Today I'm going with red for this edition of Color Me Monday. Red is highly emotional -- heat, passion, fire, anger, power, love and hate. Because it's a stimulant, red is best in the dining room if used on the wall, not as effective in the living room as it can inspire heated discussions amongst guests. If you use red in the living room, put it on an accent wall behind the seating arrangement so guests are not facing it, or sprinkle it around the space in the form of soft furnishings, flowers, or area rugs.

Playful red! Photo from LivingEtc.

In the dining room, red stimulates appetite so using it there seems to work well, but if the tone of red you use makes you feel restless or moody and you start to notice this whenever you're eating there, then you may need to decide on either a different tone of red or paint the walls a more relaxing color and use red as an accent. When combined with light to medium blue (cool), red loses its intensity since it's a warm color and blue seems to balance it out, which is precisely why red and blue is a great color combination for a home office space. Light pink and red give the room a very feminine look, while fushcia and red can be extremely edgy and glam. Red and orange is a great combination for the kitchen with pure white - fresh and clean! On the other hand, gray or black with red is very grown up and sophisticated. However you plan to use red in the home, here are some great products that I like that may interest you in adding this color to your home just a little bit more. I selected a mix to appeal to everyone while still staying true to objects I'd own, just perhaps not at the same time or in one space. Enjoy!

Thomaspaul Bali pillow, Emilie chair from Anthropologie, Sock Monkeys print by Marisa Haedike of Creative Thursday, Iannone Design cork credenza, Orla Kiely traffic jam tote bag, Kerala semi-circle rug, and olauf curio cabinet from Anthropologie (marked down to $299 from $698!).

Louis chair from Ballard Designs, iron bed, flour sack pillows, "gather" sign, and kilim rug all from Sundance, and the Garret glass cabinet from Pottery Barn.

Isak blossom tray, Jantze Brog?rd Asshoff bloom chair, Hippie dining chairs from CB2,
Normann Copenhagen funnel, Lulu tray from Angela Adams, bread bin and oven crab apple oven mitt from Anthropologie.

A litte red for the walls... Marimekko kulkue wall hanging from CB2, Sitting Still by Yumi Yumi, Nautical Portraits from Lab Partners, and Feeding the Pigeons by Hadley Hutton.

If you'd like to learn more about the color red and view red rooms, visit Rachel Perls' informative For the Love of Reds post on decor8.

(images linked above.)