Decorating A Neutral Room With Pops Of Colors

family room with blue fringe

Thomas Loof

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Add Eye-Catching Fringe

Instant pizzazz comes from Samuel & Sons's electric blue brush fringe on the family room's neutral sofa in a Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, vacation home. "Brush fringe used as welting turns out to be fresh and fun—and electric blue is my new favorite color," designer Sally Markham says. The room is completed with vintage Russel Wright chairs upholstered in Meloire Reverse by China Seas and a Calypso Home floor pillow.

red front door with gold motif on glass

Francesco Lagnese

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Create a Friendly Entry

Reviving an Early American symbol of welcome, designer Ken Fulk painted the front doors of a San Francisco Victorian Benjamin Moore Heritage Red. The designer also echoed existing carved-fan motifs in new gilt stencils on the glass.

living room

Jonny Valiant

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Rescue Boring Bookshelves

A herringbone pattern hand-painted by Christopher Rollinson gives "wow" factor to the living room in a New York prewar apartment. "In an important room like your living room, shelves should be a little more styled," designer Christina Murphy says. Above the Lee Industries love seat, a Christine Hayman painting hangs between wall lamps from Circa Lighting. Walls are painted a custom robin's egg blue.

living room corner

Bjorn Wallander

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Frame Wallpaper

By framing a vintage floral wallpaper panel, designer Kelee Katillac brightened a dark living room corner of the 1915 Kansas City, Missouri, apartment she lives in with her husband and partner, architectural interior designer Steve Heiffus. It's an inexpensive way to get the look of wallpaper without the removal hassle. Audrey Salon fauteuil in Empire Gown silk from the Kelee Katillac Couture Collection.

Plumbing fixture, Glass, Tap, Sink, Light fixture, Kitchen sink, Tile, Countertop, Plumbing, Kitchen,

Sarah Bonk

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Try a Sink in an Unexpected Hue

"Every great kitchen has a hook, that one unique element that just pulls you in," designer Mick De Giulio says. In this space, it comes in the form of an unexpected pop of color: the blue kitchen sink designed by Jonathan Adler. Kohler Iron/Tones kitchen sink in Annapolis Navy. Grothouse Lumber cutting board sink insert. Ann Sacks Davlin tile in white gold leaf.

breakfast bar with blue and green accents

Francesco Lagnese/James Merrell

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Look to Lighting

There are other hues besides the standard chrome or brass. In the white-and-brown kitchen of a Greenwich, Connecticut, house, designer Ashley Whittaker added a fresh, crisp feeling by installing Urban Electric's Chisholm Hall lanterns – which come in all of Benjamin Moore's paint colors in addition to nearly 200 powder coat finishes.

blue greek key border on a tan curtain

Reed Davis

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Trim a Curtain

A Greek key border, Clarence House Grand Galon Athenee, "crisps up the edges" of curtains in a Houston house for a young family. Because curtains often require more fabric than people realize, "If a client has an expensive fabric they love, I sometimes buy just enough to do a two- to four-inch-wide border," designer Ann Wolf says. "You'll get the look of the fabric without the expense."

family room

Eric Piasecki

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Brighten Up Old Furniture

Designer Kay Douglass furnished the family room of an Atlanta house with two vintage side tables that belonged to the owners — lacquered in Orange Spice to give them new life. Thibaut sofa, Iron and Linen Frame light fixture, and orange picture frame from South of Market. Belgian linen curtains from Lewis & Sheron Textiles.

kitchen with green gingham ceiling

Eric Piasecki

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Don't Forget the Ceiling

To create a green gingham ceiling in a Purchase, New York, house, designer Gideon Mendelson first had the pattern painted on canvas by Silvère Boureaum. "It gives a classic white kitchen personality, and it brings extremely high ceilings down to a more comfortable place," Mendelson says.