How to add red artfully into your home

WORDS Harry Leckie PUBLISHED Fri, 31 May 2024 - 5:30 pm

From its early use by sex workers in ancient Greece, to a symbol of glamour in Hollywood, red has long been associated with beauty, power and rebellion. It is a colour that commands attention. The spectrum of red, ranging from muted burgundy to raging ruby, has remarkable versatility. In fact, many designers regard red as a neutral due to necessity in unifying a space.

Red ruled my childhood. We always had a red room wherever we lived when I was growing up. From crimson to scarlet, the colour seeped into every corner of my imagination. And I suppose it made sense that my first ever project as interior designer was remarkably red.

It was my Mother, Skye, who gently posed a challenge: to decorate my own bedroom. Still a young dreamer, with a penchant for performance art, I was desperate to runaway with the circus. My Mum, a lover of spectacle herself, saw the budding diva in me and graciously indulged my fantasies.

Thus, the red lights of the circus found a home within my four walls. With a flourish of red and white Ralph Lauren stripes creating a tented ceiling, luminous lacquer tables, and sultry leather lamps adorned in burgundy silk, my room became centre stage.

Though my dreams of running away to the Moulin Rouge waned, my passion for red endured, a flame burning brightly through the years. It is a colour that reminds me of the excitement and creativity of childhood, and I continue to embrace its theatre today.

If you're looking to incorporate the crimson hue into your space, behold, an edit of key pieces to rouge up your space.