Carry a Color Theme
Choose a color theme for your entire apartment and carry it from room to room. That doesn't necessarily mean using the same colors in each room, but rather choosing main colors for each room that have the same luminosity or intensity. A unified theme will make your apartment feel like a progression of color rather than like a collection of disconnected rooms. One of the easiest ways to do this is to pick a paint manufacturer, find a color that you like and work with colors from the same collection.
Play with Color
When you're working in a small space like an apartment or a condo, small touches have a big impact. Accent walls are a popular way to add a punch of color to a room--and it's a look that's easy to achieve. Simply paint three walls of the room with a soft or neutral color, then choose a bright, dramatic color for the fourth wall.
There are other ways to add color and interest to your rooms as well. In a room with wainscoting, reverse the expected dark-on-the-bottom color scheme. Try painting the wainscoting a buttery yellow below a deep, rich chocolate brown above the chair rail. Keep the wainscoting the same color throughout the apartment to unify the space, or break the color at corners for a more dramatic effect.
Paint Outside the Lines
All too often, modern apartment rooms are featureless boxes with minimal trim and little architectural interest. Add interest by using color in unexpected ways. Paint beyond the borders of the walls–wrap a bright color around a corner and halfway across the adjoining wall, or carry the color in a stripe down the length of a hallway. Reverse the typical accent wall color scheme–paint three walls in a rich, deep color and choose a paler tone for the remaining wall, then carry it up onto the ceiling.
Add Color Accents with Paint
Use paint to add depth, accentuate features or simply surprise the eye. Highlight a collection of paintings or miniatures by painting a series of stripes down from the ceiling. Vary the lengths and widths to match the frames of the paintings, then hang each painting in its own stripe, or hang several paintings in one stripe that runs from ceiling to floor. Achieve a subtle satin stripe effect by painting the walls in a single deep color, then paint stripes over the paint in a clear gloss finish all the way around the room, or on just one wall. Techniques like sponge painting, combing or rag-rolling all add texture to plain walls without being overwhelming.
