Our Favorite Colors

From superneturals to deep hues, our editors' picks will provide you a rainbow of inspiration.
 

This soft and striking living room is anchored in neutral tan shades, but the peach lampshades, yellow accents, and blue end tables add modern pop to the space. 

Three shades of green mingle by a window, showing how well superneutrals get along.

Bathed in soft gray and enlivened with peach, what's normally a utilitarian space becomes warm and welcoming.

Among the easiest colors to add to a room, grayish blue greens are layered here to create a calming effect in a home office.

Lavender brushed on the bases of tabletop domes adds dimension to the earthy gray-green palette of this dining room.

A collection of Delft tiles and transferware plates brings together a range of blues and patterns.

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.

Araucana Sage makes a stylish understatement on living-room walls; the ceiling is Araucana Blue.

Martha's Westport dressing room has Crevecoeur walls, framed by Golden Campine cabinets; the ceiling is a surprising Pale Araucana Green.

An Ameraucana Buff hall has Pinfeather steps.

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.

The high-seas blue of a 1940s school map charted the start of the bedroom palette seen on the next slide.

Map blue became Oceana on the walls. The Pale Araucana Green ceiling is complemented by Araucana Olive in gloss on the floor.

A range of neutrals from seashells and stones inspired the choice of restful colors for this living room.

Martha's New York apartment's living-room walls are finished in a pigment-colored Swedish putty used as a paint but applied like plaster.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This room in Martha's home at Lily Pond Lane was inspired by the colors of her collection of stuffed tarpon fish.

In this guest bath, a collection of opaline green glass shimmers against the black-painted wood.

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.

To create a softer, more restful mood in a bedroom, Martha painted these walls a pale khaki and red was restricted to accent pieces, such as the quilt and the japanned (varnished and gilded) secretary.

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.

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 found the pink porcelain teacups in the South of France; some of the Venetian glassware came with the house.

Amber-and-gold Venetian glass candlesticks stand on the Victorian flip-top desk.

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.

The bed expands the range of pinks with its French sheets and pillowcases and mohair throw.

The bedroom desk, which faces the water, is the spot for writing letters or just gazing out the window.

The once-mismatched wicker pieces, including a chaise and a star-shape table, are now unified, thanks to a coat of gray paint. The enormous mirror on the right reflects a view of the harbor.

Martha unearthed the pink Venetian mirror at a consignment store. The pink glazed tiles were made in the 1920s at Pewabic Pottery, one of Detroit's renowned potters.

Additional pinks are worked into the decorative scheme in the bathroom with a few embroidered towels and some soaps.

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.

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.

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.

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.

You can start off on a small scale by customizing a neutral room with a few coordinated accessories: a spicy-orange bedspread, terra-cotta Roman shades, and a curry-colored lampshade.

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.

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.

Don't be afraid to mix light and dark woods. Against a cumin-colored wall, this walnut writing desk mingles with a fruitwood chair; maple, birch, and cherry boxes; and a mahogany-framed sepia photograph.

True khaki, like these walls, veers toward the green. It looks its best in the warm light of a sunny room, its greenness tempered by potted ferns, a papyrus plant, and a myrtle topiary.

A Victorian etched mirror, and an intriguing collection of flea-market finds.

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.

When he renovated his new apartment, Eric Pike chose soothing shades of gray, and made a decorative fireplace a focal point in the living room.

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.

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.

This lead-colored wire work stand holds a collection of pewter, tin, and steel cooking molds. Lounging on the tile floor, Martha’s black chow ZuZu coordinates beautifully with the decor.

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.

To play up her home's "warm, sunshiny spirit," this homeowner had the staid gray-green living and dining rooms painted a glossy white, which helps sunlight "hit the walls like a mirror." In the living room, she brightened a potentially drab brown couch with a playful litter of pillows in relaxing shades she calls sorbets. The sisal rug and palm plant underline "the islandy vibe we love." The family's don't-worry-be-happy philosophy is proven again with the coffee table: a rare mid-century piece with slide-out trays.

Take a Tour of This Home

Maritime objects fill every nook and cranny in the circular Shell Museum. This collection was built over a lifetime of winter travels to warm climates.

Take a Tour of This Home

Combining multiple striped patterns in the same palette of yellow and ice blue gives this living room a cohesive feel.

This staircase was completed with a railing, the Biedermeier chair is covered in horsehair velvet, and the stool is Chinese. The drawings include several that the homeowners collected, and the wooden animal beneath the console table is one of dozens the homeowner picked up while on foreign assignment. Decorator Kevin Sharkey installed an 8-foot-tall mirror to create the impression of a grand double staircase. Staircases are usually great places for mirrors," he says, "as they tend to be dark, awkward spaces."

Take a Tour of This Home

Remnants of four graphic fabrics add drama when placed in metal frames and hung in a grid. When choosing fabrics, stick to bold, overscale patterns, since small florals will lose presence when viewed from afar.