Using Red to Decorate Your Home: Attract and Wow Guests

Red has always been an attractive color, and anyone who wears it tends to exude confidence and catch everyone’s eye. Similarly, the hue can have striking effects when used in home decor. Obviously, with such a strong color as red, you shouldn’t go filling a whole room with it. Painting your walls red could be seen as too extreme, but small decor touches and household objects can really charge up a room that may have otherwise been bland or tame. If you want to use red around the house but need some inspiration, you can start with these ideas.

Chairs

No matter what kind of kitchen that you already have, you can remodel it easily by changing out your current dining chairs and replacing them with brilliant red ones instead. If you have a white kitchen, the red will look electric against such a light color. A modern one-hued kitchen like all white or all black will become even more amazing when you incorporate some red chairs into the room.

No matter what kind of chairs that your dining room calls for, red works. Metal chairs, wooden chairs, bar stools, even upholstered chairs all look alluring in such a hue. If you have a metal, wooden, or painted dining table, chances are that the red chairs will complement it instead of clash with it.

Couches

A picturesque living room or lounge becomes all the more enticing with red furniture like couches or loveseats. If you’re worried that red wouldn’t work with your current living room, you’d be surprised. The color blends with a number of other hues like white, black, brown, beige, and blue. You can probably keep the rest of your living room the same and just replace the couches to breathe new life into the space.

If you prefer, you can get pillows for your couch. These can be a single color like white or black or can have touches of red in them. Just avoid all red pillows for these will blend into the couch and reduce the overall effect.

Rugs

For those who are a little nervous about incorporating red into home decor, try swapping out your current rug with one that has red in it. Chances are, if you purchase a rug with a complicated design, it will include a whole slew of complementary shades so that the red will not stand out as brightly. Such a rug will probably match your living room already, especially if you already have a red couch. In that case, you may want to choose a rug with a deeper and darker shade of red so as not to overpower the room. If you opt out of the red couch, your rug can be as daring as your own style dictates.

Pillows and Decor

Feel the energy of red when you crawl into bed every night. You can decorate your bedroom or other rooms with the hue easily by putting red on the walls. Buy a piece of artwork or a picture in the brave color to immediately capture attention when someone walks into the room. These pieces don’t have to be pure red; a darker shade like brick red will still have the same kind of show-stopping effects.

You can also use a red bedspread or red pillows. Again, you should avoid using both if you want to create an interesting contrast. Red pillows on a white or black bed set looks wonderful and vice-versa. By investing in some red sheets or a bed set, you can try this trend but not permanently.

Doors

If you’re already in love with red and want to use it for years to come, paint your front door the hue. With this task, you can choose a number of different shades of red. According to HGTV, more modern doors will probably look best with a darker shade like brick red rather than the bright natural shade. If you have a brick exterior for your home, this dark red color will complement that beautifully and look better than a white, beige, brown, or black door.

For older-looking doors, you should also try a darker color, but a contemporary door would look great with bright, regular red splattered across it. If you have a country style front door, then you should consider using a kind of red that has hints of purple in it, HGTV recommends.

Rather than replacing your front door entirely, which can be expensive and time-consuming, painting the door takes a day or two, doesn’t cost a lot of money, and instantly upgrades your home for years to come.