existed — for some — in the calm center of the storm of the world, 1950s America. Let’s look at the colors used to sell this story.

Have you ever closed your eyes and imagined which colors of the spectrum would visually represent your favorite songs? And would you consider painting a room using those colors? I imagine Vivaldi’s Concerto for Cello in G exploding in a blur of greens and yellows, the Cocteau Twins’ Heaven or Las Vegas an ethereal dripping-swirl of deep reds and purples, Pete Rock & C. L.

Often called “Chinese Red,” vermilion actually has a long and storied history throughout many cultures of the ancient world. Read on to find out more about this ancient color. It starts with a mineral, the undisputed champion of cool mineral names: cinnabar. Grinding cinnabar produces the brilliant red powder called vermilion, evidence of which was found as early as 8000 BC in the area that is now Turkey.

The idea of collecting art can be a daunting one and when it comes to finding the perfect pieces to fill your walls it can feel like there are only two directions you can go in, mass produced cookie-cutter art or the intimidating, confusing and often expensive option of buying directly from a gallery. The internet has democratized the process quite a bit, but can be hard to sift through what’s available. Here are ten of my go to resources for good, affordable art.

Coral can be defined as a reddish yellow, pinkish yellow or a light yellowish red. It’s similar in shade to salmon and tangerine, with the former having a stronger pink undertone and the latter, a stronger orange. Coral is often associated with colors suited for a Caribbean beach house or tropical decor, but with the variety of tones, this bold yet warm color is quite easy to pull off in many spaces.

Immediately after finishing up my mudcloth project earlier this month, I looked around the house and asked myself, “Hmmmm, now what else can I dye?” There are so many other materials out there in the world, why stop at just fabric? I just want to turn the world into a great big vat of Rit Dye or blackberries and throw everything — furniture, accessories, you name it — in and swirl it around.

I’ve been unable to find a word adequate to describing these beautiful purple-brown hues. Not quite eggplant, not quite taupe, they inhabit some luscious middle ground. These purple-browns can add more depth to a room than a standard chocolate or lavender, thanks to the way that they elegantly shift in tone as the light waxes and wanes, at times seeming gray, at others cocoa, and at others still, a deep purple.

Painting your bathroom mint green can get wonky 60’s grandma real fast, but lately I have seen so many examples that are clean and refreshing. Different shades can create different ambiances: lighter shades of mint green make for a more calm, relaxing feel, while brighter shades of mint green can be more fun and retro. Here are some inspiring rooms, and inspiring shades for you to check out. INSPIRATION ROOMS: 1. The New York Times 2. Castro Design Studio via Houzz 3.

Mustard can be a hard color to pin down — yellowy, orangey, golden, ochre-esque, olive-adjacent — but like pornography, I know it when I see it. Here are a few gorgeous mustard living rooms and paints perfect for autumn and beyond. INSPIRATION ROOMS: 1. Post from Paris: Steven and Garth’s Pied-à-Terre 2. House to Home 3. Valerie’s “From Craigslist with Love” Room 4. Martell Home Builders PAINT COLORS TO GET THIS LOOK: 1. Behr Brown Mustard #360D-7 2.

I don’t think I’ve ever met a dark blue I didn’t like. Especially when paired with white, metal, or warm wood, paint in these tones can be a sophisticated choice. Here are five rooms where dark blue paint creates an inviting backdrop, and 10 paints to get the look. INSPIRATION ROOMS: 1. Ashley Capp for The Marion House Book 2. Nuevo Estilo 3. Lonny 4. Design*Sponge 5. House Tweaking PAINT COLORS TO GET THIS LOOK: 1. Van Deusen Blue by Benjamin Moore 2.

I like to play with the feel of interiors, throwing together things that you might not always think to combine. One of my favorite looks at the moment is something I like to call ‘dark feminine,’ which pairs things that we traditionally associate with ‘feminine’ decor — curves, intricate patterns, soft fabrics, flowers — with dark, moody colors. The result is mysterious, intriguing, and unexpectedly modern. TOP ROW: 1. That aubergine velvet sofa! Yum.

image:d330685952fe47e6c2b5324799c345e0e30f38e2 w:540 s:"fit" class_name:"mt-image-center" show_pin_button:"true" show_image_credits:"true" There may be nothing more daring than painting your walls black. I was surprised to find such a wide variety of blacks, from deep dark greys to blue toned blacks. Painting your walls such a deep hue works especially well in sun-filled rooms where the black can reflect beautiful light.

Renters rejoice! We know that you can sometimes feel left out of the color loop because you can’t bust out that paint brush and splash color all over your walls. But fear not – here are 30 fabulous ways to add color to your kids’ rooms (or most any room of the house) without painting the walls: ROW ONE 1. Hang some colorful curtains 2. Paint the bed 3. Use removable wall decals 4. Add colorful seating 5. Add colorful storage baskets ROW TWO 6. Create a colorful book display 7.

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.

Pale pink may not be a common color for the dining room, but I absolutely love it in these inspiration rooms. It’s such a calming and demure color that I can’t imagine not having a relaxing meal in a room so delicate. The pale, peachy hues shown above are subtle, yet unexpected enough to be unique. See below for some colors that can help you get this look. Inspiration Rooms: 1. Yvestown flickr (Licensed under Creative Commons) 2. Kishani Perera for Style Me Pretty 3.

I’m a big fan of less common color schemes, and I love bold color in nurseries and kids bedrooms. In honor of color month here at Apartment Therapy, I rounded up some fantastic spaces featuring a relatively underused color scheme: orange and green. 1. This “Small Space Nursery Triumph” is tiny, but the mix of patterns lends it lots of personality and the soothing sage green and carrot orange are balanced by the neutral greys and whites. 2.

You can render room features invisible or make them stand out with strategic painting choices. These projects — in varying degrees — all match either architectural features or decor to the wall color around them. Ask yourself as you look at them: what does your eye float across, and where does it stop and linger? TOP ROW: 1. Painting trim and other architectural details is a classic way to unify a room, and makes it less jarring to walk into.

Neon has been enjoying a design redemption in a big way. These hot colors are hot again, but unlike most design trends, neon hasn’t trickled down into nurseries and kids spaces as much as I’d expected. But for those parents who have chosen to use neon in big or small ways, I say hats off to you!

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.

We have been building a rammed earth garden shed for over a year now, squeezed in between work schedules, parenting, and keeping up with the general (less exciting) projects of homeownership. Last weekend we finally put a door on it, which was made by my husband of salvaged cedar. We wanted something green, but didn’t want to give up the natural woodgrain of the salvaged boards:So, we headed to the local paint store to research our options.

Anyone who has tried to pick out white paint knows there are tons of variants. In my case, I’ve started a personal crusade against antique white in favor of a brighter white. One of the most ambitious goals in my January Cure was painting all the antique white walls in my three-story row home Ultra Pure White. Having redone two long hallways areas, I’ve made decent progress. Today I’m working on an awkward stairway.

Piet Mondrian used reds, yellows, blues, and blacks. Donald Judd’s palette has included green, pink, and orange. Carl Andre relied on the colors of specific materials like wood and metals. And yet somehow, the term “minimalism” today calls to mind an image of a pure, clean, and orderly space with white as the dominant color. Why, despite seeing color everywhere, do we still tend to associate the minimal and the modern with whiteness?

Last February, I invited past House Tour participant Mark Wynsma over to socialize, share some macarons, meet my Frenchie and discuss design. His home is fantastic with his brave DIYs, his eclectic style, and of course his bold and (very) successful use of color. Many of my friends have mentioned his tour to me as their inspiration for painting their homes in bold hues, and now that I am looking to paint my home (currently all white), I naturally asked him for his thoughts.

Beige paint might as well be a toxic poison, because around here, it elicits just as many negative reactions as a typo. I get it. Who wants their walls to look like a giant bandaid? But, like most things in life, the right beige, in the right place with the right friends, has a chance at happiness.Before we get down to paint colors, let’s start with basics.

Sometimes there is nothing quite so daunting as a big, blank wall, waiting to be painted. With all the time, money and effort that painting entails, you want to be sure that you’re actually going to like the finished product. Read on for some tips on how to choose color wisely.Consider your light. First of all, you should be realistic about your space and the colors that will work within it, and light plays a big role here.