Purple is one of those colors which when chosen right is stunning but when not is a nightmare. High risk, big return or loss.

Yeah, I can see that. And the purples in the photo I love so much aren't even really purple, but more along the lines of lavender/lilac hues. Those are quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

I think the key to the photo above is "soft" purple and the use of other colors of similar intensity. I looked at the other pictures in the link and I didn't care for them so much...

In my experience most people use a very harsh cold purple and the effect is awful.

I'm going to post pics from the article below (also really love these). I think Mr. Drake does these shades beautifully. I do like the brighter purple pops as well, particularly in that last photo where they lean to magenta.

I think these two pics show great purple choices:

Those are nice too, Tibb. I really like that muted, almost grayed darker purple. I've tried to incorporate some of that into my master bedroom.

That's why I love BM's Vintage Charm.

Bathrooms and powder rooms are perfect places for a rich, deep purple, IMO.

I love to look at rooms like those posted. I don't want to live in them, but I would like to visit for a while.

That fireplace!!! Most beautiful thing I've seen all day.

I like the photo after with the teal-ish side piece and Tibb's bathroom. Not that I would ever have these in my own home, but I can appreciate them from where I sit.

i love purple, especially the deeper purples- -- but it really wouldn't go with anything else in my house-- i would have to get all new!! maybe for a future bedroom/bath... ? :)

I'm not a purple person. I don't like the first photo although I do like the photo with the round sofa piece. My smallest bedroom is painted a color called Crater Lake (OT, but why is it I can't remember what I am supposed to do today but I remember the name of every paint color in my house?) which is blue with a little hint of purple. Sort of a light blueberry color.

I love purple. I prefer warmer tones; but I really like how he used magenta, and teal, to go with this more cool-ish purple. Not a fan of furniture etc. But some great choices here.

I use purple a lot. Luckily I watched "Breaking Bad".. this Marie character keeps me from overdoing it...:)

It's the most mystical, magical color to me. And yes, it can easily go wrong..Barnie-direction...:)

I like the way that purple CAN play nicely with my all time favorite color--pink. I like pink but it also can lead to some very scary rooms if not handled properly . . . (ask me how I know, lol ie the bedroom of my youth). But I've reformed . . . but still have a girly girl lurking inside of me that loves purple and pink. That room you posted I adore because neither the pink or the purple is too over the top sugar coated, just a splash for lightness and fun. Although I like those rooms to look at, not sure about living in. I'm debating a dark violet navy for a wall color right now . . .

Great photos, and yes, teal and purple is a great combo. I like purple in other people's homes, but it's just not me. The house we bought has a dark purple powder room and a purple and lavender dining room. It doesn't go with my rustic wood furniture at all, and can't wait to paint it.

I think I'm coming out of my purple phase, but I was embedded for a long time. It can be a most sublime color, or it can be like nails on a chalk board...it's all in the deftness of the designer using the color.

This is a Phoebe Howard yes:

This is a yes

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This is a no....at least for me.

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This is a no

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Agreed, Annie - I don't care for those last two photos you posted either. The combination is harsh, and the last one actually makes me feel slightly woozy if I look at it for too long. ;-) Purple can look like a nasty bruise if not done well.

The rooms by Jamie Drake are very nice because he's a high-caliber professional, but in less deft hands the result might be different. These rooms are lavender, and the purple ones are just not my thing. Even the lavender ones I can admire but couldn't live with. It's a difficult color to bring off in real-life rooms.

lavender reminds me more of a young/teen girl... the 1st pic annie shows reminds me of a 'sweet' teen...

i'm ok with the shade of purple in the 3rd pic down, but everything else is in the room is gaudy or unattractive and wouldn't look good regardless of the color, imo!

the purple and gold rooms make them look like they could be grads of east carolina or lsu, but i agree the 1st one is very well done and the 2nd one not ...

Ohhh, I LOVE purple :) I wanted to use "eggplant" purple accents in the Cowboy den. The walls are burnt pumpkin with accents all around of brick red, orange, sage, dark sage, brown, camel. DH is on the opposing side of purple :( So the ONLY purple I have in the house is the walls inside my pantry! <lol> I'm basically the only person that sees it and I smile each time I open the pantry doors <g>

LOVE the purple walls in the bathroom pic that tibbrix posted!

And speaking of purple ... I just received an email from a cottage rental agency in Suffolk, England announcing the opening of their latest property, Angel Cottage. The use of a dark, muted purple shade here did not escape my notice! Very unusual, I'd say. Pink is a much less surprising color for use in these ancient homes in this part of the country. Can't say I've ever seen purple used like this. I rather like it.

I tend to like the medium to deeper purples in rooms like the bathroom above. Some appear so dark, though, so I guess they need some natural light.

Funny that I have a lot of purple and vibrant hues in my wardrobe, but have to have neutrals in my rooms and just add vibrant accessories. I could definitely not commit to a purple couch. Perhaps a purple upholstered seat of a chair or ottoman would be doable.

I am debating going all out with some deep colors and maybe even some loud wallpaper or stenciling in my small hall bath. Perhaps I can handle it in small doses.

What IS it with this trend of putting painted white fake deer heads up on the wall??!! Totally creeps me out, worse than the real thing . . . Cannot fathom the point of it. The small point of the real things was to brag on one's hunting prowess. A fake cardboard painted or ceramic deer head . . . I mean I shouldn't be so harsh, because if you love fake deer heads more power to you, but it seems to me that it is just a defacto thing nowdays that folks find as a space filler at the tchotchke store.

Well, really, what's the point of a lot of items that are hung on walls meant to be decorative? I don't mind the fake deer heads, but cannot abide the real thing. I kinda like the one in the photo above, because he reminds me of a character from a fairy tale book I had as a child, and he seems to tie in with the fairy tale appeal of such a very old English cottage.

I love purple. All shades. My living room and bedroom are painted purple. It isn't for everyone and that's okay. More purple for me !

I used this on the walls in my laundry room and I love it. BM Tropical Dusk

That's a very pretty, soft color. Don't be a tease. Show us the laundry room!!

Purple is my favorite color, but I don't have any in my home either. Maybe someday...

I don't consider myself a "purple person" per se, but I fell in love with a pale lavender-blue paint color a friend used in her bathroom 15 years ago, Glidden's "Tailwind." I first used it in a bathroom in our old house, and then again in our current house in the laundry room. After 11+ years in this house, with lots of time spent in the laundry room, I still adore the color. It doesn't dominate the room at all and nothing else in the room is purple/lavender (accessories are navy blue, aqua, and pear green), but as a backdrop it gives the room a very calming, peaceful feel.

When we moved into our current house and were picking paint colors, my husband picked a muted lavender color for the dining room, SW Sensitive Tint. It's more muted/gray compared to the Tailwind, but is similar in saturation. My husband doesn't usually care about paint colors (whereas I completely obsess over them), so I was really surprised, and not in a good way, that he chose that color, but decided it wasn't worth arguing about it. At first I wasn't in love with it, but it has really grown on me over the years, and I think it looks especially good against the stained trim (which is similar in tone to that of the fireplace in the 2nd picture on this thread). We're getting ready to repaint all of the hallway areas (currently SW Jersey Cream) a very light green (BM Halo). My husband said he was ready to change the dining room color as well, but I told him no way... I like it too much to change it now! I think it will look even better when the hallways around it are Halo.

I like the deep purple room examples posted above too. I had a very deep brownish-eggplant color in a living room once and loved its coziness. I think it was called Library Mahogany by Ralph Lauren. It's similar to BM Caponata, which is the accent color on the exterior of our house... So I guess maybe I am a "purple person" after all ;)

I have a DIL who loves purple, the brighter shade. Fortunately, the only purple she has in her home are the few pieces of purple transware i've given her. I know she would have purple window treatments if she were into decorating, thank goodness she isn't! I love the eggplant shades, similar to what Annie has used in her laundry room. It's muted, and I find that very appealing, yet not really a pastel lavender shade. DD LR/DR are painted in a shade that's very close, and she's paired it with a pale silvery gray and off white, which is very elegant. I do love periwinkle!

Those of you who love purples, would you want your master like this?

and your bath like this?

I saw this online when house searching, too much for me.

Me also! If were a bit more muted, it would make it more appealing. Just my 2 cents.

After a visit to San Francisco, I decided to paint our storage shed purple, LOL. I can't find the finished photo, but I added some gingerbread trim to it. No, we don't have an HOA, but our neighbors told us they do like the purple.

Not my DD's rooms, but the color combo. Her window treatments are lt gray.

Purple can be lovely when used sparingly. Being surrounded by purple walls is off putting to me. Love this subtle wallpaper. eta: purple walls in a powder room or any smaller room is a perfect use for the color purple.

That first picture calls to mind a spring wedding.....ruffled lavender bridesmaid dresses.....groom and groomsmen wearing ruffled lavender shirts.

Ohh I love deep rich purple but I'm not brave enough to use it in my house, because it's so easy to get wrong. I have purple accents in the master bath but that's it. I make up for it by having a wardrobe that's half purple. :) but I wonder why deep purple is so much more difficult to pull off than navy blue.....anyone know?