Adding a Pop of Color

Despite my love of a clean, refined white room I could never have a completely white room in my own house (even if I didn't have kids, and a dog tracking dirt in the house).  While white rooms can feel beautiful and serene, they too often feel drab and cold.  Colorful rooms on the other hand feel energetic and warm, but too colorful rooms can feel overwhelming and claustrophobic.  In my own house I like to marry the clean look of a white room with eclectic pieces and pops of color that give a room energy and personality.

Adding Color to the edge of a door  - inspiration from Apartment Therapy

I was looking for ways to add pops of color to my mostly white hall bathroom when I came across this article from Apartment Therapy.  It details several ways to add color by painting the edges of objects a color that contrasts with the color of the rest of the object.  When I saw the above picture of the edge of a door painted neon orange, I knew I had to do this to my own room.

Here is the result:

A subtle hint of color from the now dark hallway.

I painted the edge of the door  Seaside Villa, in Home Decor Chalk Paint by Folk Art because I had it on hand and it was the perfect color.  Chalk paint tends to be a bit softer and more prone to scratching than traditional acrylic paint, so I am a bit concerned that it will not hold up over time.  I used Folk Art Home Decor Clear Wax over the paint to protect the finish, and I have had good luck with the durability of this paint previously, but only time will tell how well it will do for this application.   The door (and the rest of the trim), is painted in Simply White by Benjamin Moore, a slightly warm white that contrasts nicely with the cooler Seaside Villa.

This mini project really gave me a lot of bang for my buck.  The only cost to me was a little time, but the impact of this small change is surprisingly big.  It is hard to describe the difference this small change made, but I can say that somehow the room now feels more playful, and complete, and like details are a priority.

If you have done any surprisingly impactful small projects, or know a clever way to add a pop of color to a room, let me know about it in the comments.