The prospect of retirement doesn’t just signal the end of a career; it offers the chance to recalibrate and re-prioritize in life.
How to Design with Red
February 25, 2013
Did you know that red was the first color after black and white to be named? It has been found in cave paintings dating from 15,000 B.C., is the most frequently found color on national flags, and is rife with symbolism (the Red Scare anyone?). Here, we offer a look at residences that make the most of the bold hue.
Clad in red-painted, fiber-reinforced concrete panels, a creekside home in Atlanta, Georgia, pops against the surrounding greenery.
Photo by
At night, actor Vincent Kartheiser uses a bright red curtain to cordon off a drop-down bed from the rest of his compact, 580-square-foot Hollywood abode.
Photo by
A candy-striped wardrobe turns the entryway of a renovated Belgian factory into a bright and playful space.
Photo by
A modern home in Lima, Peru, snakes its way through a tree-studded garden full of suprising features, such as a bright red open staircase. The walls are covered in Graniplast, a tinted acrylic finish, which was picked out by Nathan Pereira Arquitectos y Diseño.
Photo by
Courtesy of
Cristobal Palma
Red powder-coated Lucy chairs from Bend complement the warm wood finishes in the kitchen of a modern Chicago home.
Photo by
The owners of a geometric desert home in Phoenix, Arizona, decided to keep a set of bright red stools that belonged to a previous resident. They add a splash of color to the otherwise muted living-dining area.
Photo by
A Polder sofa by Hella Jongerius for Vitra brings out the warm tones in the brick- and wood-clad interior of a summer retreat in Norway.
Photo by
The stairwell is the bright core of a minimalist house in Washington. Inexpensive metal railings are set inside and painted the same red to disappear into the stairwell. When residents want privacy (from the outside world or from other family members), sliding curtains, like this one dividing the office from the staircase, create temporary walls between rooms.
Photo by
Originally appeared in Magic Mountain
By inserting a tunnel made from 36 reclaimed commercial doors and tearing down a handful of walls, LOT-EK and contractor Andreas Scholtz brought light into the formerly unused dark hallway in a New York City apartment. The glossy Safety Red paint by Benjamin Moore catches the light by day but “becomes a richer, darker, very relaxing red at night,” resident Jorge Fontanez says. The reused doors serve as more than floor, walls, and ceiling; several are still functional. In the dining room, the benches lift up for storage, and doors on either side of the banquette open to reveal closets.
Photo by
Courtesy of
Copyright: 2010 Nicholas Calcott. All rights reserved.
Originally appeared in Tunnel Vision
A bright red pendant illuminates the dining room of a green loft renovation in Brooklyn, New York.
Photo by
Originally appeared in In the Loop
The most prominent design elements in this former restaurant, punk rock night club, and furniture warehouse turned house in Los Angeles are the 14-foot-tall ceilings painted bold green, red, orange, and blue, and the golden southern light that flows through the double-hung windows, some of them new, some of them originals buried under decades of stucco and drywall.
Photo by
Originally appeared in Sun Mun Way Cool
The bathroom of a modern southwestern abode retains the spirit of Arizona heat with its shocking magenta ceilings, floors, and walls. The vanity is anything but—opting for art instead of a mounted mirror—and is made from sanded and sealed oriented strand board (OSB), a waste material typically used in framing.
Photo by
Originally appeared in Xeros Effect
Architect Jayna Cooper kept the fixtures rather humble in her affordably designed modern house that cost just $200 per square foot, but she did run a splashy red motif throughout. The pillars make a statement with Painter’s Choice Gloss Apple Red.
Photo by
Originally appeared in 131-Day House
The red-and-gray Vermont cladding from Everite’s Nutec line makes architect Gavin Rooke's South Africa house an instant landmark (and a good deal warmer come winter) in a region full of rustic steel barns. “The color scheme pushes the envelope,” Rooke says. “This town could do with some color.”
Courtesy of
Originally appeared in Insulated Weekend Cabin in South Africa
Architect David Sarti used cement board to clad his Seattle home. Painted red and buffered from the walls of the house with a complex flashing system, the boards give the house a geometrical depth, as well as shielding it from the seemingly constant rain.
Photo by
Originally appeared in Halving It All
An extra-long strand of extension cord from Ikea adds as a high-impact and low-cost lighting flourish to this Toronto Tudor renovation.
Courtesy of
Copyright: Finn O'Hara
Originally appeared in Lighting Up
A red wooden ladder and door mat provide vibrant contrasts to the charred facade of a Norwegian vacation house.
Photo by
Originally appeared in Norwegian Wood
Clad in red-painted, fiber-reinforced concrete panels, a creekside home in Atlanta, Georgia, pops against the surrounding greenery.
Photo by Gregory Miller. Image courtesy of Gregory Miller .
Latest Articles
You don’t have to choose between sustainable energy and curb appeal.
July 19, 2016
Each week, we tap into Dwell's Instagram community to bring you the most captivating design and architecture shots of the week.
July 06, 2016
Each week, we tap into Dwell's Instagram community to bring you the most captivating design and architecture shots of the week.
June 29, 2016
Docomomo US announces the winners of this year's Modernism in America Awards. Each project showcases exemplary modern restoration techniques, practices, and ideas.
June 27, 2016
After last year’s collaboration, we were excited to team up with Monogram again for the 2016 Monogram Modern Home Tour.
June 27, 2016
A strategic rewire enhances a spec house’s gut renovation.
June 26, 2016
Coralie Gourguechon's paper objects will make you see technology in a whole new way.
June 26, 2016
Smart technology helps a house in Aspen, Colorado, stay on its sustainable course.
June 25, 2016
The aesthetic appeal of personal electronics has long fueled consumer interest. A new industrial design book celebrates devices that broke the mold.
June 25, 2016
An angled deck transforms a backyard in Menlo Park, California, into a welcoming gathering spot.
June 24, 2016
Today, we kicked off this year’s annual Dwell on Design at the LA Convention Center, which will continue through Sunday, June 26th. Though we’ve been hosting this extensive event for years, this time around is particularly special.
June 24, 2016
Two designers restore a low-slung midcentury gem in Napa, California, by an unsung Bay Area modernist.
June 24, 2016
San Francisco–based designer Maca Huneeus created her family’s weekend retreat near Lake Tahoe with a relaxed, sophisticated sensibility.
June 24, 2016
A Toronto couple remodel their home with a special emphasis on a spacious kitchen and a material-rich bathroom.
June 24, 2016
In Kansas City, an architecture studio designs an adaptable house for a musician on a budget.
June 23, 2016
By straightening angles, installing windows, and adding vertical accents, architect Aaron Ritenour brought light and order to an irregularly shaped apartment in the heart of Athens, Greece.
June 23, 2016
A modest kitchen addition to a couple’s cottage outside of Brisbane proves that one 376-square-foot room can revive an entire home.
June 23, 2016
Each week, we tap into Dwell's Instagram community to bring you the most captivating design and architecture shots of the week.
June 22, 2016
A modern dwelling replaces a fallen farmhouse.
June 22, 2016
Seeking an escape from bustling city life, a Manhattan couple embarks on a renovation in the verdant Hudson Valley.
June 22, 2016
Atelier Moderno renovated an old industrial building to create a luminous, modern home.
June 21, 2016
Anchored in a small San Francisco canal, this floating home takes its cues from a classic city habitat.
June 21, 2016
From the bones of a neglected farmstead in rural Scotland emerges a low-impact, solar-powered home that’s all about working with what was already there.
June 21, 2016
An architect with a taste for unconventional living spaces creates a small house at lofty heights with a starring view.
June 21, 2016
Marjan Van Aubel makes technology a little more natural.
June 21, 2016
Building on the site of a former one-car garage, an architect creates his family’s home in an evolving neighborhood of Brooklyn.
June 20, 2016
In a Brooklyn backyard, an off-duty architect builds a structure that tests his attention to the little things.
June 20, 2016
In the suburbs of Paris, an architect with an eco-friendly practice doesn’t let tradition stand in the way of innovation.
June 20, 2016
Join the Discussion