apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I wanted a red room so badly. I thought I would try it out in a powder room, so I bought about 6 test pots of reds at BM. It was crucial to see how the lighting in my room would transform those reds. I painted fairly large test squares and looked at that paint for a week. It was too much and I think I would have tired of it very quickly. I ended up covering with 3 coats of primer and going in another direction entirely but it helped me get the red out of my systen. I use it a lot in fabrics and as accents but am not tempted to paint my walls red anymore. Too abattoir for my taste.

Kimberlina, that sounds like a good way to incorporate red. I am so damn bad at colors. And generally, I hate red rooms, but I'd like to see some photos to prove me wrong.

T8
http://www.strangeclosets.com

I painted the walls in our entrance red -- there is a brick wall, the wood and glass door, and a wood closet door, so actually, there isn't too much wall area.

Our house is late sixties, and the colour has very natural pigments in it, so it is a good style fit. It is a full-spectrum paint, with many different pigments (as well as a lot of pigment, for great richness), and so it changes with the light conditions, never getting grey or shadowy. We get a lot of compliments on it, and I just love it.

It's Donald Kaufman's DKC -17S

http://www.coxpaint.com/store/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16424&category_id=255

I have a red kitchen and love it - but it took 4 coats of paint to cover the white.

I've used Benjamin Moore's Raspberry Truffle in various rooms in 3 apartments (bedroom, living room). If they ever discontinue it, I'm in BIG trouble.

so timely; i'm trying to figure out a good red for my kitchen. its got all white cabinets and not my style, but okay for now, blue countertops.

I just painted my bathroom red and it looks great. It's not too overwhelming because the tile runs halfway up the wall.

we just moved into a new apartment and ended up painting the bathroom with ralph lauren relay red. it's a great red - dark but not overpowering, flattering on the skin, glossy enough to stand up to bathroom steam, but not so glossy that it highlights the wall's flaws. we used a tinted primer and it still took three coats. i love the red in this room, but i will say that 1) it definitely makes the room darker in general (had to up the wattage of the vanity lights above the sink), and 2) it would be too strong for any room in the apartment larger than the bathroom.

Helps to make a list of adjectives that describes the feeling, not the genre, that you want such as Sultry, Cheery, and/or Drunken vs. Modern, Clean (which doesn't really say anything). The more descriptive you are, the easier it is to narrow down how saturated (dark) and what tone (subtlety) of red you want. Then you can get down to particulars like: Orange-Red (chinese lantern-esque like BM 1309). PinkyMagenta-Red (Raspberry Truffle BM 2080-10 that an earlier poster mentioned), EarthyBrown-Red (BM AF290).

As for the potential 3coat painting of deep colors, I feel your pain. A toned primer should do the trick in combo with BM's new Aura Base paint ($25 more per gallon, but worth the saved labor of painting a room over and over till it's full coat). The Aura paint covers really well in fewer coats (maybe just 1.5 paint-saturated (but not drippy) coats with a not-too-hairy roller. Aura paint is easy to clean, easy to touch-up (without seeing where the spot was that you re-painted) and is eco-friendly. Also any color that BM has can be translated into an Aura Base...so you aren't limited to just the Affinity colors.

Hope that helps.

I also have a kitchen that is orangey-red. I call it "enchilada" colored. It's great because it's energizing when I'm in there cooking Tex-Mex and it's a nice pop of color when viewed from the living room:
http://flickr.com/photos/theholidaygirl/2411306595/
http://flickr.com/photos/theholidaygirl/tags/kitchen/

I also think it's key that I'm not trying to work or sleep in the red.

...we had a friend with a shockingly red (ALL RED) bedroom, and I always wondered... somehow, they seemed fated to divorce (and it was nasty and bitter)... ever since, I think of red in the bedroom as bad karma...

I think red works really well in bathrooms. I had a red bathroom in my first house, and I loved it. When I moved, I tried to replicate that room. I used Benjamin Moore's "Currant Red." It's a great, normal, middle-of-the-road true red.

We painted all the insides of our closets Picture Gallery Red from Ralph Lauren .... I got my red but without a huge presence.

bepsf, I HAD a red kitchen, and it took me two coats of primer and two coats of paint to cover it!

When someone tells me, "I'm thinking about painting this room red..." I think, "Well OK, if you want to be cursed forever by the next owner!"