how to incorporate bright pink paint into a girl's room

So a little while back I had a client email me for an online consult. He had just moved into a new condo in the city with his daughter. We worked on choosing two grey paint colours for his main space, and then he asked for help with his little girls room, shown bottom right in the floorplan below.

It seems like most young girls request a pink room at some point, and it's almost always fuchsia, or another shocking shade of this colour that they like. The question is how do you work this colour into their rooms without it becoming garish?

My client asked me to find a way to tone down the colour, and work in black, which is what his daughter had asked for. This is not a large space, and so we needed to incorperate the pink without it overwhelming the space. Thought maybe some of you are struggling with the same dilemma in your own homes, and would be interested in the options we discussed.

First of all, I asked him to show his daughter the photo below - was it really bright pink she wanted, or just pink? A softer pink could be paired with black and used on all her wall space and the effect would be soft and lighthearted.

Nope. MUST be bright pink.
How about bringing the bright pink through accents?

No dice. ON THE WALLS. Right. This girl knows what she wants! Moving back on track...


First of all, there is the accent wall. I'm not a huge fan of accent walls, but in a child's room, on the headboard wall, they can work. I suggested a white bedding, warm white on the other three walls, and adding the black accents on those walls via picture frames. This striped treatment can be achieved by using a high gloss and flat paint in the same shade.

and while we are on the topic of stripes, this is cute as well....

Second, the partial wall options - these emphasize the horizontal and thus make the room feel larger.

love the black pinstripe detailing on this version....

The next look brings in slightly more pink on the walls but still allows for some visual relief - 

three tints of pink in an ombre horizontal stripe. Darling, isn't it?

But what if we NEED to have pink on all the walls, to bathe ourselves in the very brightest pink out there? Well, you can always cheat a little - bring the ceiling colour down a few feet and have the pink meet it (I did this in my son's room when he insisted on royal blue walls in a space with north facing windows). You'd be amazed what a difference this 20 - 30" makes...

My client and his daughter mulled these over, and in the end she fall in love with the striped headboard accent wall idea. I suggested Benjamin Moore Peony 2079-30 on the headboard wall in a semi-gloss and matte to create the striped effect.

If you are working with white furniture, like my clients, you want to ensure that the walls are a warm white, because white furniture is seldom a true white. If the white on the walls is too cool then the furniture will look dingy. Benjamin Moore Simply White OC-117 is soft and warm with out being too yellow, and works well with Peony on the three remaining walls. 

I suggested black be used sparingly, on picture frames, desk accessories and a pillow or two.

This keep contrast to a minimum and doesn't create a lot of visual distraction.

I'm happy to say that both my client and his daughter love her finished room, so my job is done!

Have you ever used an option like these to tone down the impact of a vibrant colour in your home?

Which one would you choose?

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