Every month this year our collage-artist-laureate Mel Kolstad is creating a new assemblage that helps us to celebrate the houses that we’re in. (That’s a house pendant she also created – click on it to go to her etsy.com shop.) An open thread to go with this month’s red-headed muse: Do you use the color red in your house? Where is it working well? Tips for other readers?
Julie says
I had a lot of red in my old kitchen and totally loved it. I think I must have od’ed on it, though, because I don’t have any in this house, other than one set of vintage pot-holders in the kitchen and some nesting dolls in the living room.
I do love the color combo of Tiffany blue with red accents, though, and might use that somewhere someday, who knows!
For now, like Fiona, I use red in my hair and also in my wardrobe!
Maryanna says
I have bursts of red as an accent in my living room.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/only-girl/4097256980/in/set-72157604663316781/
sumac sue says
Only small amounts of red at our house: a brick red in some pillows and the wool rugs in the muted gold living room, red potholders in the pale blue kitchen, and only a touch of red here and there in the bedrooms, such as in the design of the sheets. Red is such a nice accent color, and I really should get a nice red geranium for the kitchen.
Diane says
DH and I carpeted our bedroom in a short plush deep red once… it was a mistake… now I just use red as an accent color. I’m primarily a green, gold, earthtone sort of decorator.
gavin hastings says
Fiona-
Years ago I knew a couple with a great cranberry red bedroom.
Stunning— 16×12 with 10 foot ceilings.
They repainted after a few months, because they said it was too unsettling in both the morning…and evening. I hope you have better luck.
gavin hastings says
My ex-kitchen had a deep red Marmoleum floor, matching red Formica countertops, and Ben Moore Bone White walls and cupboards. The dishware was vintage Franciscan Apple. It was a very special part of that house.
“To be a good, pleasant and satisfiying room, a livingroom should have shades or variations of each primary color-red, yellow and blue. Our eyes unconsciously seek these colors.”
-Amy Vanderbilt’s Guide to Etiquette, 1952
Wendy says
Red chair and sofa. (If I ever clean my house enough I’ll take a picture to post.) I bought the 50’s set at the Salvation Army on half-off day for $30, then had them recovered for about $1000. The guy who did the work said the frame is all oak!
Fiona - Notorious Kitsch says
I love red, I even have red hair!
I haven’t got as much red as I would like at the moment, but we have an accent wall in what is to become our bedroom soon, as which point there maybe more that one wall in red. We used to have a house with another red accent wall in the living room, with mustard colour on the other walls, this all sounds very bright I know but looked fabulous with the 50’s curtains which has mustard, red and dark teal colour, I miss that combination!
Elizabeth Mary says
OH, the real question is where don’t I use red? Right now, red is a primary accent color in my living room, bedroom, and bathroom. I want more of it in the kitchen because it is the perfect color for the multi-shades of gray and white that is my kitchen, but to achieve that I would have to replace some great little paintings of cows in fields of green with some red apple paintings and that is just not in my budget.
In the living room the red is throw pillows that are a great cherry red, and also in a few of my paintings, and the rugs. In the bedroom it is the background color in the large floral print on a loveseat and also is in the other large floral print of the comforter — in the flowers. And, it is spattered in some of the pictures on the wall. In the bathroom it is primarily towels. I can’t imagine a home without lots of red —- and black, my other favorite “color”.
sablemable says
I haven’t used it yet, however, I have these retro style framed pictures of a coffee pot, cup and saucer and place setting that are in red and cream. They will eventually go on the walls in my kitchen.