Two times in a year, that is during Valentine's Day and Christmas, red becomes the dominant color presented in shop windows and magazines. For this color, it's highly undervalued as a base around which to build your decorating scheme.
The Pros and Cons of Red
When in doubt, paint it white. Nevertheless, some smashing rooms are done in shades of red. Some decorating guru would say that everybody loves red. It is the happiest of colors. Red symbolizes easy playfulness and it beams energy.
There are however, many prejudices voiced against red rooms in a home, like:
1. It's too priestly or Victorian.
2. It just belongs in a child's room.
3. It's remindful of old-time saloons having crimson flocked wallpaper.
4. It belongs in public places, like the carpet in a hotel or lounge of an airport.
5. It's excessively regal, as in red velvet capes.
Preconceptions aside, red gives wonderful possibilities and is turning to be more and more popular.
The Finest Places for Red
So where is red best? Hallways look terrific in red. Most entry ways are dark, and red is an excellent color for producing fervor in dark areas. Rather than just lightening up as with a light color, red pulls in warmth and richness. Red also forges good with several other colors. Red is a wonderful color for a dining room. Food, people, and flowers look excellent in a red room. Red positively makes a room glowing when there is candlelight or a fire in the fireplace. Red enhances all the elements in a library or den. Dark wooden furniture, books, leather, tapestry, needlework, and brass look good on red red. Bright white is a good company for your wood trim and doors. Red paint or wallpaper is elegant inside a china cabinet or bookcases. Oriental rugs with red in them are a good choice for floor covering in a red room. Red is enchanting with bronze or gold leaf. Red upholstered fabric is fantastic with dark mahogany furniture.
Red furniture?
You might think it sounds horrifying till you imagine Chinese red-lacquered furniture. A red-painted casual table seems to fit in wherever you place it. Sometimes it could bear a red tole lamp and at other times like a huge white vase of red or white roses with deep green leaves.
Shades of Red
Naturally there are several different shades of red. Some tend toward the pink red of brick or terra-cotta, some include blue or purple in the color. Then there are the clarets. Each shade produces a different ambiance. Dark cranberry red is often seen in early New England houses. Used with deep green or federal blue and you've got a great Early American mix.
Paint specialists frequently urge putting a clear glaze to red wall paint. This gives it a shiny, rich finish. At times, deep red, right out of the can, looks cloudy and dull after it dries out. In this instance, put on a coat of semi-gloss, clear polyurethane for that glazed effect.
© Athena Goodlight