apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think one red wall would be good; the rest white. black furniture could look great with the red. Personally, I hate ceiling fans; I would get rid of it or get a really stylish one from DWR. You could also think about keeping some of the furniture that you have there (book cases) and paint them; red white or black.

sounds like you're pretty hot on Ikea stuff. my simple advice is to look at their new catalog, as red seems to be their new accent color this season.

i would advise against a red wall, but that's just me. red tends to show flaws in the paint/walls easily, plus its hard to match. if you use a lot of red accents, it'd be easier to use several shades.

see if you can replace that ceiling fan with a dramatic black chandelier. i'd go with black furniture, red accents, and a white room. minimal/mod should be your inspiration.

good luck!

I suggest you do a lot more research on what you like before deciding on what you want to do with the room. Visit your local magazine stand, sit down, and read through 20-30 interiors magazines. Buy the ones showcasing spaces you like most and bookmark or file the article pages. Research AT and other websites for interesting interiors and catalog the pictures. In the meantime visit some furniture stores other than Ikea and do some window shopping. Bring a camera if possible and take pictures of interiors and items you like. A number of stores like Bloomingdales, Room and Board, manufacturer showrooms (Pacific Design Center), etc, have their displays set up as rooms. Examine them and write down in a notebook what you like. You may need to do this research over a few months, however eventually you should notice some preferences emerging. Then begin contemplating color and furnishings.

Don't skip the research. The last thing you want to do is spend a lot of time, effort, and money on changing a space only to dislike, or worse, hate it on completion.

Good point John H. I spent a lot of time, effort, and money into making my living room a mid century modern showroom, only to discover that mcm wasn't really my speed. Now I've been slowly, and sheepishly, selling my collection to attain a more Hollywood Regency style.

Lesson (woefully) learned.

I whole heartedly agree with John. Colors and color combinations can be interpreted in hundreds of different ways. You should start with the feeling you want and move from there - keeping in mind that many different pieces of furniture, colors, textures, etc can contribute to that "feeling."

It isn't easy to paint a wall red....we did it in our kitchen using an industrial high-gloss....we used a gray tinted primer and it still took about 5 coats to get an even finish that didn't show the primer or look streaky....it was a lot of work.

You could use red wallpaper if you want a red wall.

Kellylc -- Congratulations on earning the "It Looks Great, So Why Do I Hate It?" merit badge in home decorating. I've earned a few of those in the current residence.

Add my vote for doing the research. If you're "into" design but don't have a firm grip on what you want (or you've talked yourself into some sort of compromise), it's a cinch to create a good-looking room that doesn't work for you.

I'm in agreement with everyone here, do research on the style you are after and as for the red/black/white, do the room in mostly black/white, but don't just stick with true black, a little gray or charcoal here and there to tone down the contrast and go largely white with black for some balance and then use the red for accents.

I did this in my space, well, my bedroom, largely due to the fact that I'm in a rental and can't paint the walls so they are white and I have black in the furnishings, namely the bed frame, lack tables (for bedside tables) and the like. My desk is really a brown/black table top from IKEA with black standards/brackets and shelves above but I use red in the plastic bins, the bed linens and duvet with red/white stripped throw pillows and I have my old teak bookcase in a corner as the browns warm up the space some in a grounding manner. The desk drawer is really a charcoal gray which is fine as it all goes well together.

And Polkadot, I saw on HGTV's Get Color! over a year ago, I think it was, a trick to painting red walls. That is, if I recall right, prime with a tinted primer some of the paint to be used and then when you do paint, you will get a more even coverage and require much less coats (I think only one or 2 coats were needed) and this was a bright red paint too. Another thing is to simply ask a paint pro how to handle red paint.

It looks like a great space, airy and bright, so I'd hesitate to paint the walls red. Bright rooms tend to make red walls look glaring and "off". And why fight that light?

But if you do still want red walls (and I certainly understand the allure of a good red wall), partition off the darker far side of the room (where your bed is?) with curtains and create an area dedicated for sleeping and paint its walls red. Also, curtains are an easy way to add color and interest to a room without making huge commitments, and you can always change them around as the mood suits you.

One last thing, if you're using red, I would avoid the stark contrasts of red, black and white by being liberal with colors closer to red (pinks, oranges, purples) in the furnishings. This will give the room depth and warmth.

Go for it, Daisy! It will look terrific. My daughter did her living room in black, white and red, and it looks great. The room is white, the furniture is black (chaise, sofa, console table, end tables, 2 cubes), and the accents are in red (throw over the chaise, vases, black wall shelves with red decorative items), black lamps with red or white shades. Turned out terrific, and by keeping only the accents red, you don't need to worry about whether they are all the same red.

Actually, she did most of the apartment in white, with black furniture, and changes the accent color in the different rooms. The advantage is that the furniture all goes together, so she can move pieces from one room to another. For instance, the black ladder style bookcases from her old living room are now in her dining room holding candles and plants. And the color combination surprisingly doesn't look stark, due to the accent colors.