How to Add Bold Color without Commitment (2 comments)

Earlier this week I went all Barbra Steisand white, and now I need to cleanse all that purity from my system with some crazy bold color. The people who decorated these rooms are fearless when it comes to flashy hues, and I admire it. While I know I would tire of certain colors after awhile, I am inspired by all of the following shots.

There are ways to add bold color while making less of a commitment than a contestant on "The Bachelor." For example, if you know you need your sofa to last you for at least ten years, and you aren't the artist formerly and currently known as Prince, you probably don't want to do an expensive custom fabric in bright purple. However, you can always start with a neutral colored sofa and add eye-popping pillows, a throw, or even use a temporary slipcover.

Likewise, most wooden furniture and lamp bases can handle a few coats of paint, so grabbing a flea market find and giving it some high gloss taxicab yellow may give you all the color pop you need. Painting walls isn't too much of a nightmare, so if you are feeling brave, go for it. Just make sure you paint just one wall first to see if you like it. In fact, get a little sample jar from Benjamin Moore and paint part of the wall. I wished I had done that before I painted my entire living room in a color called "Serenity Blue" I picked from a one inch square sample. It was more like "I feel like I'm in the bottom of a swimming pool blue" and I found myself yelling "Serenity Now! Serenity Now!" But I digress.

Switching out duvet covers, rugs, and/or curtains is easy and inexpensive. If you tire of that particular color, clean them and sell them on eBay or donate them for a tax deduction. You can also bring in color through collections, like an arrangement of bright plates on the wall, new lampshades, or a large piece of art.

Perhaps none of you share my fear of commitment to lime green, I just know my tastes are always changing and evolving, so I tend to get design A.D.D. easily. All of the spaces below are so well done they are probably worth getting down on one knee for. Either way, there are plenty of ways to add audacious color to your decor without being married to it for eternity.

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