Inspirational ideas
Decorating ideas & inspiration in red
Terracotta, oxblood, old cherry: red is the shade of hospitality. It warms evening rooms, flatters gilded wood and gives hallways instant poise.
Our red schemes place it with restraint — one wall, one door, one bookcase — or commit to it floor to ceiling.
“Red doesn't decorate a room: it inhabits it.”
Choosing a red: from terracotta to lacquer
Red alarms people on a colour card and almost always convinces them once it is on the wall — provided you pick the right family. Earthy reds can be lived with across large surfaces; candid reds want measuring out: a door, an alcove, the inside of a cupboard, a dining-room ceiling.
For a warm, easy red, Red Post Hill No.68, Henna BH.18, Dulwich Red and Huguenot No.49 carry enough earth to dress a whole room without ever shouting. Crayfish Party BH.19 and Coral Orange No.277 lean coral — brighter, and very successful in small rooms.
For a red with real character, Theatre Land No.282, Arts Club No.281 and Indian Lake No.288 are deep, near-lacquered reds made for dining rooms and libraries. Bright Red FTT-009 and Vermillion FTT-010 are our most candid reds — keep them for accents. On the pink-red side, Covent Garden Floral No.270, Palmerston Pink No.243 and Mortlake Red No.290 bridge across to the pinks.
Red goes on over a tinted undercoat: without one you'll need three coats instead of two. See also our pinks and lilacs, oranges and terracottas and Archive collection ideas, or browse all our red paints.
Our schemes
24 schemes
