Browns that don't work:

Browns that do work:

Beige and yellow doesn't work:

Beige and yellow does work:

Very interesting and something that I can learn from for sure. The examples are great. However, I always wish someone would take those rooms that don’t work and transform a few things reasonable things into what does work instead of just showing us a completely different room. For example the blue room has a beautiful sofa, but if the walls were painted differently and a few accessory pieces were changed, it would highlight the point even more.

I love that article. She was able to articulate her ideas about a successful color scheme so well. I loved the dark gray room with the huge portrait, such drama and warmth.

Thank you, Ida! I enjoyed the article, as well as yours and others thoughts here.

That second brown room makes me swoon! The gray and green room is one of the best examples of flat, and we see it all too much around here.

I’ve always been passionate about all aspects of design: theories, history, psychology, colors, styles, textures, light, mixing patterns, and on and on. It’s so fascinating. It reminds me of posts Magnaverde used to make. He could put a room together using things you’d never think of ... and it’d look magnificent, but also comfortable. I’d study his rooms and think, how did he do that? :)

ETA: I wanted to share this room because, besides being stunning, I think it highlights so well what would get picked apart by a lot of people and turned into a flat, uninteresting, unimaginative — but safe — room.

Thanks for sharing this article. Lots of good information. My daughter is in the process of setting up her first apartment and I am going to share this with her.

We are also in the process of updating our interior, taking a step back due to the virus and the uncertain economy ahead. I have bookmarked the article for reference. Although I have too many sentimental items to ever be overboard matchy matchy, I loved the reminder of color families rather than aiming for the exact same shade.

So glad that others found this interesting too. I've been thinking a lot about this, and appreciate anything that makes my mental wheels turn.

I keep going back to the brown rooms above. The "doesn't work" room seems obvious, in that it's quite flat and has no subtle nuances whatsoever. As though a few items were selected that matched, and it was all thrown together in a white room. Boring!

The brown room that works has spectacular bones, so it already has that advantage. However, I do believe that if you took away the architectural interest and the room's surfaces mirrored those of the white room, you'd still have a space that invited a lingering look. The tones and textures and shapes all combine in such a pleasing manner. And I think that's what many rooms lack. I wish there was a way to help inexperienced decorators understand that it's more than just choosing things that "go" together, as that tends to create a generic and "furniture showroom" sort of look. It's not necessarily wrong, but it lacks warmth and personality, and I think that's what most who bother to come to this forum long for. But it's so hard to put it into words... to explain HOW to arrive at the best choices that are going to make a room interesting and bring a space to life. I think it's a concept well worth exploring.

Jinx, your photo is the perfect illustration! That room invites a person to STUDY it, and really draws one in. There's no one thing that stands out screaming LOOK AT ME, but it's a beautiful sum of the individual parts. It lacks nothing, and yet you can't pinpoint one specific item that "makes it". It's a seamless blend that well represents what we're talking about here. Thanks for sharing it!

I think you hit on a lot of it Ida - the bones of the rooms are very different. But I would like to see the author step in and 'fix' the rooms that don't work, do a photoshop transformation as it were.

On the other hand, we often see evidence that some post here who merely want to be told what to buy and where to put it. I'll admit I have little interest in those threads, so appreciate those who consistently take the time to be of help. I love the threads where it is evident that the poster is in the process of falling in love with their home and is excited to be discovering new ideas and possibilities with a bit of guidance and outside opinion. To see rooms taking on new life, or even just tweaking a thing or two to expand on a different idea... to me, that's such a rewarding experience!

I think, though, that some rooms that don't work editorially do work for living. The experience of standing in a room is completely different than looking at a photograph of one elevation or slice of a room. I don't disagree with her tips at the end, but I don't agree with her evaluation of all of the examples.

That’s a good point, Fun. Photos themselves are “flat” and one dimensional. And it’s hard to see scale in photos.

I don’t think any of the ‘don’t work’ rooms are ugly at all, my own view of the comparisons is: the difference between certain rooms that have a certain flair, design verve, take it to the next level, are very individual ... vs safe styles that don’t have a unique personality. Not necessarily a right or wrong thing, but why we’re all drawn to certain styles and looks, etc, and not to others. And I don’t think it’s an all or nothing thing, I can usually find something I like in most rooms, even if I don’t like the entire look. Now I’m rambling.

Ida, you always say exactly what I’m thinking! But much better. 😄

I see a "Design Around This" out of this thread...

Before

After

Better? My photoshop skills are limited.

Before

After

Well done, cawaps! Your mockups clearly show that even a few changes that introduce texture and take away the intentional matchiness make a big, positive difference!

Interesting blog article. Thanks for sharing, Ida. I agree Photoshopping the rooms that fall flat would be very informative. Would also show that there's more than one way to design a great-looking room. I think that's what paralyzes most people in design: the fear they need to find the "perfect" way or element for a room. Along the lines of what ilikefriday expressed. For me, the brown room falls flat because of the lack of print, texture and personalization. Not to mention I find some elements simply don't jive or work, for example the curtain with that door doesn't make sense. The ceiling fixture and floor lamp feel too light for the elements. Would this room have worked better if the colour was black instead of brown?

The blue room cawaps posted mainly lacks harmony for me because of the wall colour and the graphic rug. Not crazy about the coffee table either. I'd have gone with a dirtier wall colour, navy lamps and a more muted rug. Would also have introduced more touches of green in the room.

The beige and yellow room simply looks like a furniture showroom. Everything matches and looks pretty generic.

As an aside, I happened to take Emily Henderson's SkillShare course on styling yesterday. (Taking a lot of online courses during this quarantine!) She has a good eye but can't say she thoroughly explains her process. Her 12 styles make no sense to me and her understanding of colour seems iffy (bright is not an opposite to cool).

It looks like all of these rooms need a bench! I’ve had great luck with the ones at Manhattan Bench Spamming Company! Barcelona benches are perfect in every room, including bathrooms and laundry rooms. I have two of them in my master bedroom alone! They add just the right touch of something. If you all really like good designs, you should consider BARCELONA BENCHES.

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Lol!

Color is back. Just not everyone knows it yet LOL. I am going to have the inside of my house painted next year. I've grown tired of my all white walls. I'm going to copy my favorite house of Sol and Robert's on Grace and Frankie.

Such a great thread, thanks IdaClaire! I especially agree with what IlikeFriday said about some rooms failing because they're too "safe." That's the fun of decorating to me. You have to take a chance sometimes and when it works, yippee! Your decor will then truly sing, and will bring joy to your home. When it doesn't, well, not fun, but we've all been there. Doing your homework, and learning from articles such as these, will allow you to still take chances but minimize your risk.

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Hi, @IdaClaire @ilikefriday @tartanmeup @Jilly I am glad I found this thread and the comments on the "brown room". I just moved onto a smaller home that has brown wood wall-mounted accents in the Dining Room and Family Room. Now I think I know what to do ;) 1- my tan couch will go to the loft (upstairs) and 2- my orange love seat will go to the family room (downstairs by the fireplace). Hope it works. Cheers!

Hi, lobo, wishing you much happiness in your new home! :)

Thanks for bringing this conversation back to the top lobo (and congrats on the new home!). I missed it the first time and find it quite helpful as i'm in the process of updating my LR.

Hi lobo! I'm so glad this thread was helpful to you, and congratulations on your new home! Best of luck to you too, robinmdc, as you make your updates!

Hi all and thank you @IdaClaire @Jilly @robinmdc for your good wishes. I am reading the article (again) and I realize that I do not know what I am talking about 🤣. I thought, I like color and the pieces are all different so it won't be 1-boring or 2-lacking variation, but I might be #3-"color overload" and I have no idea which one is my "anchor piece". 🤔... asking for a friend ...

Well, unless it looked like an actual anchor, I'm not sure I'd know how to identify an "anchor piece" either, @lobo_93. :D (I can easily get flummoxed by such terms. Same thing with "focal point". It only makes real sense to me when talking about photographing a room. Otherwise, when you're living in the space, people are focal points, no?)

If it helps any, here are some guidelines on colour palettes: Selecting Colours. Colour perception is subjective and the trick is knowing what we like and what we want to live with for a while. (Since furnishings are expensive, the guideline of neutral colours for large expensive pieces like sofas and accent colours for easy-to-switch decor makes sense for a lot of people (and all the more sense for those who love the current neutral colours in the marketplace! :P) but it's not a rule.)

My first thought when it comes to a room is what elements make functional sense here and then, what colours do I crave or appreciate in this space? Function first, look second. How successful is a room that looks good but doesn't function for one's lifestyle? I've done my fair share of drooling over empty rooms with great bones on the Internet but irl, I need seating, tables, etc. :) That said, a well-furnished room with ho-hum bones will never "wow" so budget willing, it pays to fix the bones of a house to meet one's decor style. A pro's advice can help a homeowner save money when it comes to choosing permanent fixtures.

My other bit of advice based on my experience is "finish a room" before moving on to the next. A home isn't created in a weekend, no matter what HGTV tells us. :P

I see you've linked to your new home thread with pictures and layouts. You're getting a lot of advice on that thread from different people (haven't read it yet). Make sure you parse it: what makes sense to you and your lifestyle? Remember you are furnishing this new house to meet your taste and lifestyle so honing in on your lifestyle needs and personal taste is essential. We well-meaning decor-loving strangers on the Internet aren't living in your house (nor maintaining it!). Something else to keep in mind: pictures on our screens rarely tell the whole story about a room (e.g. colours and proportions usually can't be trusted) so our advice is handicapped.

@tartanmeup you said, >“I'm not sure I'd know how to identify an "anchor piece" either :D” For me right now the real anchors (in a bad way) are the still packed-in moving boxes 😰.

Thank you for your advice: I am going back to my post on LR/DR and focus on function and layout, before color palette, and do one room at a time (LR, DR, Study). Also, budget-wise, I am trying to use my furnishings and not touching any permanent fixtures (including for now the wall-mounted boards). BUT it was fun to depart from the urgent and check on “Rooms that work and those that don't” and connect with other houzzers again. Cheers you all !

By "wall-mounted boards", are you referring to panelling?

@tartanmeup yes, paneling in 2 walls (LR/DR) and a wall-mounted headboard in MBR ;)

This totally reminds me of the days when I first started coming to the Home Decorating forum. It was my first house. I did all the textbook things for picking a wall paint color for the back bedroom that was splatter painted hyperlink blue. I knew that had to go, but at that point the room was empty. I knew it was going to be a small guest bedroom but otherwise I had a blank slate. I picked what I thought was the perfect pinky opalescent beige, but it ended up making the room look like one big jar of pepto bismol. I had no idea how to "tone it down." Of course the opposite question that we often see on HD is how to "punch it up." I was making a classic or common newbie mistake by pairing it with a high contrast color (blue in my case) thinking it would draw the eye away from the walls. The opposite was happening, it was making it stand out even worse. I also see people using high contrast to "punch up" a room but it also creates a jarring aesthetic. I learned the importance of pairing a color with colors adjacent/similar to it on the color wheel for toning it down. Also, a room that has big contrasting colors will look better if there are some intermediate colors and textures in the room. And if you pick a neutral safe wall color, then whether the room "works" or not will depend on what you put in the room . . .

On her pics of what works and what doesn't, I notice that she seem to tone down the color in the "works" one...the deep chocolate in the bedroom becomes a warm but lighter brown in the sitting room...the bright yellow becomes a softer gold in the living room...the bright orange sofa becomes a more burnt orange.

One thing I learned from Sarah Richardson is how little of a brighter color you need in a room to make it dominant in a room. She did that with this kitchen where yellow is the strongest color, yet it's only in a shelf, the island and a tiny touch in the valances.