The 17 Most Colorful Room Redos of 2023 (So Far!)
Often, when the weather warms up and summer vacations get going, the clothes in store windows become just a bit brighter, more vibrant, and more bold. The same happens with interiors! You might be noticing brighter colors in accessories and furniture right now as brands embrace summer vibes. Feeling intimidated at the idea of adding some of those bold hues to your own decor? We’ve got you! Take some inspiration from these intrepid DIYers who didn’t shy away from big color choices in redoing their homes this year. Below, find 17 of the most colorful home redos we’ve seen so far in 2023 — color-coded, of course!
Red Makeovers
1. A 20-Year-Old Kitchen Gets a Room-Brightening Redo and a Surprising Paint Color
Interior designer Sean Doherty used Farrow & Ball’s Red Earth on the new IKEA cabinets in his now-modern kitchen, which is right on trend for kitchens! Doherty’s best color advice? “Be bold in areas that are easily changeable,” he says. “If I end up hating it or selling, I could easily paint this a new color,” he explains, adding that his paint cost him about $60 total. “Changing tiles isn’t as easy.” See more photos and details here.
Pink Makeovers
2. A Childhood Bedroom Gets a Grown-Up Glow Up for $700
If going bold with red in kitchens is trending this year, the same can be said for pink in bedrooms. This bedroom, redone by mother-daughter DIY duo Maria (@purehappyhome) and Mary Kamara, is drenched in a coral-y pink, Valspar’s Salmon Run. (It was once a minty teal, Mary’s favorite color when she was younger.) The Kamaras decided to paint the crown molding in the room in the same color for easy coverage that also ups the drama. See more photos and details here.
3. A Bold and Glamorous Rental Bedroom Redo Took Inspiration from a Surprising Source
This head-to-toe pink bedroom is a bit more of a lipstick pink, Benjamin Moore’s Palermo Rose. “In this case, the colors needed to be the right shade — not too peachy, and not too Barbie pink,” designer Ally Doman (@domandecors) says. “I think the final product turned out even better than I had planned.” Fun fact: The inspiration for this bedroom actually came from Billie Eilish’s “Happier than Ever” music video set. See more photos and details here.
4. A “Bland” 1961 Bathroom Is Revived with a Luxe-Looking Makeover
Another way to go bold with color is to use wallpaper rather than paint. This Milton & King wallpaper packs a punch in designer and artist Aynsley Wille’s (@aynsleyanne.studio) bathroom by adding bold color and pattern. “The wallpaper, hands-down, made the biggest impact on the space,” Wille says. See more photos and details here.
Orange Makeovers
5. A Beige Bedroom Gets a Zip of Color in an Unexpected Spot for Just $25
Another color trend to keep an eye out for in 2023? Orange on the ceiling. Lezeth Alfaro (@lezethh) used orange paint on her bedroom’s fifth wall (pictured above), and Hayley Fellows-Prior used it in her living room redo. Glidden’s Glowing Firelight, a red-orange, adds rich color and makes the room feel “taller but also more cozy,” Alfaro says. See more photos and details here.
6. A Budget-Savvy Bedroom Redo Has a Chic Fix for Ugly Closet Doors
A light orange makes a statement behind the headboard in this bedroom redo by Lucía Gogenola (@proyectopasillodeco). Gogenola added matching picture frame molding for added sophistication, too, and then darker red-orange semicircles are repeated throughout the space to make the design cohesive. See more photos and details here.
7. A $200 Bathroom Redo Ditches the Dingy but Keeps the Retro ’60s Vibes
Bedrooms are a great spot to go bold because they’re so personal, but that doesn’t mean other spots in the home don’t deserve a splash of color. This $200 bathroom redo by Trina Huizinga (@midmodhotdog) proves the power of paint, as Valspar’s Desert Carnation totally revived her 1960s bathroom. “I love that the ‘after’ gives this old bathroom new life without changing its character or cool retro original elements,” Huizinga says. See more photos and details here.
Yellow Makeovers
8. After This Gray Kitchen’s Sunny Redo, Every Hour Is Golden Hour
Renter Hannah Fröberg (@myplaceincolour) makes a great case for adding bold color to a kitchen: “The kitchen is the first room I go to in the mornings after I wake up,” she says. “I want it to be energetic, welcoming, and inspiring.” Her new goldenrod paint, retro yellow patterns, and lemon-colored pendant are better than espresso — and certainly livened up her kitchen from its more industrial and minimal beginnings. See more photos and details here.
9. A Hand-Me-Down Bunk Bed Inspires a Whole-Room Redo in a Surprising Color Combo
Yellow paint (Valspar’s Sweet Lemon) helped revive the beat-up bunk bed and the wall behind it in this once-just-OK kids’ room. The after is way better than OK; it’s “so cheery” and “the happiest room in our house,” says homeowner Suzanne Kryton (@suzannekrytondesigns). In fact, the painted stripes turned out so well that people often ask if the yellow feature wall is wallpaper. Suzanne says she only regrets not decking out the whole room in yellow stripes. See more photos and details here.
10. A $200 Paint Project Brings Instant Cheer to a Bland White Dining Area
Here, it’s hexagons to the rescue. Ji Hea Kim (@feedthehouse) wanted to liven up this underwhelming corner in her dining room, so she used a hexagon stencil, painter’s tape, and Behr’s English Daisy and Soft Boiled to create a honeycomb pattern. “I wanted the area to feel sunny and visually separate from the hallway, kitchen, and seating area,” Kim says. She also wanted to “create more of a zone and brighten the feel — almost like internal sunshine when you come home.” Mission accomplished! See more photos and details here.
Green Makeovers
11. This $500 Apartment Entryway Redo Is Maximalism for Clutter Haters
Renter Morgan Jones (@mojounfiltered) and her fiancé, Christian, turned their apartment entryway into a little jewel box, thanks to head-to-toe green floral wallpaper. Morgan also has advice for going bold with color and pattern: “When you have a vision that is out of your ordinary style, trial it in a small space!” she says. “If you hate it, it’s easy to break down, and if you love it, you will always love visiting that space.” And she certainly loves coming in and out of her apartment now. “I love that the space now feels like its own special part of our apartment, and not just a transitional, forgotten space,” she says of the emerald entryway. See more photos and details here.
12. A 1980s Bathroom’s Bold Redo Gives Its Original Green Fixtures Staying Power
It turns out, doubling down on green was exactly what was needed for Anne’s (@ourhouseofdisco) 1980s bathroom and its avocado fixtures and tan tile. The stripes add a sense of modernity to the space, making the tub, toilet, and sink look meant-to-be, and the bold pattern helps distract from the dated tan tile.
13. $1,200 Later, a Stuck-in-the-’80s Living Room Has a Vibrant, Victorian-Inspired New Look
This living room redo combines historic character with homeowners Jake Wilkinson and his partner, Megan’s, personal colorful style. They traded patterned ‘80s wallpaper for a deep green paint (Leyland Trade’s Forest Storm, a U.K.-brand) in the room. One other green detail to love? The floral tiles that Jake sourced from a local salvage shop and installed around the fireplace. See more photos and details here.
Blue Makeovers
14. A $500 Redo Restores a Blue-Tiled Bathroom to Its 1950s Glory Days
Libby Paulsen (@libpaulsen) and Sandor Hizo’s 1950s bathroom still had its original blue tile and tub, so they decided to source a blue sink and toilet from the same era to match, going all in on cornflower. After a months-long search, they found those at a demo sale. “We were so happy to save them,” Paulsen says. “Being able to salvage the original tile and bring in even more mid-century features to the bathroom was such a win for us.” See more photos and details here.
15. A Bare-Walled Bedroom Gets a Bold, One-of-a-Kind Makeover for $500
It only cost painter Rebekah Skovron (@rebbypaints) about $500 to totally transform her once-plain gray bedroom into a bold blue and white wonderland. She used royal blue paint, multipurpose craft paper, and tape for her custom blue “wallpaper.” See more photos and details here.
Purple Makeovers
16. A $6,000 Bedroom Redo Packs a Punch with a Surprising Color Combo
The bold purple paint in this bedroom redo is Dunn-Edwards’ Plum Perfect — and it looks pretty darn perfect paired with the floral wallpaper and brass accessories in the space. “We chose bright colors to be energizing, but not chaotic,” homeowner Amala Raj Swenson (@amalarajinteriors) says of her room redo. See more photos and details here.
17. A Plain Spare Room Transforms into a “Disco Cocoon” Media Lounge
What better color for a “disco cocoon” than purple-meets-magenta? This video game room with a “dark, velvety, disco kind of vibe,” designed by Arlene Lord (@lorddesign.interiors), gets its color in part due to the fuchsia wallpaper and the deep green-blue paint on the walls (Benjamin Moore’s Dark Harbor), and mostly due to the customizable LED lighting. It’s totally unrecognizable from its beige farmhouse beginnings. See more photos and details here.