Color Guide: How to Work With Pink
From Barbie to bodacious, pink deserves to venture into rooms beyond the nursery. Way beyond
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Pink is associated with love, spring, babies, femininity and good health. In its hotter, brighter incarnation it signifies energy, passion and fun. From its palest blush to its most glowing magenta, pink is warm, comforting and soothing.
Basic pink is a mixture of red and white, but its bluer hues veer close to the purple family. In its warmer, yellower version it can be close to beige. And we musn't forget salmon, which is pink at its most orange.
Because pink varies so widely, there is almost nothing that can't be paired with it. Pink and green are preppy heaven. Pink and gray are making a huge comeback. Pink and orange make a sizzling couple. It looks fabulous with gold in almost any tone or hue, and its deepest, most vibrant magenta is currently enjoying favor among designers.
It bridges styles, eras and geography, showing up everywhere from Santa Fe to Versailles. It's popular in India. It's popular in Mexico. In little girls' rooms and Manhattan lofts.
Pink is a versatile color, but it is not a retreating one. Pink in any form is going to show up and make itself known. It can be used in place of a neutral, but it will always be very much itself, adding a warm glow wherever it lives.
Basic pink is a mixture of red and white, but its bluer hues veer close to the purple family. In its warmer, yellower version it can be close to beige. And we musn't forget salmon, which is pink at its most orange.
Because pink varies so widely, there is almost nothing that can't be paired with it. Pink and green are preppy heaven. Pink and gray are making a huge comeback. Pink and orange make a sizzling couple. It looks fabulous with gold in almost any tone or hue, and its deepest, most vibrant magenta is currently enjoying favor among designers.
It bridges styles, eras and geography, showing up everywhere from Santa Fe to Versailles. It's popular in India. It's popular in Mexico. In little girls' rooms and Manhattan lofts.
Pink is a versatile color, but it is not a retreating one. Pink in any form is going to show up and make itself known. It can be used in place of a neutral, but it will always be very much itself, adding a warm glow wherever it lives.
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| Pink on the Walls A very pale, cool pink is perfect in this modern take on the girly nursery. It's pretty and soft but not cloying. |
A yellow-tone pink glows against the warm wood of the trim and provides a sophisticated background for this traditional room. Layers of pink, as long as they are in the same family, always work beautifully.
This slightly deeper light pink adds a feminine warmth to this traditional room. And a touch of glamour too.
True candy pink is hard to work with. Do it wrong and it's Pepto Bismol on the walls. But do it right — with other vibrant colors, mixed patterns and nothing match-matchy, and you get this: a vibrant, cheerful, eclectic-traditional room.
Here, candy pink is over-the-top girly, which is great if that's what you're going for.
| Even brighter still. Put this on your walls and you are making a statement. This room is all about luxury, opulence and hyperfemininity. If I had to guess, I'd say the owner of this room likes to be pampered. |
A dark salmon does not have the same immediate association with femininity that other pinks do. It is a more traditional wall color that looks great with browns and creams and can accommodate lots of different styles and personalities.
The supervibrant salmon is very nearly an orangey red. But it still has the flirty feeling of pink. It's almost like the bedroom is winking at you.
by Niche Interiors
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Shots of Hot Pink
An accent wall is the perfect way to add some really vivid, daring pink without feeling overwhelmed by it. This hot pink looks so modern and glamorous.
An accent wall is the perfect way to add some really vivid, daring pink without feeling overwhelmed by it. This hot pink looks so modern and glamorous.
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| This bluer shocking pink gives this very neutral bedroom its big personality. |
by Design Manifest
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A purplish-pink table look so great next to this vivid blue wall. That took some guts, and it all worked out swimmingly.
Hot pink with beige and salmon. Fun but not wild.
A cool, bright magenta and light blue. Modern elegance with a healthy dollop of glamour.
by Shirley Meisels
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Blossom Pink
Candy pink (I wore a blush of that name in eighth grade) can look fun and modern when used in unexpected places. Imagine this desk against a pale turquoise wall. Oh la la.
Candy pink (I wore a blush of that name in eighth grade) can look fun and modern when used in unexpected places. Imagine this desk against a pale turquoise wall. Oh la la.
This is where Barbie would cook if Barbie ate.
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| Pink in the Bedroom Pink in the bedroom does not have to be girly. In this eclectic room it is paired with blues and browns and lots of rough texture. It's gender neutral and very inviting. |
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| Little dollops of pink in the throw and the art soften this gray room. |
Pink is popular in eclectic, exotic and boho design. It's the perfect color to support a crazy mash-up of texture and pattern. It has such a sense of fun.
by Emily Ruddo
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Pink Upholstery
Unexpected bright pink on very traditional chairs. It looks great with the turquoise accessories and adds just a tiny bit of sizzle to a seriously buttoned-up room.
Unexpected bright pink on very traditional chairs. It looks great with the turquoise accessories and adds just a tiny bit of sizzle to a seriously buttoned-up room.
A pale, beigey-pink sofa is the anchor in this glamorous room. I can see Lana Turner lounging here.
A more midcentury modern take on the pink sofa. Even with all the color here, there is something spare about this room.
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by Shannon Malone
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Pale-pink clapboard evokes the Caribbean, but you have to be careful about what kind of architecture you are putting it on.
Another summery, tropical-pink house — a Frank Gehry project in New Orleans.
by Maureen Stevens
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I love this bright pink door against the cool gray building.
by Farrow & Ball
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A pale, warm yellow. See how it can almost read as beige?
by Farrow & Ball
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A much bluer pale pink, slightly more baby blush than the one above.
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| A little darker but still very soft. |
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| Nearly lavender. |
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| Blossom pink. |
by Benjamin Moore
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Salmon.
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| Candy pink. She's no shrinking violet. |
by Benjamin Moore
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Vivid, hot pink.
Do you love pink? Share your room shot below!
Do you love pink? Share your room shot below!
Ideabook published on Sept. 7, 2012.
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