Adding Red to your Decor

Image: Modern Furniture Decor

Celebrate the color red by skillfully adding it to your decor.


With Fourth of July around the corner, we suddenly realized that so many festive events and holidays feature the color red. Using red in your decor to create the mood you want instead of making the wrong impression requires a bit of experimentation and artistry. Red is a bold color that invokes passion, but when overused it can seem forceful or aggressive. Here are few ideas for adding the boldness of red to your spaces without changing the mood. Find the perfect balance between too much and not enough.

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1. Red Accents - Accents of red are the equivalent to adding small bit of red to your favorite outfit. Red in a neutral room attractions attention. The red piece becomes the focal point. It can draw attention to areas of the room that might not have otherwise been noticed and be inviting without being too obvious.

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2. Choose a Red for your Style - Finding the right shade of red for your decor style can tricky. Contemporary decor often incorporates bright red as color pops with neutral elements. Traditional decor incorporates burgundies and darker reds with black undertones. Shabby chic or country decor loves a bold barn door red while modern and eclectic decor do well with shades of poppy or orange reds. Find your perfect shade of red by experimenting with samples and a bit of trial and error.

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3. Keep Your Lighting in Mind - The light in your room, either natural or artificial, can transform the appearance of your red. Remember with a little light a red that you thought was darker, may appear lighter, and vice versa. Be sure to test your chose red in its final destination first, before you commit to a larger impact.

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4. Size of the Room - Remember that the darker the red, the smaller it can make your space feel. So, the smaller the space, the brighter the red you might choose. The more open the room, the more red you will be able to add without feeling like you are overdoing or creating a smaller space.

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5. Rugs - In traditional decor, red is infused into the landscape with an oriental or other traditionally designed rug. Simply pull the red from the rug to use for decor accents.

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6. 60-30-10 Rule - When in doubt, to add a bit of red to your current decor color scheme, or just for festive occasions, consider employing the 60-30-10 rule. Sixty percent of the decor color is the dominant choice (most often a neutral), 30% is a secondary color and 10% is an accent color. The more neutral your decor, the more pop you can use to create a statement.

Image: Homed It

7. Festive Occasions - If red is not often a part of your decor, don't shy away from adding red to you decor for festive occasions. Using rugs, throw pillows, lamps or other accessories to incorporate red into your decor creates a festive mood in your spaces that didn't exist before the red was added. These pieces can easily be removed and stored after the celebration is over.

Image: Sara Richardson Design