Design Dilemma

I've had this question through our website: "If I am having big red poppy wallpaper on my chimney breast wall and I would like to have a big red sofa what colour should I do the rest of my walls and what colour carpet would u advise?" Mrs. Cooper

Ruth Says: First off - I like your style! I love red too. Red symbolises passion, life and energy.

I would keep the carpet neutral in case you change your mind in the future. Also the colours that go really well with red are creamy neutrals and some purples. Another client asked me a similar question recently and I illustrate here some suggestions I made about wall and curtain colours (these are Dulux colours - our decorators like Dulux)with her wallpaper.


I think exactly the same advice applies to your room. The best thing to do is get some sample pots and paint them on each of the walls. Also go for a darker shade than you think as it always looks lighter when painted on the whole wall. I love using Espresso Delight as there is nothing it does not match with! Introduce a third colour somewhere - cushions, curtains or other accessories , maybe gold, purple or browns. Wood looks very well with red, so using some wooden furnitiure will work well. Let me know how you get on and send me some pics. Best of luck!