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Collection by Claire Andreas

Ways to Color Accent Your Home

From an orange shipping container addition to a cleverly-painted kitchen divider, click to see how these six homeowners used color to add personality to their homes.

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How a highly productive collaboration among a trio of creative Angelenas—and a good dose of Barragán—turned a dark and beleaguered midcentury house into a family home for the ages. The resulting design acquired its own flow, full of colorful narrative, spirited counterpoint, and anecdote. Now, in place of dark, disconnected spaces, outdoor rooms echo luminous indoor ones, and experimental filmmaker Laura Purdy and her family’s eclectic collections of art and personal artifacts share space with flashes of pattern and interior planes of saffron and pink stucco.
How a highly productive collaboration among a trio of creative Angelenas—and a good dose of Barragán—turned a dark and beleaguered midcentury house into a family home for the ages. The resulting design acquired its own flow, full of colorful narrative, spirited counterpoint, and anecdote. Now, in place of dark, disconnected spaces, outdoor rooms echo luminous indoor ones, and experimental filmmaker Laura Purdy and her family’s eclectic collections of art and personal artifacts share space with flashes of pattern and interior planes of saffron and pink stucco.
Shibata wanted more shelf space in her home office, so she added a plywood door with built-in bookshelves that opens into her bedroom to form a reading nook. Glimpsed from the adjacent room, the space looks larger than it actually is, thanks to the bright green walls.
Shibata wanted more shelf space in her home office, so she added a plywood door with built-in bookshelves that opens into her bedroom to form a reading nook. Glimpsed from the adjacent room, the space looks larger than it actually is, thanks to the bright green walls.
“In contemporary construction you have a layered approach to materials," says Lisa Moffitt. Everything is on top of something else. We tried to avoid that.” Indeed, the house’s materials are few and hardy: polished concrete, maple, and Douglas fir, and white walls with a few bold accents of green and blue.
“In contemporary construction you have a layered approach to materials," says Lisa Moffitt. Everything is on top of something else. We tried to avoid that.” Indeed, the house’s materials are few and hardy: polished concrete, maple, and Douglas fir, and white walls with a few bold accents of green and blue.
Armed with a DIY spirit and tight budget, designers Susanna and Jussi Vento sought to renovate their 660-square-foot Helsinki apartment into a cozy home packed with quirky charm. Their white interior palette, complemented by black accents, serves as the perfect starting point for Susanna to display her attention to crafty details. The hints of neon accentuate the clean glow of the white master bedroom furnished with a trestle desk built with Ikea legs, a rocking horse found on huuto.net, and a bed that doubles as a couch.
Armed with a DIY spirit and tight budget, designers Susanna and Jussi Vento sought to renovate their 660-square-foot Helsinki apartment into a cozy home packed with quirky charm. Their white interior palette, complemented by black accents, serves as the perfect starting point for Susanna to display her attention to crafty details. The hints of neon accentuate the clean glow of the white master bedroom furnished with a trestle desk built with Ikea legs, a rocking horse found on huuto.net, and a bed that doubles as a couch.
To say that Jeff Wardell and Claudia Sagan's apartment is truly unique would certainly be an understatement. Their 3,200-square-foot San Francisco abode, formerly a Chinese laundry and tooth-powder factory, holds onto its industrial roots with a tangerine-toned shipping container in the middle of the couple's living room. The container serves dual purposes as a guest bedroom, housing a Pat Carson–designed Murphy bed, and home office with the glass wall transforming from opaque to clear with a flick of a switch.
To say that Jeff Wardell and Claudia Sagan's apartment is truly unique would certainly be an understatement. Their 3,200-square-foot San Francisco abode, formerly a Chinese laundry and tooth-powder factory, holds onto its industrial roots with a tangerine-toned shipping container in the middle of the couple's living room. The container serves dual purposes as a guest bedroom, housing a Pat Carson–designed Murphy bed, and home office with the glass wall transforming from opaque to clear with a flick of a switch.