6 Creative Ways to Use Rainbow In Any Space

Guests don’t typically stop and stare at steps leading up to a second floor ... unless they look like these. Logan, Utah, blogger Ashley Wilson of At Home With Ashley bought 13 sample pots of latex paint for the job, which included replacing the old squeaky treads. “It’s hard to believe this staircase was once dark wood and deep red — it felt like a cave,” she says. “Now it makes me smile every day.” She even rainbowed a gallery wall to match.

It took six months of flea marketing and thrift store hunting before Nashville, Tennessee, blogger Elsie Larson of A Beautiful Mess could bring this striking display of glasses to life. “When we were first looking at our house and I saw the big arched shelf in the breakfast nook, I thought it was the perfect spot for a splash of color,” she says. She gave herself a $3 budget for each piece, $5 for extra-special ones. “We’ve actually used the glasses quite a bit for parties,” she says. “Kids love them!”

After researching various stained-glass ideas, blogger Chelsea Foy of Lovely Indeed decided to go an easier route and cover the glass panels of a door in her Modesto, California, home with transparent window film (from Solar Graphics Window Tinting). “It’s a fully removable and affordable way to personalize a space,” she says. “The look also brings creativity to the studio where my husband and I work.” The whole thing took a little more than an hour to do. How she got it so smooth? Squeegee for the win.

When I had this cabinet made for a family’s playroom, I was going for a fun and timeless look that would grow with their kids,” says designer Alanna Kleiner, who masterminded this Golden Beach, Florida, project. Although this one holds everything the 4-year-old twin brother and sister could want — toys, books art materials — the mod design, open cubbies up top and non-primary colors make it stylish, not childish.

Roy G. Biv may disagree, but it’s cool to break out of the classic rainbow palette — whether you choose different shades or eliminate some colors entirely. “Once I finally decided to make a home for my crafts supplies, I started with pink, my favorite color,” says Brooklyn, New York, blogger Rachel Mae Smith of The Crafted Life. The cans of spray paint are grouped by color family, for optimal organization.