When I was five, my parents let me pick paint colors for my bedroom. A month later, I had purple walls and a pink ceiling you could see from the street. Color is such a mood booster, don’t you think? Seeking inspiration, I asked Cup of Jo readers to share their bold rooms at home…
“I live in one of the cloudiest cities in the U.S. and knew that color would brighten our kitchen [both photos above]. I decided to paint the walls Arsenic green, the cabinets Bond Street Blue, our freestanding pantry Rangwali pink, and the stairs in a shade of yellow inspired by the Dunraven Arms hotel in Adare, Ireland.” — Averil, Grand Rapids, Michigan
“For our bathroom, I wanted something fun. So, I got a gallon of peach and pink paint, a sample size of green, and a pint of black paint I had left over from something else; and we painted strawberries. My engineer friend mentioned after visiting my house that I’d forgotten the stem on a single strawberry, and it took me days of looking to find it. My favorite ones, of course, are those my son did.” — Britt, Portland, Oregon
“I painted this window in my spare bedroom bright yellow and the walls a softer shade. Even on the greyest English days, I pop my head round the door for an instant happiness injection.” — Jess, Kent, England
“I got divorced a couple years ago, and when my kids aren’t here, I often spend time painting or adding wallpaper or putting in a tile backsplash (because I now own a wet saw?!). I’ve painted a few rooms pink. I know I could have done that when a man lived here, too, but there’s something sweet about doing it during my strong single woman era.” — Chrissie, Salem, Massachusetts
“I mixed two blues to make the perfect color for my living room.” — Shelby, Peoria, Illinois
“I’m a therapist, and I try to make my background neutral enough to not be distracting but interesting enough that my clients have something else to look at beside my face. I was craving a bold space, so I decided to go for the warm, witchy library of my dreams. My millennial clients often comment on the deep plum, saying it was the color of their bedroom in high school. It was also my bedroom color in college, so it’s a nice point of connection.” — Allison, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
“My 10-year-old daughter asked for a green bedroom. I was dubious, but we balanced it out with pink, including this tiger wallpaper, and now I love it.” — Christa, Santa Rosa, California
“Before buying this house, I’d always lived in rental apartments with cream or beige walls. ‘Art teacher chic’ was my goal for our new living room. I figured painting is pretty low stakes — you just need time and the cost of paint — so if the color was hideous, we could paint over. My mom definitely gave me a look when she saw the color in the paint can, but she ended up really liking it, too.” — Page, Northville, Michigan
“I let my kids choose the color of their shared room, and they chose very bright blue. I was nervous about it, but all the furniture and artwork pop so much. The room feels happy during the day and cozy at night.” — Jessica, New York City
Thoughts? Do you have any colorful walls at home?
P.S. Colorful house tours in Connecticut, Brooklyn, upstate New York, and Sweden. Plus, these gorgeous NYC bookshelves!
