I've been living with a caliente red dining room and a tequila blue living room for so long that my eyes were bleeding from the Mexican Restaurant strain of it all (not that I don't love me some muy delicioso Mexican comidas!) when I looked from one room into to the next. One of those colors had to go, and after much agonizing DH and I decided to keep the red. The living room was painted a soothing pinky gray and I am hoping to post before and after pics very soon, but first major accessory shifts are needed to restore Casa Erin to top form.
In the meantime, I've been cruising color palettes for inspiration, and despite disparaging pink and red in my last post, that combo is still feeling very fresh to me. My favorite is Miles Redd's living room (Sorry Miles... I'm turning into such a stalker!):
First of all, how sexy is that couch? I know it probably cost a bazillion dollars, but I think I'd give a tooth for it. Maybe even a front one. Anyway, Miles went for broke with this... NOT a subdued pink. NOT a subdued red. Full frontal nudity here. Raunchy.
While I totally want Miles' entire apartment, I think pink and red are easiest for us mere mortals to pair when the furniture is kept streamlined. Check out this mod combo designed by Aussie firm BKH that was featured at the Kips Bay Showhouse (photo courtesy of Elite Choice):
How much do you love that orangey red painting on those coolly pink walls? It just pops and clashes its little heart out, and the black scaled down furniture helps keep the look modern instead of 1980's mauve disaster.
Y'all know by now that I'm a Jay Jeffers fan... That guy can go from kooky to classy in 2.2 seconds. This San Francisco apartment is carefully neutral, but the dining room has an ultra glam pink ceiling paired with pops of red for edge.
The beigey walls go a long way toward keeping this look polished instead of claustrophobic. Here are a couple more examples of careful accessory choices to keep the look edgy, but not cluttered:
(Domino paint palette on the left and Kelly Wearstler's office on the right)
Simple black fireplaces add some much needed geometry to both spaces. I really hate those sconces in Kelly Wearstler's office, but she shows (once again) that she is master of the plate wall, and the lime green apples are fabulous with that pink.
My friend Hope Perkins of Hot Pink Pistol fame had this amazing pink (of course!) house that looked gorgeous in pictures but kinda made me feel nervous in real life. So, I think that to be able to live in these spaces, I personally need some neutral air to breathe. Therefore I present to you this most appealing mix of space and color that I found whilst reading Habitually Chic's awesome blog:
This is the gorgeous Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo in Modena, Italy, featuring color block paintings by Winston Roeth which were donated by legendary collector Giuseppe Panza. I love the gold, white, pink and red combo (with a teeny flash of lemon yellow) and I totally think I'm going to steal it. My new wall color isn't white-white like this, but it's pale and cool enough that I think it'll work. I'm going to have to fake the gold fretwork, since I (sadly) don't live in a 17th century castle, but I'm hoping the look will still be edgily sublime.
Stay tuned!
