Tag Archives: using red in interior design

Hi everyone!  I did a post on using red in interior design a little while ago but I had to make it a short post because we were going through Hurricane Sandy. So today I’d like to continue with this gorgeous hue {so fitting because of the season too!}

Gorgeous red-orange handpainted wallpaper in a home office would make me want to stay there more often and work.  Designer Betsy Burnham did a beautiful job in this space, mixing the Chinoserie walls, the Chinese garden stool with the animal print rug over the Persian.  I love how the bird on the wallpaper looks like it’s pecking on the orchid on the desk.

Red comes in many shades and tones but when its a pinkish red, it has such a sweetness to it. How about upholstering your room in felt! This living room, designed by Miles Redd, has a light and feminine feel to it {especially with those lovely pelmets at the window}. I love the touches of blue in the carpet, the lamp, the accent chair and the vase. The wood furniture helps keep the room from being too light.

Red is a great color to use in a dining room.  It helps to stir up the appetite. Benjamin Moore’s Garrison Red, above, has a bit more brown in it than the Miles Redd living room color. I love the mirrored dining table – it magnifies the red even more.

This is a deeper red from Glidden Paint called Red Delicious.

A lighter red {a deep pink} looks beautiful in a dining room. What a great entertaining space.  I love how the designer, Mark Morris, did the window treatments.  they give a softness to the room but they don’t obstruct the view or prevent you from using the doors.

Besides paint, fabric and wallpaper, think about putting a smooth red plaster on your walls.  We did a beautiful powder room in a Crimson Red metallic plaster and then installed decorative crown moldings {painting them a gold metallic and antiquing them}.  The ceiling is a pale gold – just to give it a little extra shimmer.

If you are a bit timid about using red on all of your walls, try using it in smaller doses. Red is great in a kitchen.  Here it is used as a backsplash – beautiful!

Red, black and white is a great color combination. Love the Dorothy Draper-esque chest! The red and white wallpaper is the punch that was needed in this room.

Here’s the red, white and black combination again with a more modern twist.  I love the Chinese Chippendale chairs painted black.

Using a red geometric pattern on a ceiling really brings out its curves in this Holiday House 2012 room from designer Inson Wood. The ceiling is a bas relief made from gold dusted and waxed Venetian plaster outlined with red lacquer.  I can tell you from experience that this took forever and a day to complete. On the far wall is a hand painted Gracie wallpaper in red.  Just beautiful.

So give red a try in your home.  Whether in large or small doses…it will warm and liven up any room.  It’s a gorgeous hue!

You may also be interested in this link –  “The Color Red, Part 1.”

Image credits: 1) Martha Stewart.com 2) Betsy Burnham via Design Sponge  3) Elle Decor 4) Rate My Space   5) Glidden  6) Mark Morris 7) Me –  The Colorful Bee 8) Maison Le Dragon 9) Turquoise LA via decorpad 10) Vanessa DeVargas via Houzz 11) Inson Wood