Decorating With Bold Colors

Decorating with color is a fun way to add personality and pop to your home.

You can add small accents or paint a wall. I love using red, but you can choose any hue that makes you smile. Just pick a color and dive in.

When we toured this house decades ago, I fell in love instantly with the living room.

There was a huge floor to ceiling stone fireplace, dark wooden beams that stretched across that ceiling and painted wood paneling on the walls.

Charming, rustic and the best cottage style bones I'd ever seen in real life.

I knew this was our house before I even looked at any other room.


Of course, it was totally different than the one we were selling.

That was a teeny 900 square foot cottage across the street, and while this one wasn't much bigger, it had a decidedly weightier vibe.

Our first home was light and bright, with features I can only describe as dainty.

I decorated it with pastel colors and garden florals.

It was a charmer and super sweet...just like my first baby, a kitten named Scarlett.

However, our new cottage looked silly wearing all of our former home's colors.

No matter how I tried to make everything I lugged over look appropriate, sitting in front of that massive wall of jagged stone, it didn't fit.

The house called for an entirely different aesthetic.

This was new territory for me. I was always a pink and green girl...and while there are absolutely no rules when it comes to decorating, my former flair wasn't going to work.

Not well anyway.

So I searched through magazines, since this was long before Pinterest or Instagram existed, tearing out photos of houses I loved.

I went to the library and checked out decor books, I gravitated toward cottage style homes, even though I had no idea that's what it was called at the time.

And for some reason, after a lifetime of decorating with soft tones, I fell hard for the drama of all those deep crimson colors.



I painted my bathroom in Balmoral Red from Ralph Lauren.

I dressed the living room with red curtains and pillows.


I anchored my bisque colored kitchen with a striking 15 foot high red wall.

My bedroom, family room and basement den, all of which were predominantly green, had red accents to tie the house together.

And I loved every inch of my warm, cozy and very red cottage.

Until a few years ago, when I decided to step back a bit. To bring in some more neutrals.

To lighten my decor and remove some of that red.

I needed a change.

I know. What was I thinking?

Well, for a while it felt right and I really enjoyed the palate cleanse. 


Especially since most of my decoloring redecorating was done during the summer. 

Then last fall, the clouds rolled in and the sunshine disappeared. The trees lost their leaves and the garden went to sleep.

And all that light, bright muted decor made me feel a little...well, cold. 

The walls were too bare, there weren't enough accessories around.

The whole house was off kilter.

To be honest, it really threw me. I didn't feel the normal level of comfort or coziness the house usually projects.

Of course, December helped to quell a bit of that drab feeling with all its festive decor.

Although when the trees came down, I craved the color even more. I just didn't know what to do.

My hallway felt bland. Once the flowers died, there was no pop.

I tried to accessorize with ivory and pink, my old standbys, but everything fell short. Nothing was right.

I'd felt like I'd lost my decorating mojo and my color courage. 

That's when I decided to go back to the basics.

And, big surprise, more red.  

Apparently, that's what makes me smile and I shouldn't be denying it.

I've already shared my plans for a new kitchen chair and the delicious fabrics I chose.

I also shared the fact that I want to add colorful dishes back in my glass cabinets. I chose these cranberry ones, but there are so many colors. The blue is stunning.

The first shipment was damaged, bummer. But these mugs and these lacy bowls were in great shape and gorgeous.

So I reordered the dishes and two of these giant utensil crocks. (I ordered the second today, because it's so beautiful.)

It was clearance and I'm a sucker for a sale. I'm going to use one to cook and one for displaying flowers or as a planter.

I also bought this red lamp.

I mean look at that lampshade. I was smitten when I saw it online, but in person it's even more darling.

It's small, so I have lots of options. Not sure where it's going yet, but it's a keeper.

I also added more red pom poms to the checked curtains in my living room after I saw how darling they looked in the kitchen nook.

And remember that neutral two legged table I put in my hallway last year? I'm thinking about painting it red.

I'm also considering wallpapering over the stenciled wall in my bathroom with something red and bold. Overkill?

Maybe, but I don't think so. I painted over the red walls a few years ago and I find myself really missing the color.

Now, I know that decorating with red isn't for everyone. I get that. 

But everyone has a favorite tone and I'm sharing with you today to encourage to dive in.

Add it in small bits or large swaths. 

You don't need to completely redecorate to dramatically change the look of your home. Or its personality.


Oh, and one more thing.

In case you think I'm disparaging neutrals, I'm not. White is a color. A very important color.

In my home it's what anchors the red, what makes it pop.

It's also a very beautiful color on its own and can be quite stunning when it's the predominant tone. My friend Kris' home is proof of that. 

So that's my story, folks.

I'm going to spend the rest of my summer hunting down red pieces in thrift stores.

Painting over unique finds that aren't.

And enjoying the process and my new {old} view along the way.

What color will you be decorating with?

Happy Decorating, Friends!