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Dose of Color
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A shot of color can bring out the best in an alcove, a fireplace wall, a built-in, even a sleeping spot. Read on for 13 ways to bump up a bland space and call out its secret strengths, from a paneled tub to a perfectly made bed.
Living Space: Scene-Setter
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Here's where you're most likely to find examples of a house's "good bones"—and good reason to highlight them.
Warm red allows this wall flanked by built-ins to step forward, reinforcing the presence of a graceful arched passageway and the soothing symmetry of a seating area finished in quiet shades of amber and gold.
Shown: Ralph Lauren's Amalfi Red
Living Space: Focal-Point Feature
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Ocean blue adds definition to this well-trimmed fireplace wall and invites seating to draw around it, campfire style. The vibrant shade, coupled with clean white, also helps balance the high-profile ceiling beams and chandelier.
Shown: BEHR's Neptune Blue
Living Space: Trick of the Eye
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Bold color blocks, enlivened by delicate floral stenciling, mimic wall panels while suggesting artwork. The panels add visual structure to the space and help organize its furnishings as well.
Shown: BEHR's Green Grass
Living Space: Viewfinder
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Accent walls feel suited to lofty, sun-filled spaces. Here, intense charcoal gray helps steer the eye to the outdoors, a mission supported by crisp white trim and sage-green adjacent walls.
Shown: (from left) Sherwin-Williams's Peppercorn, Svelte Sage
Bath: Paneling With Punch
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Small spaces are an invitation to experiment with color—in some cases, one wall at a time.
An earthy green adds weight to this room's dominant features and highlights the tub's built-in look as well as the contrasting textures of the V-groove paneling, pedestal sink, and exposed beams.
Shown: Glidden's Antique Olive
Bath: Finishing Touch
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"Think about dressing up an accent wall with framed pictures or a mirror," says Sue Kim, a color strategist at Valspar. Along with providing extra polish, "it can help keep a strong accent color, like this dusky blue, from overpowering the space."
Shown: Valspar's Newport Gray
Bath: Character-Building
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Where would this plain white vanity be without its zesty accent wall? Contributing to the cohesive feel are a wall-uniting ribbon of tile along with knobs, picture frames, and sconce backplates, all in black.
Shown: PPG Pittsburgh's Orange Poppy
Bedroom: Warm-Up Move
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One of the most popular places to inject color is behind the bed, where an accent can reinforce or even replace a headboard. But don't overlook other ways color can elevate a sleeping space.
The accent wall here evokes hot chocolate. The color deftly anchors the bed and makes this already cozy spot seem even more so.
Shown: Clark+Kensington's Boardwalk
Bedroom: Playful Stripes
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"When other walls are a gray-tinted neutral," says Jackie Jordan, director of color marketing at Sherwin-Williams, "it's an opportunity to use lots of different colors, including blue, yellow, and red." The pattern above takes full advantage by layering all three on a base coat of brown.
Shown: (from top) Sherwin-Williams's Eastlake Gold, Gypsy Red, Dynamic Blue, and Black Bean
Bedroom: Layers of Related Hues
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Shades of lavender, lilac, and purple enliven a room otherwise wrapped in whites. Windows break up the accent wall so that it can ground the palette rather than overwhelm it.
Shown: Olympic's Perfectly Purple
Bedroom: Alcove Emphasis
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"Bumpouts and other architectural breaks lend themselves to paint," says interior designer Genevieve Gorder, who works with Valspar. Case in point: this once awkward recess, whose orange lining now signals a built-in lounge.
Shown: Valspar's Autumn Gala
Kitchen: Fresh Dimension
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In these multitasking spaces, color conveys warmth and the presence of a gathering spot. In an open plan, color helps define zones and can also give an unadorned task space an element of interest.
"A strong shot of color can 'interest up' a room that lacks architectural detail," says Ellen O'Neill, creative director at Benjamin Moore. Here, a mirror backsplash amplifies the effect.
Shown: Benjamin Moore's Tomato Tango
Kitchen: Study in Contrast
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Velvety green softens this sunbathed, mainly white space. "You need richness and depth and a different value to make an accent wall stand out," says Puji Sherer, a color expert at Colorhouse. And this verdant wall certainly does.
Shown: Colorhouse's Glass .05