Red makes the heart sing

 We all have colours we are attracted to or not so fond of.  Sometimes we like colours in one application and not in another.  That is the fate of red in my life.  I love splashes of red in clothing  and textiles, but it is  never a colour that pops into my head  when I think about colours I love for walls or furniture. Red is so difficult to ignore because of its warmth and saturation, it doesn't fit with my need for calmness and relaxation in my home. While there's no red where I live, I've developed colour schemes around it for clients. There's nothing like it for that pop of excitement.

Better Homes and Gardens 

Live on the wild side! Bedding is a great place to push the colour envelope. If you tire of your moment of adventure, it can be rectified without too much cost.  If the bold stripes you loved end up being too much to wake up to every morning, consider recycling the sheets into pillow covers, a cloth bag, a table runner etc.

Country Living

 Red makes a fantastic accent colour that can often be linked together with painted furniture, cushions, red patterned draperies, lamps, etc.  I've noticed red with lighter blues in design sources lately. It makes an interesting combination.

Better Homes and Gardens 

This is another interesting combination with red- more green than blue. The use of  beige calms the overall feeling of the room.

Isabel Beattie @ K Cabinets Hamilton/Oakville

If you don't want to commit to four red walls, red makes a splashy accent statement.  Look for some aspect of your room that you want to emphasize, and go for it.  The sparing use of red in this design  is a good example of this principle in action.

Giulietti Schouten Architects

 Red doors are always popular and when you open a door into a space it works to repeat the colour inside as you can see above.  The red plate connects with the door colour and the circular shape connects with the mirror in the bathroom - nice visual flow. 

                                                         Michelle Salz-Smith, ASID, CID @ Studio Surface

 I'm sure the art work was the inspiration for the use of this soft coral red.  The design follows the principle of moving a colour around the room in varying proportions to create good visual flow.

modern kitchen design by toronto photographer Brandon Barré

 Red is always a knock out look with lots of white and a splash of black. High contrast does it every time.

If you want to paint a whole room red but you're afraid to dive into four large walls in a bedroom or kitchen, consider using it in transition spaces like a porch or in a bathroom.
 

source


 But some people just go for it! This is  the ultimate commitment to red.  The owners won't be changing their  mind about this room anytime soon.