Substantial research shows that color plays a pivotal role in all our visual experiences. Color is important in any room—even lack of color, as an all-white space can influence the mood and change the dynamics. Color can highlight certain features or it can be used to disguise flaws. Take a hue filled journey to some of the boldest rooms on the internet. Understand why certain combinations work and how you too can go boldly into the vibrant color world. 

Starting at street level you can make a statement of color. Choose brightly colored doors on more traditional homes, or go all out and interrupt the expected with varying colors of bright bold color on a modern home. 

Bright colors work well against more subdued hues on a traditional home. 

A pop of neon lime green adds spirited punctuation to the front of a house. The vibrant shade is exactly what’s needed for any modern home. But a neon color could work equally well in other settings—electric blue amid white for example. 

Bold oranges and reds pair well with turquoise and warm, rich browns. Use accent colors to bring in the more dramatic colors and pull back for a more muted and low key approach when using natural woods and fibers. These bright combinations play well in both dining rooms as well as living rooms. 

Tangerine and turquoise are complimentary colors—opposite on the color wheel—so they offer the most contrast when used together. For this reasons it’s good to allow one to be bold and let the other go softer (using more of one than the other would also accomplish this). In this quirky bedroom the color are interspersed with other hues to provide the eye a rest. For a more sophisticated take on teal choose muted tones accompanied by unusual pastels—such as pale yellow and light gray. While still adhering to the watery aesthetic the slight variation of tone brings a more serene sense to the space. 

In a child’s room go for traditional colors with a kick. Blues become neon, pinks become hot. This punchy pink radiated girl power. By playing off the modern lines and clean neutral wall colors. The ceiling is painted an unexpected pink and offers interest and variety to the space. It’s all child’s play!
Ideal for a child’s bathroom, this is a daring choice for a bathroom cabinet. Willing to break with safe neutrals and inject a favorite bold color into a room instead these homeowners made a brave choice and it paid off. This would be less successful if there were competing colors or elements in the space. But since the room has an otherwise restrained color palette and it’s not overly decorated or cluttered it works well. 

The next step up is experimenting with colored tiles (and matching doorknobs of course). This is an example of a contemporary kids bathroom with an under-mount sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, green tile and glass tile. Crisp, clean, and bold. Color saturation is used to describe the intensity of color in an image. A saturated color is often deemed overly bright. Deep, rich colors will make a room feel instantly exotic. 

The intense blue paint and dark wooden accents give this bathroom some serious jungle fever, reinforced by the stone basin on its chunky base and fun leaf arrangement. 

Saturated colors, especially bright pink, purple, or turquoise say “Mexico” without screaming “MEXICO!” It’s the swaying palms and cobbled streets, minus the tequila shooters at Señor Frogs. 

Patterns

Bringing patterns into a space provides excitement—but how do you make it work? Set small patterns against large ones, limit your palette, and have no fear. 

When it comes to conquering color and pattern, this bathroom has accomplished the goal. Using crimson with crisp white paired against a contrasting tile pattern, the natural wood elements offer a grounding and earthy tone in what could have been overkill. Success!

Green and gray—this is how to do a bold shade of green for an elegant bedroom. The bright leafy-green wallpaper is anchored by the gray-colored bedding. The effect is eye catching and luxurious. 

With such a bold color, the contrast of part of the wall solid, part plain, and part a mix (stencil?) works well to tie the small room together in a cohesive and vivid yellow dream.