Colorful Urban Loft

A boring, neutral loft is transformed into an edgy, colorful urban space.

Get Color! : Episode HGCOR-209 -- More Projects »
Photo

Before: This urban loft has great architectural details such as exposed beams and pipes plus interesting wall angles, but with the white walls, the room feels too industrial. The neutral white/cream palette allows the eye to wander endlessly around the wide open space. The homeowners want an edgier, downtown look.
Photo

After: Aqua blue is the primary wall color, which is opposite orange on the color wheel so it picks up the orange tones in the hardwood floor. When painting a feature wall, paint anything along the wall that would break up the continuity, such as a closet door. The major colors of the room are repeated in small spurts to create vignettes with a sense of intimacy, but each area is still connected by common colors.
Brad and Mary have made a commitment to marriage, but Brad has difficulty committing to colors. For their spacious urban loft, they want colors that will highlight each of their personalities. They choose an aqua blue for the feature wall, chocolate brown for the high ceiling and exposed pipes and navy blue for two chairs. Custom-built cubes, with each side painted one of the chosen colors, are used as occasional tables. Brown and white zebra-patterned pillows and a rug plus blue and orange accessories give the space a hip, retro look.

Did You Know? Blue reduces blood pressure, so it's often used in cardiac wards. Dark colors make a high ceiling feel lower and almost disappear.

paint: walls (Clear Sailing, Brookline Beige); ceiling (Bittersweet Chocolate); accent walls (Mexicana, Blue Lagoon, Champion Cobalt); cubes (Bittersweet Chocolate, Mexicana, Brookline Beige, Clear Sailing) - Benjamin Moore

Explore the wonderful world of color and get expert tips to add it to your home.

Play with our Pick-a-Palette tool to learn what colors look great together! Get started>>

Experiment with new furniture arrangements for your home using HGTV.com's Room Planner tool.

Resources
paint
Benjamin Moore (Canada)
Website: www.benjaminmoore.ca
Also in this Episode