Red is my favourite colour. While I haven't taken the step to include it in my décor, I do love seeing a room dressed in red.
Our feature photograph, courtesy of CIL Paints, boasts varying hues of luxurious red tones that are both sumptuous and eye-catching. The CIL paint colours include House Plum on the window wall, Wine and Dine on the fireplace wall and the white accent colour is called Little White Lie.
Notice the percentage of white and red in the room; it's about 50/50. With a strong colour like red, you need contrast to help break up the robust colour while maintaining its visual power. White is a good accent colour to use with a strong colour like red. White is crisp and fresh and keeps the room feeling light and airy. The lovely white fireplace, bookshelf and crisp white ceiling balance the rich, red colour and also lighten up the black furniture. The red wall colour also highlights the white accents in kind. If, say, the entire window wall were painted white, the architectural details of the windows would not be as visually appealing.
You want to choose a wall colour that will work with the stationary items in your intended room. Red can work well with natural wood tones as you can see from the flooring in our feature photograph. The flooring has undertones of red and yellow, which compliment this particular room's red walls. Before you paint, take some paint chips home and lay them on your flooring to see how the two work together.
Red is a colour you want to do right. You'll most likely need at least two coats to get the necessary depth of colour. Three coats might even be necessary, but if you get your primer tinted red you might be able to save yourself that third coat step. Talk to your paint supplier about the best options for your particular project.
Accessorizing a red room:
Because the wall colour is so powerful, you want to choose furniture and accessories that compliment rather than co-ordinate with red. The black furniture in our feature room grounds the room and makes the wall colour appear elegant and regal. If you were to add in bright red toss cushions and draperies, the room could look quite garish. The underuse of red accents is key here. Too much of a good thing can take your red room over the top.
There are hints of red accents in our feature room that are perfectly planned. The toss cushions have a bit of red in them but are muted and balanced with black in a woven pattern. The red charger plate placed on the lower shelf of the coffee table provides a subtle hint of red versus having it on the top of the table, for instance. The books 'casually' laid on the coffee table are actually strategically chosen for their colours. There is a balance of white/black and a hint of red in that tablescape of books.
The white, built-in bookshelf with a red backdrop is toned down with a clever display that incorporates the room colours of black, red and white. The decision on whether or not to paint the back of the bookshelf red is a personal choice. I probably would have left the back of the shelves painted in white and used more red accessories on the bookshelf but it can work either way. If you're of the same mindset, you could certainly use some wall paint to update accessories in vibrant red. Inexpensive items such as decorative boxes can be customized with red paint to house items like CDs and DVDs on an open bookshelf. Don't overdo it. One or two red accessories will probably suffice. Stand back from your display as you create it and take stock of the overall visual impact.
The choice of artwork over the fireplace in our feature room is an unusual one. Not a hint of red or black, but it definitely works. That particular expanse of wall space needs to be broken up and this painting fits the bill. The placement of the two curvy vases on the mantle is a nice touch. They really pop against the red backdrop and are of a similar hue to the painting, which helps if relate to the vignette.
Red is a powerful, exciting colour that is at its best when balanced and offset with crisp white. The result is energizing but not overpowering; regal but not ostentatious; timeless yet current.
connieoliver@shaw.ca
