Decorating Guides
New This Week: 2 Rooms Bursting With Blue
Forget pops of color. These new projects on Houzz feature spaces virtually drenched in bold color to create an unforgettable look
You always hear about designers adding pops of color to a room. But sometimes designers and homeowners go above and beyond by introducing generous amounts of a single bold color to a room. We’re talking literally buckets full of color applied liberally to large surfaces like walls and ceilings. Here, two designers took the plunge with blue hues to create dramatic spaces that don’t just pop with color, but burst with it.
Plan of attack: Simard began with the wallpaper, then added the paint. From there, he began tackling the big items, such as the colorful rug, funky light and custom smoked glass dining table. Vintage accent pieces came next, such as the red leather cabinet and brass bar cart. “Every space needs a bit of history and curiosity,” Simard says. The lime green chairs, designed from scratch, came last.
What goes on here: Formal dining for large family meals and dinner parties.
Designer secret: A custom dining table made specifically for this space. “After all, the table is what makes a dining room,” Simard says.
“Uh-oh” moment: “With a majority of the finishes being of matte texture in this room, we wanted an element to be more glossy, but this did mean having to experiment a little,” Simard says. “Back to that statement ceiling. We had actually added a high-gloss clear coat on top of the color originally to give it some shine. Well, to make a long story short, it turned out hideous. Let’s just say you needed sunglasses to take off the glare. So we toned it down a notch or 10 and gave it a satin finish instead, which was just what the room needed.”
Splurges and savings: Because the majority of the walls are clad in wood wainscoting, Simard didn’t need to purchase as much wallpaper. So he was able to splurge on a higher-end paper.
The nitty-gritty: Table and chairs: custom made; light fixture: Roll & Hill; red cabinet: vintage; area rug: Elte; acrylic pedestals: custom; candlesticks: vintage
Team: Brandon Barré (photographer)
What goes on here: Formal dining for large family meals and dinner parties.
Designer secret: A custom dining table made specifically for this space. “After all, the table is what makes a dining room,” Simard says.
“Uh-oh” moment: “With a majority of the finishes being of matte texture in this room, we wanted an element to be more glossy, but this did mean having to experiment a little,” Simard says. “Back to that statement ceiling. We had actually added a high-gloss clear coat on top of the color originally to give it some shine. Well, to make a long story short, it turned out hideous. Let’s just say you needed sunglasses to take off the glare. So we toned it down a notch or 10 and gave it a satin finish instead, which was just what the room needed.”
Splurges and savings: Because the majority of the walls are clad in wood wainscoting, Simard didn’t need to purchase as much wallpaper. So he was able to splurge on a higher-end paper.
The nitty-gritty: Table and chairs: custom made; light fixture: Roll & Hill; red cabinet: vintage; area rug: Elte; acrylic pedestals: custom; candlesticks: vintage
Team: Brandon Barré (photographer)
2. Look Around
Designers: Dillon Kyle of Dillon Kyle Architecture and interior designer Rachael Miclette
Location: Houston
Size: About 5½ by 11 feet (1.6 by 3.3 meters); 61 square feet (5.5 square meters)
Year built: 2013
The color choice: Designer Dillon Kyle began by looking at Stillwater by Benjamin Moore for this children’s study nook just off the parents’ office, but ended up creating a custom mix for a hue with more blue. “The fun color and saturation really worked well with the children’s space,” he says.
Homeowners’ request: The owners wanted separate workspaces for the adults and children. Kyle focused on maximizing function while maintaining a clean appearance. The nook provides a comfortable place for reading, a desk area for doing homework and writing, and a central location that’s accessible to everyone.
Who uses it: Children use this primarily for homework and studying. The location frees up the public spaces to focus on entertaining.
Designer secret: Don’t be afraid of saturation.
The nitty-gritty: Paint: custom mix based on Stillwater, Benjamin Moore; cabinets: custom, Robert Sanders Homes; lights: Circa Lighting
Team: Robert Sanders Homes (general contractor); Insight Structures (engineer); Casey Dunn (photographer)
Browse more stories about decorating with bold color
Designers: Dillon Kyle of Dillon Kyle Architecture and interior designer Rachael Miclette
Location: Houston
Size: About 5½ by 11 feet (1.6 by 3.3 meters); 61 square feet (5.5 square meters)
Year built: 2013
The color choice: Designer Dillon Kyle began by looking at Stillwater by Benjamin Moore for this children’s study nook just off the parents’ office, but ended up creating a custom mix for a hue with more blue. “The fun color and saturation really worked well with the children’s space,” he says.
Homeowners’ request: The owners wanted separate workspaces for the adults and children. Kyle focused on maximizing function while maintaining a clean appearance. The nook provides a comfortable place for reading, a desk area for doing homework and writing, and a central location that’s accessible to everyone.
Who uses it: Children use this primarily for homework and studying. The location frees up the public spaces to focus on entertaining.
Designer secret: Don’t be afraid of saturation.
The nitty-gritty: Paint: custom mix based on Stillwater, Benjamin Moore; cabinets: custom, Robert Sanders Homes; lights: Circa Lighting
Team: Robert Sanders Homes (general contractor); Insight Structures (engineer); Casey Dunn (photographer)
Browse more stories about decorating with bold color
Designer: Yanic Simard of Toronto Interior Design Group
Location: Toronto
Size: 17 by 13 feet (5.1 by 3.9 meters); 221 square feet (20.5 square meters)
Year built: 1898
The color choice: Designer Yanic Simard was looking for a way to bring a bold, unexpected pop into this dining room to create some drama and tension with all the traditional wood wainscoting. “And what better place than the ceiling?” he says. “Since the room is enclosed, and its ceiling doesn’t connect to any other rooms, we knew it would be the perfect opportunity for this design decision, because we wouldn’t have any transitions.”
He let the multicolored wallpaper (Hummingbird by Cole & Sons ) inspire the color, which is Beau Green by Benjamin Moore. “The teal popped out at us,” Simard says. “It works so well because the hue plays so nicely off of the yellowish-orange undertone of the wood, which is so prominent, and we needed a strong color to balance it.”
Homeowners’ request: To add some “youth, whimsy and modern-day personality to the traditional vibe and history” of the home, Simard says.