Color is what brings a space to life, but when a palette reads as jarring rather than considered, it can turn an interior primed for vibrancy into one that feels unsettled. Choosing how and when to use certain hues — and in what combination — is a careful calibration, one that can make a room feel enveloping, surprising, and memorable.
Nuances like saturation, a room’s lighting, texture, placement, and pairing all come into play when using bright paint colors. Whether you’re decorating from scratch, reworking a small space, or simply looking for inspiration, I asked designers to share the mistakes to avoid when decorating with bright colors — and how to fix them.
From bold and cheerful to easy swaps, these spaces show how decorating with color at its brightest, when handled well, can be transformative.
Article continues below1. Choosing Contrasting Yet Equally Bold Colors
DO INSTEAD: You can still pair contrasting colors, but pay attention to the level of saturation.
Imagine a room with a yellow-and-purple palette or one with a red-and-green palette. Bold, yes, but they can work surprisingly well in certain circumstances. For Copenhagen-based designer Louise Roe Andersen of the eponymous brand Louise Roe, a palette should be complementary instead of starkly contrasting for a “smoother and more balanced experience,” she says.
For example, red and green have a sudden interplay when they are swapped for pale rose and dark olive, hues that “harmonize and aren’t as aggressive” in their expression.
Another tip: Layer the same color in varying gradients, like forest green and spring green, which is especially effective in a light-filled space where curves, corners, and surfaces create natural shadows. One approach is through 'color capping'.
Louise Roe Andersen is the founder and creative director of her Copenhagen-based design studio and brand, Louise Roe. With a background in journalism and a longstanding interest in architecture and form, she approaches design through a balance of intuition and structure. Her work draws on Bauhaus principles and European classical influences, resulting in furniture, lighting, and objects defined by careful proportion, material sensitivity, and a quiet sense of weight and presence.
2. A Palette Without Focus
DO INSTEAD: When decorating with bright colors, think about placement and purpose.
For Louise McGarry, co-founder and creative director of London-based Studio Braw, placement is where things tend to unravel when it comes to color. “Bright color needs purpose,” she says. A punchy red pillow here, a navy throw there, and a patterned chair in a rainbow array “create noise rather than interest.”
With no sense of rhythm or clear point of focus, the eye keeps moving but never quite settles. Her advice? Start with an anchor — one bright color given a proper role. “From there, everything else becomes quieter.”
Louise McGarry is the co-founder and creative director of Studio Braw, a London-based interior design studio she established with her husband, Matt Simpson. With a background shaped by years of hands-on renovation and development across London, she brings an intuitive understanding of how people live in their homes, prioritizing comfort, character, and longevity over a fixed aesthetic.
3. A Feature Wall
DO INSTEAD: Consider hierarchy when it comes to color.
The mistake that Louise McGarry comes back to most often when decorating with bright colors is the feature wall. While usually done with good intention — a way to introduce color without going too far — it rarely feels resolved.
“More often than not, it reads as hesitation,” she says, as if one wall steps forward while the rest of the room holds back. “It’s often the result of trying to do too much at once,” she adds. If everything is bold, nothing really lands.
Instead, choose a main hue and then a supporting cast around it. Without that, even the most beautiful palettes can feel restless.
4. Taking a Color at Face Value
DO INSTEAD: Choose a color with depth to its base to avoid surprise (and unnecessary paint fixes).
For custom home builder Liz Hoekzema, bright colors in everything from textiles to wallpaper and paint need to have some level of a muddy base. The biggest mistake you can make with paint, especially, is taking a color at face value, as it will end up brighter and bolder than how it initially appeared on the paint chip.
“We have repainted more than one kid’s space over the years after said child was allowed to pick their wall color (the worst offender: a melon color that glowed neon orange down the entire upstairs hallway).”
A touch of brown or gray makes everything feel inherently calmer and richer, she adds. Farrow & Ball's paints are particularly good for this.
5. Shying Away With Accessories
DO INSTEAD: Go bold with a small accessory that can bring the whole room together.
It’s not often that you’ll hear a designer say “go as bright as you want,” but Liz says the sentiment stands when it comes to smaller accessory pieces. For example, a beautiful hardcover book binding, a vessel, or even a small side table can act as a punctuation mark, adding an element of drama, cohesion, and a designer’s touch.
Remember the 'Unexpected Red' theory.
6. Not Balancing Bold With Muted
DO INSTEAD: Intense color should always be balanced with something warm and neutral, as well as another color that is muted or even pastel.
While Liz is a fan of color in digestible doses, she also cautions against “too much of a good thing.” More than one bright color in a space introduces chaos.
When choosing one saturated color, be sure to balance it with a warm neutral or a pastel. For example, rich brown cabinetry and marble with soft lilac veining are the supporting actors for a bold red perimeter countertop in a recent bar project. “It had no shortage of courageous design decisions, but a very international balance of color that still feels calm,” she adds.
7. Ignoring the Setting
DO INSTEAD: Choose a color palette based on the mood you want to create.
Interior design should consider context, whether that be a home’s architectural roots or its setting, and the same applies when it comes to the use of bold color.
“Since I live in Denmark, where the seasons are very defined, my mood (and color palette) is very influenced by the seasons and the feeling they carry with them,” shares Louise Roe Andersen.
In the spring and summer, when sunny days stretch into temperate evenings, she’s drawn to bright, fresh, and crisp colors, while in autumn and winter, cozy amber and chocolate brown are more her taste. Not everyone wants to redecorate with the seasons, but this same philosophy can tie into the atmosphere you are trying to create, where bright color can enliven any interior.
For those who can’t get enough of color, there are still plenty of ways to decorate boldly and express your style, all while imparting sophistication and serenity into any space. Instead of a large color-washed space, try a bold powder bathroom to start. Instead of a slew of bright vessels, try styling one on your coffee table with in-season blooms.
For more design inspiration, subscribe to Livingetc's newsletter.