Exploding with Color

If you want to know about color and mood, just ask stay-at-home mom and former retail designer Kelly Keener. Her kid-friendly family room in Knoxville, Tennessee, glows with all the colors of a psychedelic rainbow. She makes these cheery colors look easy, but it takes a good eye to pull off all this color with equal balance.

She went with a red and green combination that's tempered with a soft buttery yellow hue found on the leather sofas and painted brick fireplace. Spots of contrasting colors like a small blue clock on the mantel and her own custom artwork featuring painted wooden lady cutouts combine for a quirky twist on a contemporary design. More visually stimulating pieces are used to accessorize white bookcases flanking an armoire.

She cut out a part of the wall to make room for a small dining nook looking into the kitchen. The tabletop is a piece of painted wood secured to the wall with L-brackets and reinforced with two upside-down stair balusters, which are also painted in fun colors complementing her design scheme.

The colors continue on into the entry where Keener's placed a chest she's painted, embellished and decorated according to her own unique style. A grouping of silver candlesticks and lamp bases coordinate with knobs and feet she silver-leafed herself.