70 Room Colors That Bring Unexpected Vibrance to Any Space
Go beyond the standard neutrals.
It’s time to think beyond the usual neutral or black-and-white palette. Ask any interior designer, and they will tell about the transformative powers of color. Pastels can offer a soothing invitation to rest, a simple addition of a rich ruby shade can add just the right amount of drama, and an earthy green may help to calm an over-the-top floral wallcovering. Unexpected room colors can make a huge difference when it comes to the design and feel of your home.
While it may feel more natural to select a bold living room paint color or try a new color palette in your dining room, your kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms are other great spaces to experiment with paint color. And for those who are color curious, but cautious, consider trying out color on your ceiling first.
Whether it be glossy shades of orange or a bold royal blue, color is key to establishing the ambience of a room and can take your entire design scheme to the next level. We’ve rounded up the best unexpected room colors from top interior designers that prove the possibilities are truly endless. No matter your style, these bold paint colors are sure to inspire your next project.
Literary Blue in Your Dining Room
While duck-egg hues fill the living room, library, and entrance hall, designers Bill Brockschmidt and Courtney Coleman decided to paint the dining room of Faulkner House Books a stronger blue to differentiate it as an entertaining space. The blue hues carry over into the chair cushion fabric by Muriel Brandolini (through Holland & Sherry).
Get the blue shade for yourself at Farrow & Ball.
Island Pink in Your Living Room
The floral linen (Blithfield) popping up throughout this Block Island living room was the catalyst for its soothing pink and blue palette. Designer Miles Redd painted the textured grass cloth “a blushy, pale pink,” which required a bit of work to achieve. “I kept painting it, each time making it lighter and lighter, and the clients would still come back and say, ‘Would you add another pass on the walls, make them a little bit lighter?’”
Venetian Apricot in Your Living Room
Decorator Summer Thornton took color cues from locales both near and far for the rooms of her own storybook-like Chicago townhouse. The apricot shade covering the living room walls was inspired by a sunlit building Thornton saw in Venice. The Venetian-style hand-marbled ceiling paper tops off the room's warm disposition.
Life's peachy keen with the help of this Benjamin Moore shade.
Blood Orange in Your Dining Room
Two of Garrow Kedigian's dreams came true when he moved into his new New York City apartment: living in the legendary Carlyle Hotel and having a completely red room.
“It’s a severe color,” admits Kedigian. “If it’s too intensely red, it’s jarring. I wanted it to be uplifting and rejuvenating.” It took a couple of coats, but the decorator landed on a more orangey shade (Fiery Opal, Benjamin Moore) that immediately lifts the spirits of anyone who enters the room.
Forest Green in Your Family Room
Designer Heather Chadduck Hillegas relied on verdant hues to awaken the youthful spirit hidden in this ancestral Arkansas farmhouse. The rich tones of the sable brown sofa (fabric, Jane Shelton) and caned furniture pop against the forest green walls.
Let your verdant dreams come true with this green shade by Sherwin-Williams.
Apple Green in Your Sitting Room
Esther Cayzer-Colvin could have easily hired a professional to design her Wiltshire estate, but the English gentlewoman was determined to decorate the interiors herself. In the sitting room, she worked with her friend Alice Clark, a specialist decorative painter, to mix together multiple green shades until they got the perfect apple-inspired hue she remembered from a photograph.
Sapphire in Your Dining Room
Glossy peacock blue walls set the spirited tone for vivacious dinner parties in this Connecticut dining room by Ashley Whittaker. The dining room’s dark-stained floor with zippy chevron bands was inspired by a 1970s Albert Hadley room.
Find your perfect lacquered blue with a mix of shades from Fine Paints of Europe.
Indigo in Your Sunroom
Instead of opting for lighter shades, Renvy Graves Pittman dove into the deeper side of the color wheel for her Bel Air sunroom. Fortuny barkcloth and cotton fabrics covering the wicker seating (Bielecky Brothers) balance the rich blue on the walls.
Robin's Egg in Your Dining Room
After renovating aspects of her historic Charleston house, designer Ceara Donnelly got to work on the interiors, playing with lively colors and mixing antiques with family heirlooms. The dining room’s robin’s egg strié was inspired by the painted rooms of historic Drayton Hall. The Frances Elkins loop chairs (Downtown) are paired with ultrasuede upholstery (Kravet).
Need this shade in your life? Try a custom mix of Arsenic and Pale Powder by Farrow & Ball.
Taxicab Yellow in Your Living Room
Taxicab yellow, pure red, and cobalt provide a bold foundation for softer pastels and nuanced neutrals in the San Antonio living room of Todd Romano. An Andy Warhol silkscreen print of Liz Taylor and a flamboyant Todd & Fitch artwork add an edgy twist to the more traditional furnishings, such as the Chinese baluster vases and button-tufted sofa.
Americana Blue in the Your Living Room
Decorator Anthony Baratta deploys his signature high-drama Americana in this theatrical pied-à-terre on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Powdery blue walls, bold florals, and glamorous geometrics help the overscale living room feel more intimate. The American painting by Tomory Dodge and the oversize custom floor lamp both take advantage of the high ceilings. The sofa is clad in block-printed linen from Christopher Moore.
Obsessed with the cherry-red velvet? You can find it and similar shades at Pierre Frey.
Gray-Green in Your Breakfast Room
Toeing the line between gray and green, the color in this glossy Alabama breakfast room by Melanie Pounds invites families to come in and enjoy each others' company while taking in the views of outside. The room is painted high-gloss Castle Gray by Farrow & Ball. The banquette is covered in a Masco fabric.
Red and White Stripe in Your Bedroom
Daring red stripes make a clever play on traditional Americana decorating in the primary bedroom of this Upper West Side apartment by Anthony Baratta. The Victorian recamier brings a historic yet animated presence to the foot of the bed. The pineapple-finial bed is Baratta’s own design.
You can find similar striped wallpaper and fabric at Bennison.
Chestnut in Your Library
Designer Cece Barfield Thompson pulled inspiration from her neighborhood's infamous park when decorating each room of her Gramercy Park apartment. The graphic botanicals of Robert Kime’s Indian Pear fabric and rich brown walls provide a cozy and warm space to read within the home. The sofa fringe is by Samuel & Sons.
Glossy Black in Your Kitchen
It's always a black-tie affair in Todd Romano's San Antonio kitchen. Custom Talavera tiles are arranged in a graphic chevron pattern with glossy ebony cabinetry to add a retro feel. The range is by Bertazzoni.
You can find the same glossy black shade at Fine Paints of Europe.
Forest Green in the Powder Room
Forest green, hand-painted wallpaper (Maya Romanoff) dresses up this quaint New York powder room in dramatic fashion. A polished nickel and stone washstand plays with a tasseled, Art Deco-inspired mirror (Selamat Designs).
Beau Blue in Your Dining Room
Because the dining room gets less light compared to the rest of her New York apartment, designer Cece Barfield Thompson used a grid of hand-screened color-block prints (William Turnbull) to bring radiance. Beau blue ticking stripe (Pindler) graces the walls, windows, seating, and table.
Is the rug catching your eye? Find it at Doris Leslie Blau.
Salmon in Your Staircase
Punchy pink walls provide an exuberant background for Todd Romano's collection of English and Dutch dog portraiture and allegorical paintings from across Europe in his San Antonio home.
Apricot in Your Child's Nursey
The faux-tented ceiling, billowy curtains, and scalloped valances in a zingy apricot-hued fabric transform this once boring bedroom into a fairytale-like nursey within a Melanie Turner–designed Atlanta home. An Italian ceramic camel rests on a multicolor chevron rug by Missoni.
Love this playful peach fabric? You can find it and similar shades at Perennials Fabric.
Golden Yellow in the Family Room
Raw oak rafters mix with white-painted panels and crossbeams and golden walls in this Carrier and Company–designed family room, making it an energetic place for parents and kids to hang out. The sofa is upholstered in a moss green fabric by Kravet.
Sarah DiMarco is the Assistant Editor at VERANDA, covering all things art, design, and travel, and she also manages social media for the brand.
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