Play a little musical chairs with your dishes, mixing rather than matching the salad and dinner plates. Add a variety of napkins. For a more lasting effect, try re-covering chair seats in different tones -- a project that can be done in 10 minutes with a staple gun.

 LSA gold-bottom tumblers, $40 for 4, gracioushome.com. Arzberg Tric salad plates, in Green and Ocean, $25 each, tableartonline.com. Sunny Day salad plate, by Thomas Rosenthal, $17, gracioushome.com. Horizon chargers, by Raynaud, in Light Blue With Gold, $172; in Cobalt Blue With Gold, $224; and in Anise Green, $172; scullyandscully.com. Festival linen dinner napkins, in Royal,Teal, and Marine, $60 for 4, sferra.com. Judy 100 percent linen (on chairs), in Royal Blue #16, Chartreuse #26, and Turquoise #55, $8.75 per yd., graylinelinen.com.

This spectacular shower curtain is made by stitching together three fabrics in rich tones; ours is an extra-long 106-inch curtain, but the same look could be achieved with the average 72-inch curtain. Give towels supporting color-blocking roles.

Judy 100 percent linen, in Fuchsia #37, Orange #28, and Aqua #55, $8.75 per yd., graylinelinen.com. Wash cloths, by Martha Stewart Quick Dry Collection, in White and Hibiscus, $8 each, macys.com. Hand towels, by Abyss, in Confetti and Persimmon (by special order), $37.50 each; and bath towels, by Abyss, in Confetti and Persimmon (by special order), $74.50 each; gracioushome.com. Caress bath rug, by Abyss, $160, bloomingdales.com. Hotel Moderne framed print, $435, lillianaugust.com.

A plain white bed is like a blank canvas. Color-block by adding two different solid-colored pillowcases, draping a throw across the bottom, and fitting the bed with a bright sheet. This orange headboard is store-bought, but you could also staple-gun colorful fabric around a headboard.

Herringbone Matelasse coverlet, in Persimmon, $288 for queen-size, pineconehill.com. Standard pillowcases, by Tommy Hilfiger, in Red, $27 per pair, macys.com. Fiesta Percale pillowcase, in Orange, $22 per pair; and Fiesta Percale fitted sheet, in Orange, $32 for queen-size; garnethill.com. Palermo duvet, in White/Coral; and Palermo Euro shams, in White/Coral; shopolatz.com. Handmade Bergman headboard, in Orange Duchess Satin, wolfhomeny.com. Gustavian side table, $894, chelseatextiles.com. European reading glasses, in Aqua/Black/White, $185, melissaeyewear.com.

Color-blocking in the living room can be as daring as adding a striking rug and curtains or as simple as lining the sofa with a trio of bolster pillows in different hues. Rebecca says, "Add one or two bold colors to your neutral environment and suddenly everything looks different."

Lumbar pillows, 11" by 20", in Dark Green Duchess Satin, $75, Snap Pea Como Silk, $55, and Honey Duchess Satin, $75; and silk velvet custom drapes, in Lemon; wolfhomeny.com. Vanguard Alexander rectangular coffee table, in French Gray, safavieh.com. Color Reform Spectrum rug, 7.09' by 7.11', abchome.com. Foo Dog lamps, toddhase.com. Diamond-cut globe vase, $48; and metal peacocks, $88 per pair; dwellstudio.com.

That plain bookcase is just calling out to be color-blocked -- after all, the shelves have already done the "blocking" for you. Paint the levels different hues, but -- as is often the rule with color-blocking -- limit yourself to three colors to keep the look from getting cartoonish. Books, boxes, and photo mats offer other opportunities to color-block.

Paint (top), by Martha Stewart Living, in Mimosa, homedepot.com. Paint (middle), in Scandinavian Blue; and paint (bottom), in Aruba Blue; benjaminmoore.com. Silk-linen wingback chair, in Teal, antonytodd.com. Tubular Burst Objet, $373, dwellstudio.com. Abstract acrylic works on paper, by Ken Horne, from $50, hornestudio.com. Ennis small web sphere, $245, lillianaugust.com.

The contrast between cool citrine and teal with rich blue creates excitement, while the commonalities allow for a fourth color (such as gold) to be added to the mix.

Round woven place mat, in Yellow, $5, surlatable.com. Anna Weatherley charger, in Blue, $110, bloomingdales.com.

Fanny goblet, in Blue, $85, williamyeowardcrystal.com.

Due Ice Oro flatware, by Mepra, $115 per setting, barneys.com.

Linen napkins with contrast border, in Turquoise, Green, and Dark Blue, $35 each, bergdorfgoodman.com.

These grassy and sunny tones pop against a neutral base (such as your living room scheme), but still look sophisticated.  

Square lacquered wooden tray, 12" by 12", in Peridot, $22, westelm.com.

Meridian Area Rug II, in Grass, from $149, homedecorators.com.

Block table lamp, $167, rugsusa.com.

Zig Zag brushed-wool throw, in Emerald, $40, zzrox.com.

X-Bench, in Velvet Apple, $263, ballarddesigns.com.

Mixing two tones in close color families (orange and fuchsia) with an outsider (turquoise) brings an unexpected punch.

Bloom pillow, by Iosis, in Coral, $65; and Berlingot pillows, by Iosis, in Rose and Silky Rouge, $84 each; yvesdelorme.com.

Paint (on bathtub), by Martha Stewart Living, in Terra Rosa, homedepot.com.

Reversible duvet cover, in Red/Fuchsia, from $260, pillowsandthrows.com.

T.S. Pink Soap Rock, in Blue Agate, $15, tspink.com.

Adult Neon-Neon toothbrushes, $10 for 4, oraline.net.