I’m out of my comfort zone when it comes to applying bright colour s to walls. Did it at home once yonks ago and it was so bad I was slapping another colour over it before it had barely dried. Did at our concession at The Shop At Bluebird (brightest brightest saffron yellow) and had four sleepness nights before it returned to soft grey. So I marvel at homes that have taken a walk on the wild side and made it work. Although I not sure I could live with it, it does kind of mesmerise me. My concern is I am not totally sure how sophisticated colourful walls look. I adore colour and have gotten braver as I have gotten older but just not sure about it on walls and when I say colour I mean zingy tangerine, lime, scarlet that sort of thing.. Love it on rugs, lighting, textiles, flowers blah blah blah .
Images below show just how cool it can look. Will I dabble thinking maybe not but then I like to be brought out of my comfort zone otherwise life gets way to dull. By the way we will be extending our free style surgery held first Saturday on each month – to all of you who live out of town via video conferencing. Which means (due to popular demand and zillions of emails asking if we can set up a skype service – we are). Early days and will yabber more about it later on in the week – but yes you will be able to send images of your pad in advance, make an appointment for the consultation and we will delight you with all sorts of crazy but cool ideas for how to turn your pad from drab to fab.
There is alot going on but it works I think.
On the fence with this one – love the bright yellow blind not totally there with the wall colour.
Is it just that bright walls are a bit dated. Rich yellow walls were very House and Home in the eighties, all the better to show off one’s collection of blue and white chinoiserie. And remember Habitat’s lime green accent walls in the early nineties. Maybe they’re coming back in but I’m with you on this.
Where is the line between bright and vibrant?
Our living room will now be F&B Mahogany (I lost out on Down Pipe) and I have two small rooms off to the side that will be seen through partially opened doors, dimly lit, or caught from firelight/candlelight… The guest bathroom will be Brinjal and I am still deciding on the perfect red for the ‘naughty’ room (I’ve narrowed it down to Rectory Red or Radicchio) which has a huge window on one wall but otherwise is built like a tube. Or I could just wuss out and do it Brinjal as well. Whatever.
Regardless, a light colour would look horrid in this situation, whereas something I’d like to think of as vibrant will be fab. (Please note that I will use only neutrals to put what few pieces of furniture will fit.)
Abigail, I have to agree with you. I did a bedroom in scarlet once. I was thinking exotic and sexy. As the paint started to dry, all I could think of was “bordello”. I didn’t even finish the room before I HAD to revert to a neutral wall color. Then, there was the office I painted apple green. When the sunlight hit the paint, the room glowed green – particularly disturbing when viewed from the hallway!
Personally, I love to look at these rooms with bold wall colors, but will always chose a neutral and add color through furnishings and accessories. As seasons or tastes change, just swap out amethyst throw pillows for peacock, and you’re still au courant!
I too agree with you here. I painted one wall yellow in my previous apartment, and just for the heck of it I painted another one purple. The result looked cheap, and not something I would wish to live with. Thankfully I had to move quite suddenly, so didn’t have to worry about repainting. My new walls are greyish, and I love them.
I try to appreciate all colors, but that green wall reminds me too much of a college boyfriend who painted his whole room (no windows) that shade… WAY too much green…
I love color saturated walls, and I love all over studio white as well.
The trick is following the light that each room offers, and sometimes a good neutral base is the most difficult to find.
I did my bedroom in a primary blue once. It looked quite good but I have to say within a couple of months I started to change my mind about it. My eyes literally got tired of looking at such a big statement piece as my four walls. I felt everything else in the room fought with the colour which took over. It felt so therapeutic to paint it and put the blue monster to rest.
But your friend (I have assumed he is your friend!) Graham Atkins-Hughes just managed the compromise by painting a whole wall of cupboard in a bright but deep blue in his bedroom! It seems to work if you can balance it with a dark rich colour scheme. I guess it is one step further from your approach which is to put bright accessories on dark walls. But I agree with you that the whole room would just make me sick!
He has indeed and because its a wardrobe looks far more fabulous than just a painted out feature wall. Its all to do with the saturation point the chocolatey walls and the inky blue cupboards strike the same note x