Where's Your Accent?: Working wtih Accent Colors

Watching too much HGTV has caused me to start thinking about using more accent colors in our house.  After visiting my friend Colleen at her house in Atlanta a few weeks ago, I started thinking about it even more.  She uses red throughout most of the public spaces in her house and it really looks great.  A friend who sells Southern Living got her into red accents in her kitchen and that ultimately spread throughout most of the main floor of her home.  They have only lived in this house for a few months yet they have so many details totally nailed - especially in the kitchen. 

The basement guest room was the perfect place to try out a bold accent color (just like it was the perfect place for the upholstered headboard I blogged about for the past couple of days).  I chose orange from the floral bedspread which I adore.  The simple addition of the small orange pillow and the silk flowers in the vase (in violation of my flower policies!), really made a big difference in the room.

Here's the before - 

 And the after...

It was actually pretty hard to find the perfect small pillow so I ended up turning to Etsy and I found several great options.  This one worked perfectly because I already have several bird accents and this one followed that theme.  

These small changes actually make the room feel really done.  Also, any basement dreariness that may have been emanating from the brown and blues was instantly counteracted by these tiny touches!

I am still contemplating some accent colors in other rooms in our house but this was definitely a good place to start.