The cottage is currently red with white accents.

A classic red cottage from the 1940's with a multi-colored gray/slate roof.

I love the red shingles – such a classic! This cottage could be easily updated by simply painting the roof charcoal gray or dark slate blue.

Here is an easy fix to set the roof back and bring your attention back to the facade and crisp white fence:

Check out beach cottage rental sites for inspiration. This image comes from www.capecodpads.com.

To lighten up the entire cottage, try a another classic: the gray, white and black Cape Cod style. So crisp!

Add a bright red door for a pop of color and to make sure your beach cottage doesn’t get lost in the crowd.

If a classic Cape Cod is too predictable, try a mellow green or sunny yellow. To get some inspiration, check out Valspar Paint’s “Color by Architecture” section. It’s an easy way to quickly see many exterior paint options on a variety of American vernacular home styles.

This cute beach cottage is quite the charmer. With a darker roof, I think this place looks good in nearly any color.

Here is the current room with deep navy walls and matching couch.

I think chair rails can be great. They are an easy way to introduce multiple colors onto one wall and also add a hint of architectural detail. I chose to leave the chair rails in place and take advantage of multiple colors and textures. Wallpaper  from Hang & Paste is the perfect choice for a chair rail.  The pattern isn’t overwhelming because it only covers half of the wall. It also sets a sweet and friendly mood in pale blue combined with Pratt & Lambert paint in Dried Moss. I also de-cluttered the side table by moving the family photos to the wall, in an arrangement from the Design Mom blog.

How about something bright and bold? The couch is such a dominant color in the room, a contrasting yellow wall really makes it a part of the palette. Pratt & Lamber paint in Golden Laughter and Dove White are a great backgdrop for a nautical theme. Accessories include a rustic beach print, an organized photo display, and a bright white lantern.

Lastly, a neutral room with a graphic touch is both modern and relaxed. I adore Pratt and Lambert’s Swiss Coffee (above the chair rail) and Taupe (below). So tasteful and calm! And of course, I can’t resist the wall decals. These Anise flowers from Blik are one of my favorites. For a slightly vintage feminine feel, a grouping of beveled mirrors completes the look.

Light and bright colors can have as much impact as dark and saturated ones. Don’t be afraid to lighten up!

Here is the current villa, with walls in need of some color love.

In each option, I picked a range of colors from the Asian Paints palette, one of the main paint companies in India. Tropical villas always look cheerful, yet refined in warm yellows and terra cotta. Here, bright Sun Dial is the base color, accented with Dark Saffron and black. I little bougainvillea warms up the facade for a more “lived in” feel.

I love this classic pinkish coral color, called Coral Bells. Only a tropical villa can get away with pink and still look respectable!White and black trim give the perfect contrast to keep this look crisp and not too cute.

Lastly, for a more sophisticated look with tasteful shades of green. A dark Broccoli combined with a refreshing Inspiring Green make for a regal villa that blends in with the surrounding foliage.

Stucco homes are so much fun, as they take so well to a rainbow of colors. As I see it, this house looks good in any shade. Have fun!

Here is the original pink living room (soon to be painted deep brown and tan). The carpeting will also be removed to reveal a dark brown hardwood floor.

The owners picked a nice bold accent wall in dark brown. I also love the hardwood floors. To play up the vintage couch, try a patterned curtain combined with some unique accessories like an organic wood table and chartreuse vases. A subtle crocodile rug adds a little more pattern without overwhelming the room and two vintage chairs complement the velvet couch.

Here, instead of heavy drapes, try a flouncy tulip shade. Add some interest with a coffee table, a modern rug and fun vintage upholstered chair. Metal wall art adds another earth element to the wood-heavy room. My favorite accessory is the modern, yet historic pendant lamp. Upgrading your fixtures in a great way to make a room feel instantly more luxurious and expensive.

This last option is an elegant modern retreat, set with dramatically tall plain white curtains and a simple bold rug. Simple neutral chairs give the vintage couch and the houndstooth stool the spotlight. Streamline the fireplace wall with a large modern painting and a fireplace screen. Finally, the floor lamp gives the room a more intimate feeling by lowering the overhead elements.

In all of these options, the key to creating a vintage eclectic look is to create a balanced mix of styles. A few pieces of vintage furniture with classic lines combined with a couple of bold or unique accessories and your room will come alive!

This reader send a photo of their hallway, soon to be upgraded by vote of the condo association. Let’s see if we can help them choose a new look. My favorite places for hallway inspiration are hotels, of course! Hotels spend significant design effort in their hallways and lobbies and are great source of ideas.

Here is the current hallway.

Dramatic contrasts make this hallway sophisticated.

The main design changes in all of these options are to (1) remove the outdated mirror and (2) remove the pattern on the floor. After that, the bones of the hallways are pretty normal and standard and can easily look great with a fresh color scheme. This first transformation is the “drama” hallways. Note the black ceilings. This is inspired by a hotel hallway image.

I like the existing chair rail and molding elements. I even don’t mind the current minty green of the doors and frames. You can easily give the hall a grown-up look by darkening the walls with a very mellow dark green-gray. Note the pattern is removed from the floor, helping to de-clutter the visuals.

Neutrals are always a safe bet and won’t look dated over time. Here is a nice black/beige/tan mix. I could see this scheme in reality tomorrow!

If you don’t like neutrals, try a color. I would keep the colors muted and stick to a monochromatic effects to keep the hall from looking clowny. Here is a friendly green palette.

A striped hotel hallway.

Lastly, you can also remove the chair rail detail and opt for a more streamlined wall. This is the total hotel hallway effect with tasteful striped walls and a punch of dark red on the floor.

Here a few more inspiring hallways for more ideas:

I’m using the Anna Sova food paint palette as inspiration for this modern apartment. The bedroom below is literally a blank slate with brand new furniture. Our reader writes “the only problem is that I have NO IDEA what color to paint the bedroom.”  No idea? No problem! Let’s see what we we can cook up with some food paint.

I first dipped into the Ancient Europa collection with rich jewel tones and solid neutrals. Here is a sophisticated and modern take on saturated blue using Isle of Sky and Winter Solstice. Accessories include a black and white print of the Guggenheim museum, whose lines are echoed in the Road Dog Builtby Lamp at 2modern.

Next, an earthy and bold exotic retreat from the Ancient Asia color collection. The palette is completed by the golds and reds in the Buddha print and complemented by the sculptural Cupstack lamp.

For a bold classic room, I used the warm reds and beiges from the Odd Sorbets collection. A small hit of Radish red keeps the Masago tan color looking fresh and not too muddy. The duo is perfectly matched with a this modern twist on a classic reclining nude and the Paolo Tube Top color lamp.

Lastly, a calm beach getaway pulled from the Ancient Americas palette. To keep the beach theme from turning tropical or kitschy, stick to a muted palette like this Sage Smoke and Paracus Sand Sculpture combination. Also, avoid palm trees, shells and sailboats. A very mature beach landscape (complete with suited men!) says “beach” without saying “Tiki lounge.” The scene is finished with a few oars hung on the wall and a Japanese Float table lamp.

I hope we’ve provided some delicious post-Thanksgiving inspiration with Anna Sova food paint. This room can really go in any direction and you can also sleep better at night knowing that zero-VOC paint won’t harm you or your pooch. Yum!

We recently bought a fabulous charcoal gray Metro couch from Room and Board and were looking for the perfect side tables. We knew we wanted something small (to fit the space) and simple (we don’t like fussy). We also knew we wanted symmetry and we wanted to somehow add a pop of color.

We came up with two options.

(1) The Miner side table from CB2 + Breck table lamp in green from Crate and Barrel. Not bad, but perhaps not spectacular. The olive/sage lamp sort of pales in comparison to the saturated rusty orange pillows. Also, the table looks a tad wimpy next to the chunky couch.

(2) The Zest C table from CB2 + Breck table lamp in charcoal. I think this is the clear winner. This image made us instantly realize that bright lime green was an appealing and powerful match to the orange. Plus, the chuncky profile could stand up to the couch.

Here is the complete set, installed in our living room. I think we made the right choice, don’t you?

Do you have any design dilemmas that could benefit from a Mochi quickie?

However, our reader didn’t quite see it that way. She is struggling with the color palette, and specifically the accent color. While the red provides a nice contrast to the otherwise neutral theme, the red combined with the green gives off too much of a Christmas vibe. I like the red, but I can also see our reader’s point. Let’s see if we can give her some ideas for new and even unexpected accent colors.

Existing palette of sage green, black, white and red.

The current room:

My first inclination is just to shift the red to a more orange-y color. This eliminates the “Christmas,” but keeps the contrast.

Another variation on the orange/earthy scheme is to introduce pattern. Here’s a Moroccan inspired palette with accent pillows from Etsy and Medallion curtains from West Elm. I also think the room could benefit from one larger (and more dramatic) piece of art. In this version, I placed a black and white photo of Morocco.

Our reader was interested in exploring blue accent colors. With the sage green, it’s tough to find just the right shade of blue. Here, I opted for a rather purple-ish dark blue. This includes curtains in lustre sheen/Elderberry and art deco glam pillows. The overall look is very sophisticated.

To brighten up the color palette, here is a royal blue. I wouldn’t immediately think to pair sage green with royal blue, but with the right accessories and artwork, it is possible to tie it together. In this scenario, the Japanese print ties together a range of sea greens, ocean blues and misty atmospheric neutrals. With art like this, you can make it work.

Lastly, when in doubt, keep it in the family.  In this case, the green family. Sometimes you can make a pretty and unexpected palette by sticking to a particular hue. In this room, the sage green acts like a beige – in other words it becomes the neutral backdrop to the saturated green. The key, again, is in the accessories. What better accessory to a green palette than some actual live plants? Silk dupioni curtains in Greenhouse add a lush green anchor further matched by graphic pillows.

I hope this gives some new ideas for a lively color pallette with sage green. This room is so close…just that last 10% and it will surely be complete!

Our challenge is to find a way to add some character to this one room apartment using pastels, whites, neutrals or any accessory that is non-permanent. There is a lot you can do with light colors and the right wall hangings.

First, take a look at a panorama of the entire room. Notice the livingroom to to the right, with the dining room toward the back. I like that the living area and bed area each have their own wall. This gives nice separation to the living spaces and an opportunity to create further definition by painting different colors on the walls.

Here is a photo of just the living area. The “bedroom” wall is behind the chair and bookshelf.

Here is a warm color scheme to compliment the neutral green couch and various warm wood colors. I think of this as a muted orange sherbert and lemon sorbet. The pastels are slightly grayed/muted to avoid looking too much like a baby’s room. I topped it off with some posters from The Poster List, which happens to carry some of the coolest and most well designed posters I’ve seen in a while!

Here is a cool version using blues and grays. Sky blue is always a great option for a light color-it’s friendly and happy and works well in the lightest of shades. In all of these scenarios, the living room wall is painted a different color from the bedroom/dining wall. With such light colors, I think a multi-color palette could work really well without being overwhelming.

One alternative to posters and wall hangings is to paint a pattern onto the wall itself. Look how just two diagonal stripes add movement and drama in a room with no other wall hangings. Stripes like this are easy to make using blue painter’s tape. You can even create this “free form” without having to make the stripes level or even.

Fabric is another good way to add not only color, but also pattern. For a truly non-permanent fabric hanging, use 3M Command hooks to hang the fabric from clips or grommets. These hooks are great for rentals because they are strong AND can be removed without ruining the wall. This bold Marimekko fabric adds a lot of visual interest. With the back wall painted a complimentary neutral, the entire living area comes alive!

My initial idea for this room is to paint it pale yellow. Pale yellow is a classic and rarely a disappointment. In this room, the yellow both preserves lightness and adds a cheery warmth. It also brings out the red tones of the floor. I’ve added some modern furnishing, which are clean and un-fussy in a room that will be dominated by a piano. The modern classic furniture includes: Design Within Reach Theater Sofa, Noguchi coffee table, and Tripod lamp. To complete the modern feel-geometric textlies from the Shade Store and a Rothko print in a bold primary pallette. I quite enjoy this yellow!

For a completely different feeling, check out the pale blue. The room retains the same lightness, but feels much more cool, calm and collected. This is great color to relax the energy and encourage a more quiet mood. Matching blue silk curtains keep the look streamlined and a Picasso print keeps it modern.

Looking for something more dramtic and classic? Instead of wallpaper, try a subtle beige-on-beige stripe. Vertical stripes are a true home decor classic, but in the wide beige they don’t feel prissy. I added a little drama with two sweeping silk curtians hung to puddle and draw attention to the wood floor. With the grand piano, the curtains and stripes are very operatic and remind me of the theater. How divine!

Lastly, a little casual modern in a friendly light green (with a hint of yellow). Choosing the right shade of green can be tricky. Too much yellow looks sickly, too much blue looks like a hospital waiting room. I recommend using multiple shades of yellow to minimize the problems. Here, painted a desaturated yellow-green on the walls and paired with with an unexpected ceiling in a dark gray-green. The bright green leaves of the plant round out a green trio. Some bright white orbs and brown window panels complete the modern earthy look.

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