Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,000,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Color Guide: How to Work With Red
Sizzling or sedate, red is not for the timid. Here's how to use its boldness to make your rooms come alive
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel and design. I just completed my first remodel, turning my crumbling 1941 kitchen into a beauty of grays, whites and natural wood. If I could, I'd sleep on the countertop. That's how much I love it.
You can also read my parenting blog on Baby Center http://blogs.babycenter.com/author/sschoech/
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel... More »
It's the color of fire, love, passion and blood. In China it is associated with happiness. In Japan it is linked to heroism. In Western cultures it also hints at sex, deviance and shame.
Whatever its associations, red is a powerful and beautiful color. True red is a primary color, but the spectrum of reds is vast, from pale pink (white with a little red in it) to scarlet, crimson and vermillion. In decorating, bright, vibrant reds are usually reserved for accents, while darker, browner reds end up on walls, floors and doors.
Its complementary partner is cyan, or turquoise blue, but it looks good with greens and all sorts of neutrals too, especially warm grays and whites. Red does well with a high gloss (think Chinese lacquer) and dramatic lighting.
Red works in all sorts of decorating styles, from sleek modern to country cute, but it's a dramatic color and to use it in a space is to make a statement. A red room is a fearless room.
Whatever its associations, red is a powerful and beautiful color. True red is a primary color, but the spectrum of reds is vast, from pale pink (white with a little red in it) to scarlet, crimson and vermillion. In decorating, bright, vibrant reds are usually reserved for accents, while darker, browner reds end up on walls, floors and doors.
Its complementary partner is cyan, or turquoise blue, but it looks good with greens and all sorts of neutrals too, especially warm grays and whites. Red does well with a high gloss (think Chinese lacquer) and dramatic lighting.
Red works in all sorts of decorating styles, from sleek modern to country cute, but it's a dramatic color and to use it in a space is to make a statement. A red room is a fearless room.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Red in the Kitchen
Red adds warmth and coziness. This eclectic kitchen uses red to bring together a retro stove and backsplash, an island with a country vibe and a rich Oriental rug.
Red adds warmth and coziness. This eclectic kitchen uses red to bring together a retro stove and backsplash, an island with a country vibe and a rich Oriental rug.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Red cabinetry, especially if it's stained rather than painted, can give a kitchen a warm, traditional country feel. It goes well with the the warm tones of the natural wood too.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Red on the Walls The accent wall is the probably the most common way to incorporate red into a room. It's bold but not too much. With this room's clean lines and bright whites, red looks very modern but still warm. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
If you want to go crazy with red, try it in a small space. A tiny red powder room is vibrant and fun without feeling overwhelming.
by Rikki Snyder
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Chinese-patterned red wallpaper gives this space such depth and richness. Try to imagine the same wall in a sage green or beige — feels pretty blah after this, right?
|
by FORMA Design
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Here's another red accent wall. Red really benefits from good lighting, and this wall seems to glow, adding warmth and intimacy to the room. |
by emily jagoda
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Here's an accent wall in high gloss. It glows among the warm neutrals and almost looks like a piece of art.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Here, glossy red is achieved with tile. It gives an otherwise stark white bathroom so much depth. |
by Holly Marder
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
OK, so it's not a wall, but this red floor is still a dramatic choice that adds a lot of warmth and intimacy to a large room with a high ceiling.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Decorating With Red When you choose a print with lots of red, you get the benefit of being able to add red accents. Red is dominant here but not at all overwhelming. And see how well it goes with green? |
| A red sofa brings some pop and passion into a very buttoned-up, traditional living room. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
I am in love with this small bathroom, which becomes an absolute jewel with the red wallpaper and matching claw-foot tub.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Red and turquoise are soul mates.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| A traditional living room with red accents. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| A modern living room with red accents. |
| Red Outside Red appears in nature all the time, but you don't see it very often in design and decorating for the outdoors (except on doors). If you use it, it will pop like nothing else. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Any door can benefit from red. Seriously, any door. Modern doors.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Craftsman doors.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Urban doors.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Cottage doors. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Barn doors.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Colonial doors. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Midcentury doors. I'm telling you, they all work beautifully.
by Benjamin Moore
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Red Paint and Wallpaper
This is an excellent red for walls: bluish and deep and sedate.
This is an excellent red for walls: bluish and deep and sedate.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Another cool red that would work well in a traditional room.
by Benjamin Moore
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
A vibrant pinkish red.
by Benjamin Moore
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
A superwarm red with lots of orange. Sizzle.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Another orangey red. Oh, this would look so good in a high gloss.
by Wallcandy Arts
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Wallpaper for a little girl's room? Just one wall.
A damask-pattern stencil can be made to look quite modern with the right roommates.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Amazing, vermillion zebra wallpaper from the staircase we saw earlier.
Do you decorate with red? Show us how below!
Do you decorate with red? Show us how below!
Ideabook published on Aug. 13, 2012.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
The given information is very effective.
living room.
Unless the designer or homeowner posts the color when they upload the photo, we have no way of knowing exactly what it is.
I agree - that is stunning fabric.
Thank you, Bowden Carroll Design, for the impetus to investigate.