Colorful Ideas that Will Put Boring Woodwork Out of Business

Coral paint turns formal paneling into a whimsical wall treatment in sync with a homeowner's love of elegant, eclectic, and slightly eccentric digs. The fiery hue highlights the upper wall's geometric shapes, takes the chill off the room's white furnishings, and garners a fair share of appreciative comments.

Image via: Thistlewood Farms and Sherwin-Williams

It's nothing but blue skies, or at least blue-framed views, when you paint windows and window trim to mirror the hues on the other side of the glass. This room handily balances the vivid woodwork with crisp white walls, whitewashed floors, and pretty patterned fabrics sporting motifs rendered in a paler shade of blue.

White woodwork may be too tame for those who decorate on the wild side. Here, glossy green paint (cued by the tub tile) plays up built-ins and woodwork and energizes the design.

This kitchen proves there are cabinet color options other than white to create airy work spaces. Saturated yellow window trim, cove molding, and cabinet finishes move forward when paired with white walls to supply a generous supply of sunshiny warmth that brightens moods even on cloudy days. Another nifty use of paint? Dark gray on the window details repeats the countertop's deep hue.

Choose midtone paint colors that provide a punch without overshadowing a space. Glossy delft blue paint makes a good-cheer statement that draws attention to this bay's windows, woodwork, and paneled banquette. The blue hue and complementary orange furnishings combine to create a high-energy design that is both zesty and welcoming.

Colorful painted finishes, like the brilliant Kelly green bedecking these paneled walls, tell the world that you don't take yourself or your decorating too seriously. Using unexpected colors in unconventional ways modernizes how traditional rooms look and feel. It also makes way for contemporary-cool furnishings and textiles that underscore your freewheeling design vision.

Painting bookcases to match a room's wall color streamlines perimeters, which in turn amplifies the perception of space. In this living room, seafoam green walls deepen in tone on the window wall. Painting the seat, shelves, and window trim the same color and incorporating similar-hue fabrics gives the expansive installation a built-in look and easy-on-the-eye appeal.

Blue-painted beaded board, molding, windows, and built-ins demand attention in this sun-bright living room. Color connects the different components while highlighting their diverse shapes and textures. The room's bright blue borders complement the chambray blue, citrusy greens, and saturated golds that pop up as fabrics, furnishings, and accessories.

Contrasting color combos captivate the eye but look their best when one color is cool and the other warm. This yellow-heated lime green window sounds a sprightly note, which is amplified by the blue-chilled gray wall around it. The whimsical window works in concert with tomato-red lockers to give the mudroom playful panache.

Earthen colors in varying tones draw the eye around this kitchen, differentiate one element from another, and give the space a harmonious viewpoint. Dark brown crown moldings separate the khaki cabinets from the pine-clad ceiling. Lighter brown paint draws the windows out of the corner and allows shelf brackets to stand out against white tiled walls.

When paint just won't do, look to colorful fabrics and wall coverings to add interest at a room's upper levels. Patterned and solid navy blue fabrics combine to create a charming cornice treatment that brings the look of crown molding to the windowed wall; lilac grass cloth creates a striking striped effect across the ceiling.

High-contrast paint colors provide an interesting interplay of dark and light in this architecturally rich study. Coffee-brown paint enhances the presence of the paneled fireplace wall. Bright white finishes highlight the mantel's shape and carved details, as well as the elegantly embellished ceiling. White crown molding works with the white ceiling to reflect light and make the walls appear taller.

These homeowners used color to fashion a peaceful workplace that promotes deep thinking. Painting the doors and trim on the closet wall the same color as adjacent walls generates calming vibes. The teal hue also showcases the door and moldings' dimensional details, giving the wall a more elegant outlook.

White-painted trim set against these light walls would have caused the bay windows to fade from view. Instead, color-smart homeowners painted the window trim a dark green to play up the contours of one of their home's finest architectural assets.

Color tiptoes quietly into this stairwell, proving that even pastel tones have an appealing impact in all-white spaces. Aquamarine greens seen in the the adjacent space move into the stairwell, reappearing as color-washed stair treads and as shutters that sport a more opaque finish. Applied in a thoughtfully edited manner, the watery greens make a splash and further the home's beachy theme.

There's no easier way to turn ho-hum furniture into focal points than with paint. Choose a paint color that ties into your decorating palette but will stand out as a very special piece. This apple-green bookcase advances off light gray walls to partner beautifully with the turquoise chairs. Analogous schemes -- created with two hues that fall next to each other on the color wheel (like blue and green) -- fashion vibrant looks that offer less jarring contrast than complementary combos.

Painting walls and woodwork the same neutral hue eliminates visual breaks that can ruin a room's peaceful vibes. Tone-on-tone perimeters can also cause a space to appear larger than its dimensions. Here, deep olive green unites walls, crown molding, window trim, and baseboards to create backgrounds that recede to allow refined furnishings and fabrics to advance into view.

Use one color in different ways to boost a room's style quotient. Turquoise makes a cheerful splash on the vanity and window and allows the structures' forms to stand out against lighter walls. The same blue appears in a more muted version on the lower plaster walls, which are trimmed in deep baseboards and hefty moldings to create the illusion of a color-washed wainscoting.