Gallery of orange rooms | How About Orange

November 12, 2008

Gallery of orange rooms

Check it out! A collection of orange-themed rooms for your decorating inspiration, over at Desire to Inspire. Kim observes that gray, white, taupe and chartreuse are commonly used with orange when decorating. So what color do you think looks nastiest with orange? I gotta say, for me it's purple. When I post something purple here, and see it up there near my crazy orange header, my stomach lurches a little. But I think there's a way for any two colors to work together, even in unconventional pairings, if you're smart about what you put with it. Thoughts? Examples?

(Images from Michael Robinson, left; Mark Lund, right.)

36 comments:

Live a Colorful Life said...

I have to say I love the Michael Robinson room. Just as I was trying to decide whether to paint my laundry room orange or not, this is giving me the push to just do it!

Tracy said...

Wow, what a cool blog...glad I found it..look forward to reading more!

HeidiRose said...

How about a clear blue with orange? Turquoise?
I spent most of yesterday with your Time Wasters links - laughed until I cried! Thanks SO much.

Anonymous said...

i love the goldie orange with the same intensity green olive sage color. it is pleasing to my eye.

Anonymous said...

I love to see orange with dark chocolate and claret - I've used the combo when making lampshades here http://artshades.typepad.com/blog/2007/11/autumn-leaves.html

It also works well with turquoise as heidirose suggests. I made a whole set of mondrian-style drum shades for a customer using it, but no photo link I'm afraid as it was pre-blog.

Anonymous said...

I love the room with the chartreuse in it. I also love deep purple with orange especially with Halloween and/or Thanksgiving decor.

Dan Prager said...

Personally, I think blue with orange is rather nasty. But then again, I'm not really a blue girl in any context.

Andi said...

Whoops. That last comment from Daniel should have been from me. I need to get better at checking who's logged in first.
Happy quilting.
Andi :-)

Allison aka Half of VAMH said...

Ooh my favorite color combo of all is pink and orange. As seen in my blog post recently!

I also love orange and a steely turquoise teal color. Oooh and the uber trendy grey and orange combo. I think purple and orange can work but they have to be just right, like this is beautiful IMO.

In other words. I like orange almost any way you give it to me!

Serial Monogamist said...

Oh I think you're dead wrong on orange and purple.

It can be done so well!

Anonymous said...

A lot of people said they hate blue and orange together. That surprises me, as they're opposite on the color wheel and are perfect complements as a result. My favorite quilt that I ever made is turquoise and orange:

http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x88/quiltedepee/Finished%20Quilts%202006-2007/?action=view&current=Firewaterquiltinginprogress.jpg

(Sorry, don't have a picture of the finished quilt...) That quilt was initially a challenge for me, as I didn't like orange and didn't use it. Now I LOVE orange *because* of making that quilt! I had actually made it for a friend's baby, but ended up keeping the quilt and making a different one for the baby, LOL!

Anyways...

I really hate orange and pink together. Just looks like puke to me!

kerrie said...

I actually rather like orange and purple together, provided it's a deep reddish purple and not a blue purple.

I only hate one color combo, and that's pink and red and no, this does not stem from Valentine's day. I just hate the combo. It's so interesting how people are affected by color.

Unknown said...

I have a wall of orange velvet curtains across my master bedroom. When the light comes in around 4pm, the entire room glows orange. I LOVE it. It's the warmest color to live in, and I never tire of it.

Alison said...

Orange and purple is so Halloween if it is the pure color. Not my favorite combo. How about a deep pumpkin with raisin (deep brownish purple). That wouldn't be bad.

I love orange. It is second to yellow. My favorite color combination at the moment is a soft buttery yellow with a bold watermelon pink.

Joy said...

I live near Clemson University. Orange and purple and/or blue are put together all. the. time. So I guess in my environmentally-warped mind, orange and purple naturally go together.

I am a fan of orange and olive green - so much so that they are my wedding colors.

Anonymous said...

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wJZevwQSlhw/SQ3VF0_4cJI/AAAAAAAACB8/SeOoII8qBV4/s1600-h/kate_headley2.png

purples and oranges = super fun!

Anonymous said...

I have to say, I am from South Carolina, and I have been raised to hate orange, but your blog has led me to a new orange lunchbox, orange sweater, and wanting to do my bathroom in orange (and yellow too)!

But you are right about orange and purple being gross together. Here's a good bad example: http://www.jibsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/clemson-purple.jpg

Shaun said...

I have been reading your blog for quite some time now and you have turned me into a lover of orange. I am doing my living room orange and gray and it is lovely.
Shaun
www.roomswithaview.typepad.com

Emilyt said...

I love orange - it's my favorite color. I despise purple with anything - all shades! Two colors I don;'t like together are yellow & brown. ick

Anonymous said...

My son's room is orange with a purple ceiling and I really like it. I was thinking about sunsets and Maxfield Parrish paintings when I chose the colors. Him room has west facing windows and it's really beautiful in there in the afternoon.

Jessica Jones said...

Ah, Maxfield Parrish would be proud! And on that note, I DO love turquoise and other blues with orange. Just maybe not kindergarten primary blue. Just me, though.

I love all your links and opinions, guys. Jfizzle, I stand corrected. That wedding photo is FUN!

tatjana said...

Wanna see some orange and purple? - come to Clemson SC (school colors) People actually wear that stuff daily, it's the dominant ciolor all over town...a visit to the grocery store is a near blinding experience...just thought I'd share...

Anonymous said...

I've been reading your blog for awhile, and I love it! It's very inspiring.

I'd have to say my favorite color with orange is cobalt blue. Those are my kitchen colors. :>

Anonymous said...

Yay I love orange, and I love it even more since I found this site a few months ago (thanks AT!)
I love orange and blue like some people mentioned, and orange and green is so wonderful, it's my living room. But I hate orange and yellow...actually I think I just hate yellow.

Alison said...

I've been using orange in our living rooms for the past six years or so. First it was orange sofas, with some dark blue accents in the room. Now it's an orange wall with a yellow sofa and dark brown accents.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92949075@N00/2722789546/

I'm also a fan of pink and orange together, although in small doses, using one as the primary color and the other as an accent.

Aim said...

Here is a house that you should check out... http://www.nz.open2view.com/Property/173002

I found it on... http://lovelylisting.blogspot.com/
The house is cool but so is their use of orange.

Precision Quality Laser said...

I personally like the contrast between orange and purple...but I'm no design expert...lol! I like orange with turquoise, lime green, brown, red, white. I guess it is more versatile of a color than I originally thought!

Love your blog!

Anonymous said...

The shade of green of the sofa matches perfectly with the orange wall..also...i guess it depends on the shade of violet and orange that you will be matching...

CrankyOtter said...

Well, considering my colors are orange, bright green, and purple, I have to stick up for the purple!

Just found your blog today from apartment therapy, and I couldn't resist since I love [most] things orange.

Lady Steed said...

I too always thought purple and orange were horrid together. But then I went and did this:

http://lsteed.blogspot.com/2008/07/hey-remember-that-time.html

It looks great in the room and I now no longer hate purple and orange...I kind of like it.

Jessica Jones said...

Wow, you cured yourself!

veganomaly said...

Fabulous rooms. I've always loved the orange and blue color scheme.

Back in high school, a friend of mine called me up and asked if I would help him paint his room... white. We headed to HDepot instead and picked out various blues and oranges, despite his mounting doubt.

Needless to say, the room looked awesome and he was happy we chose those colors.

LawMama said...

I think that Heather Ross's fabric Far Far Away - Spring Meadow in Berry. Maybe this fabric can move you to reconsider purple and orange.

http://www.superbuzzy.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=88_95_120_142&products_id=4747&zenid=b5b0a6cc8fb83788bb4db58ee14296bd

Jessica Jones said...

Yup, that definitely is helping...

Anonymous said...

I'm planning on painting my room 2 walls a deep purple and two walls a dark kind-of redish orange(sunset) I really like these colors together, but will they look THAT bad?

Jessica Jones said...

It all depends on what's in the room. If you love them, do it!!!