Designer Tips: Using Bold Wall Colors

Most people shy away from bold wall colors. They can be intimidating. They can also be truly striking and take a room that is “nice”to one that is absolutely jaw-dropping.

House Beautiful magazine is covering the transformation of the Bee Cottage, focusing on a room each month. The Guest Bedroom Makeover provides a great example of many tips and tricks that Interior Designers use for selecting and using bold paint color. The guests who stay here will be blown away by the beauty of the room.

One surprising fact is that this room is tiny – about 9′ x 12′, with 7′ ceilings. Conventional rules say that painting with a dark color will make a room feel smaller. Obviously, this room breaks that rule in a glorious fashion. So, why does it work here? From House Beautiful, “Deep tones absorb the light, decreasing shadows so the space appears seamless and therefore larger.” Another important key in this room is that the ceiling is painted in the same color as the wall. It’s no secret that I am a big fan of painted ceilings. In this particular bedroom, painting the ceiling makes it virtually disappear. Look at the room again and just imagine the ceiling white. Your eye would immediately be drawn up to the ceiling. A white ceiling would make the room feel small and low and would emphasize the awkward angles of the space.

Another tip in the success of this Interior Design plan is the balance of color. The walls and ceilings are the largest surfaces in the room and are in the bold turquoise-y color. The second largest surfaces are the floor and furniture. These have all been kept very neutral so as not to compete with the wall color. The result is a balanced space that does not overwhelm.

The addition of a few bright red accessories adds a perfect level of interest to the room. Without this punch of color, it would be just a little flat. The red could have easily been replaced with yellow, green, orange, or any other color. For a great example of a room that employs these same Designer tips with a turquoise and tangerine scheme see the post Now That’s How You Use Color.

The Bee Cottage guest bathroom got an equally bold paint treatment. Without changing the flooring or fixtures in the room, the addition of paint on the walls and ceiling breathes new life into the room at minimal expense.

Before

AfterFor more tips on selecting bold paint colors in your home, check out these posts:

• Ask the Designer – Choosing Paint Color
• Before & After: Choosing Wall Color
• To Paint or Not to Paint… The Ceiling
• Now That’s How You Use Color!
• Painted Ceilings

Have you gone bold with your paint color? Share you photos with us on Facebook.