Tuesday, May 24, 2011

What Works with Red and Purple?

Dear Melissa:
The colors in my living room are red and deep violet. I know it sounds gross, but it’s really nice. I want to recover a chair in my living room, but I can’t find the right shades of either the red or the violet, so I’m stuck. I don’t want to do a neutral and have it stick out like a sore thumb. I have looked everywhere. W.S. 


Dear W.:
I think your color scheme sounds great. Unfortunately colors come in trends, with certain shades going out of favor for a while. You don’t have to match colors for them to blend well in a room, however. Have you considered using an intermediate color to bridge the two colors – say, amethyst or wine, for instance? A bridge color wouldn’t be as obvious as a neutral. Another option would be to experiment with an analogous color like ginger or tangerine. M.A.K.