18 ways to bring red into your home

Sunita Vellapally Sunita Vellapally
Rénovation d'une remise en studio à Chantilly, lmarchitectureinterieure lmarchitectureinterieure Living room
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The boldness of red is not something everyone can carry off. Red is never boring. It signifies power, romance and confidence. It’s a sacred colour in India – a popular shade for bridal sarees and the hue of kumkum worn on the forehead of a married woman.

Naturally, it’s a colour that most people want to use in their home as it brings with it good luck and courage. However, it’s a powerful colour that should be used in moderation to prevent it from overpowering the interiors of a home. We’ve picked 18 different ways in which you can introduce red in your home without letting it dominate the ambiance.

​1.Bold kitchen

Using bright red laminates on the kitchen cabinets adds a modern feel to the kitchen, making it bold and beautiful.

2.​Living room brightener

Modern living rooms tend to follow a neutral colour palette comprising beige, white, grey or cream. Adding red cushions or stools brightens up the area.

​3.Plush media room

Red adds a touch of luxury in a media room or home theatre in the form of plush leather recliners that one can sink into.

4.​Pretty accessories

For those who aren’t comfortable with too much of red, but want the benefits that it brings to a room, decorating with pretty accessories such as a red votive is recommended.

5.​A touch of romance

Red bead curtains can add a charming element to a bedroom. It doesn’t do much for privacy, but adds romance to the ambiance.

6.​Red display in the kitchen

While red cabinets or walls are an option for the bold, a subtler way of introducing the colour in a kitchen is to display coated pans or crockery with red on them.

7.​Velvety soft board

In a bedroom or study, a soft board upholstered with red velvet creates the perfect backdrop for displaying photographs or pinning up postcards or notes.

8.​Contrast red furniture

Adding a single red chair to a dull room can lift the mood by several notches.

​9.Outdoor seating

Red upholstery on outdoor rattan furniture can add a fun design element to the area, making it perfect for relaxing or entertaining.

10.​Cheerful bathrooms

In an all-white bathroom, using panels of red on the walls or cabinets can transform the space from dull to cheerful.

11.​Quilted pattern in bedrooms

Some Feng shui practitioners discourage the use of red in bedrooms. However, if it’s a favourite colour, there’s no harm in introducing small splashes of it to brighten up the room. In this bedroom the patchwork pattern on the bedspread adds red to the room without letting it overpower the area.

12.​Stunning partition

In this home, the bright red floating shelves separate the dining area from the kitchen and also provide a convenient storage option.

13.​Elegance on the ceiling

Adding a stunning red Venetian glass chandelier in the living or dining area is a sophisticated way to introduce the colour in a home.

14.​Coffee blush

In a living room, red can be introduced through a coffee table upholstered with a dull red that doesn’t take away from the classy décor.

15.​Kitchen backsplash

If red on the cabinets is too loud, consider using red painted glass tiles for the backsplash. It’s a practical option as the dark colour doesn’t show up dirt and can be easily washed down.

16.Red feature

While painting all the walls of a room red makes the area too dark, using the brightness on a feature wall can add a nice contrast and an interesting feature to the room.

17.​Wardrobe cover

In this bedroom, a bright red panel with a traditional motif on the wardrobe door infuses warmth into the area.

18.​Wall accessory

Perhaps the simplest way to bring red into a home is to use a red painting on the wall. Against a white background, it looks stunningly minimalist.

For more ideas on introducing colour to your home, see this ideabook.

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