Our home editors have picked the top 10 color-coded features from past issues of Martha Stewart Living. Flip through this gallery to find a rainbow of inspiration.
This bedroom illustrates how blue can be used in a fresh, clean, American way, mixed with white linens and light woods to evoke breeze-blown New England seaside cottages. An antique spool bed painted white and laid with a pure white spread has blue floral pillow shams. Behind the bed, a blue botanical cyanotype is framed in white, suspended on a medium blue ribbon. The ceiling is painted sky blue for a feeling of being up in the clouds.
-- Martha Stewart Living, September 2000
Martha's Westport, Connecticut, dining room employs rare color to showcase well-chosen treasures, such as a gilt mirror, which in turn accent the room color. The Porcelain Green walls and Coral Blue Guinea ceiling were inspired by an antique bowl and a length of silk ribbon. (Paint colors a joint collection from Fine Paints of Europe and Martha Stewart Living.)
-- Martha Stewart Living, April 1995
Drabware walls warm a room at night, in lamplight. The Araucana Turquoise ceiling keeps the space open and airy, while a rich cream, Silkie White, extends the walls' warmth into trim work. The floor, in Crevecoeur, has the fine gloss of dinnerware. Hallway walls beyond are Araucana Green. (Paint colors a joint collection from Fine Paints of Europe and Martha Stewart Living.)
-- Martha Stewart Living, April 1995
Green can be as captivating indoors as it is in the garden. In this sleek, contemporary setting, vibrant linen slipcovers on a tuxedo sofa and throw pillow are used as an assertive accent. The color appears even more prominent against gray walls and neutral furniture; a pair of leather boxes is the only reiteration of the bright green.
-- Martha Stewart Living, September 2003
In a traditional setting, green is part of a palette that also includes yellow (in the warm golden tones of the rug and window shades, and in the brass accents) and blue (in the robin's-egg base of the rug, and the turquoise chair and pillow coverings). These two primaries combine to make green, which is why the three colors are so compatible, and the results so restful. The curtains pair a plaid with a toile; the shade of green on each is strong, but it's used like line work on a cream ground, softening the effect. A pale mint coats the walls, and a darker hue appears on the tole lampshade and hollyhocks on the coffee table. Among these greens, the pillows and chair stand out like blossoms against leaves, and the golds glow. Bamboo shades and the botanical prints subtly extend the room's natural inspiration.
-- Martha Stewart Living, September 2003
A great unifier, green can be used to bring together different decorative elements. In this family room, all of the details are painted the same shamrock green. Green molding wraps around the room like a bright ribbon; the same color emphasizes the lines of the table and chairs. A graphic check fabric plus paint in matte and glossy finishes keep the overall look from becoming monotonous. A felt table mat in a deeper olive provides the final punctuation.
-- Martha Stewart Living, September 2003
The intense green of these platters and seat cushions would overpower most other colors. But the rich brown of this furniture more than holds its own. Together, the two hues enhance each other, evoking the beauty of a forest. A bowl overflowing with ferns is a fitting woodland touch.
-- Martha Stewart Living, September 2003
In an entry hall, green becomes a link between outside and in. Three different tones accentuate the paneling; the console is painted to match. The hanging lamp, glass vessels, and sconce's mirror are also in varying shades of green. Even in such abundance, this color is calming.
-- Martha Stewart Living, September 2003
This bed frame is encased in thick bump padding, then in fine-linen slipcovers that are stitched together into a simple dressmaker shape that gracefully envelops the frame of the bed. Pink linens accentuate the pink in the wall color.
-- Martha Stewart Living, February 2003
A 1930s Chinese Chippendale-style fish tank showcases a red mini-orchid in Martha's Bedford home. Even the covers of the books on the shelves -- a collection of Loeb classics, a series of works in Latin translated into English -- contribute to the color scheme.
-- Martha Stewart Living, November 2001
In Martha's formal dining room, a black lacquered Chinese screen, an Indian carved-teakwood table, and a pair of modest beige armchairs counterpoint the red-hued walls, upholstery, and carpet. The fireplace-wall paneling and the curtains are embellished with reddish faux-bois effects: The pine paneling was coated with a deep-red glaze and then grained with a reddish-black paint to mimic a luxurious, dark wood; the curtain fabric was silk-screened. Antique red Turkish Oushak carpets, such as this one, are rare. The arrangement of snapdragons incorporates the spectrum of reds used in the house.
-- Martha Stewart Living, November 2001
Orange Fitzhugh-pattern Chinese-export porcelain inspired the dining-room color scheme. The painted walls match the deepest tone on the china. A quince-colored velvet tablecloth and sunset-hued fabric on the folding screen highlight the richness and depth of gold-tinged reds.
-- Martha Stewart Living, November 2001
A coppery-red arrangement of astilbe and celosia warms a cool-gray hallway. Above the flowers, a Directoire-style girandole holds a white porcelain model of a mandarin figure. A Chinese ceramic garden seat in a deep sang de boeuf red stands under the table.
-- Martha Stewart Living, November 2001
At Martha's guest cottage in Maine, an array of blush-colored tones creates a welcoming atmosphere. Martha chose a large-scale painting of a Venetian lagoon, by her friend Kevin Burger, to hang in the dining room, which is also home to a gray terrazzo dining table and a set of Italian ring-back chairs.
-- Martha Stewart Living, May 2007
Under Martha's direction, pink seems to have found its decorative footing. One of her design tactics was to create a continuous wash of ambient color throughout the guesthouse. The mirror frame above the fireplace, for example, was painted the same pink as the cottage's walls and trims.
-- Martha Stewart Living, May 2007
In the bedroom, Martha had a lampshade made to match the Italian alabaster reading lamp; the ruffled edge echoes the fluted top of the lamp base. The sconce is one of a set of Italian lyre-backed pieces in the room that belonged to Martha's grandmother.
-- Martha Stewart Living, May 2007
This traditional English-style foyer, painted pumpkin-orange, offers a warm welcome to all who enter. Paired with plenty of whites -- the wainscoting, ceiling, risers, trim, and balusters -- the walls feel crisp, particularly when outlined with brown grosgrain ribbon (which is adhered with craft glue). The warm browns of the wood harmonize well with orange, animating and restraining it.
-- Martha Stewart Living, October 2003
An iron garden table is painted an irrepressible orange -- perfect for waking up at the breakfast table with orange juice, cantaloupe, and marmalade. Window seats are made cozy with cushions covered in mocha-colored canvas and piping in another fresh orange.
-- Martha Stewart Living, October 2003
A hot orange in carefully modulated doses visually organizes disparate elements in this formal living room. A pillow, a console, a coffee table, and picture mats all wear the same vivid hue. Chinese porcelain -- the lamp and two lidded jars -- adds accents in a similarly intense shade. The sofa sports stripes of peach and orange; the Sultanabad carpet with strong orange elements is handwoven.
-- Martha Stewart Living, October 2003
The dove gray of a bookcase tames the vibrant orange shelves and interior; the armchair's dusty-orange velvet upholstery is toned down by a cream-and-pale-green side table. It's easy to add orange shades with a flower arrangement like this clutch of coral roses.
-- Martha Stewart Living, October 2003
Red browns have a warm, rosy glow. Salvaged doors inspired this Vermeer-like setting: Fabrics were selected for reddish tones that complement the wood. Texture and luster are important here, too: Daylight brings out the sheen of the velvet comforter and satin pillow, lending life to the room.
-- Martha Stewart Living, February 1999
In a luminous white setting, dark brown has the impact of black, without the harshness. This sofa is upholstered with velvet the color of bittersweet chocolate; white piping makes the fabric look even darker. A varied collection of smoky-glass bottles and vases lightens the mood.
-- Martha Stewart Living, February 1999
In this very Parisian breakfast room, there is as much cream as there is coffee: An eggshell-colored cupboard, curtains of pale chiffon, light woods, tan piping on the seat cushions, and snowy wainscoting all help to enrich the cafe au lait brown of the walls. The anchor for this dreamy setting is the much darker maple floors.
-- Martha Stewart Living, February 1999
If you have ever wondered what taupe looks like, these dusky walls are your guide, with lustrous fabrics chosen to enhance and uplift its distinctive character. The daybed is the focus of an audacious assortment of mauves, lavenders, and lilac touches.
-- Martha Stewart Living, February 1999
When redecorating the guest apartment at Turkey Hill, her Connecticut home, Martha gave it several coats of black paint. The rooms, though bright and cheerful, were cluttered with a jumble of furniture, some of which had been painted white over the years. "It was the popular thing to do -- dressing up shabby furniture with a coat of paint," says Martha. "And I thought, if it works with white, why not try it with black?"
Shown here is Martha's collection of Aesthetic Movement hardware, which was ideal for this project: Drawer handles made sleek shade pulls, and hooks replaced Shakerstyle wooden pegs along the horizontal wall trim.
-- Martha Stewart Living, September 2001
The unique proportions of the dining room allow for this oversize table, a great place for spreading out work after guests have left. Complementing the galvanized-steel tabletop are black-painted grange chairs and horsehair table mats in lieu of a conventional cloth. "Black" foods, including blueberries, black raspberries, grapes, and cherries, are set out on black-patterned English china. Bundles of black scabious complete the table setting. The large cupboard was unremarkable when Martha found it, but when painted in two similar dusky shades -- inside, an almost-aubergine stone brown, and outside, a slightly darker deep caviar -- and filled with clear glassware, it became a handsome and useful focal point. Black window shades help keep the glaring afternoon sunlight in check.
-- Martha Stewart Living, September 2001
Its wooden frame revitalized with a finish of deep, caviar-gray paint, this worn marble-top table desk occupies a corner of the living room. The wooden chair is painted in a paler, stone-brown shade; the bottom few inches of the chair legs are a darker, true black. A cushion upholstered in glazed black linen and edged in brown satin ribbon makes for a luxurious chair seat. The lamp is topped with a black-silk shade lined with metallic gauze fabric. Even small details -- the cast-bronze chow chow and the black-patterned English china meant to catch keys and loose change, for example -- continue the color scheme.
-- Martha Stewart Living, September 2001
In a bathroom with bright-white tile and porcelain fixtures, few accessories are required. The carved wooden wall mirror was painted a dark gray-black; the standing adjustable mirror and the wire wastebasket did not need painting. Neither did the tall, wirework towel stand, one of a pair that Martha found at an antiques show.
-- Martha Stewart Living, September 2001
An embroidered chocolate-brown silk-velvet tapestry hangs between living-room windows; its lively pattern sets off the graceful lines of an eighteenth-century camelback sofa. The black-horsehair fabric on the sofa, though a splurge, was a good investment -- it is virtually indestructible. The coffee table, originally a galvanized freezer rack, is the ultimate in functionality.
-- Martha Stewart Living, September 2001
An inexpensive mirror, framed in whimsical fretwork, became a glamorous accent for the bedroom when its old varnish was replaced with a deep, charcoal-gray paint. The mirror's bracketed shelves hold a collection of black basalt Wedgwood. The bureau, a solidly constructed but plain wooden piece, was transformed by a few coats of true-black paint. Original plain wooden drawer pulls were replaced by decorative Aesthetic Movement hardware to complete the refinishing.
-- Martha Stewart Living, September 2001
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