Color Guide: How to Work With Neon Brights
Not just for the '80s anymore, neon brights have made a major comeback in interior designs near you
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel and design. I just completed my first remodel, turning my crumbling 1941 kitchen into a beauty of grays, whites and natural wood. If I could, I'd sleep on the countertop. That's how much I love it.
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Call them what you will: neon, Day-Glo, fluorescent. Whatever they are, they should make you think of a highlighter. Neon colors are so called because they seem to cast their own light, to glow from within like their elemental namesake. They are the colors of psychedelics and black light posters.
We don't see a lot of true fluorescents in home decor (although we do see some). Much more common are approximations of fluorescent colors, bright brights that don't quite achieve that highlighter glow.
Despite their psychedelic past and unfortunate 1980s Wham! associations, neon colors can be stylish and beautiful. They look great with neutrals in the ivory to beige family. They look great with grays of all hues and with light natural wood tones (see neutrals).
They are a shocking but beautiful contrast to natural materials and look lovely with things like burlap, natural linens, wood, concrete and clay. Mostly they are used very sparingly, as little zings of color. A vase here. A print there. But there are some brave souls who go for neons in a big way.
Take a look. There is nothing to be afraid of.
We don't see a lot of true fluorescents in home decor (although we do see some). Much more common are approximations of fluorescent colors, bright brights that don't quite achieve that highlighter glow.
Despite their psychedelic past and unfortunate 1980s Wham! associations, neon colors can be stylish and beautiful. They look great with neutrals in the ivory to beige family. They look great with grays of all hues and with light natural wood tones (see neutrals).
They are a shocking but beautiful contrast to natural materials and look lovely with things like burlap, natural linens, wood, concrete and clay. Mostly they are used very sparingly, as little zings of color. A vase here. A print there. But there are some brave souls who go for neons in a big way.
Take a look. There is nothing to be afraid of.
by FORMA Design
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Bold Sweeps
An entire accent wall of bright chartreuse is about as much neon as you are ever going to see in one spot. And this isn't even neon, but it is bright.
An entire accent wall of bright chartreuse is about as much neon as you are ever going to see in one spot. And this isn't even neon, but it is bright.
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Little windows of highlighter yellow add pizzazz to this bare, Japanese-esque space. It's all neutrals, then pow!
Bright lime-green walls brighten up a tiny bathroom.
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I love this; it's modern, fresh and unexpected.
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Slashes of fluorescent pink highlight (get it?) the architecture and pull together what is essentially a big, neutral space.
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by Caitlin Wilson
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| The pink couch doesn't qualify as neon, but that stripe at the edge of the window treatment does. You can add a little bit of neon with more muted versions of the same color for a little extra oomph. And doesn't it look splendid with the beige leather chesterfield? |
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| This kitchen is beautiful, but it looks like every other sleek, modern wood and white kitchen out there. Oh, except for the hits of highlighter orange. |
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| This kids' room features a variety pack of neons. If every thing else is spare and neutral, this works. I love it as an alternative to the usual kids' colors. |
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by R Brant Design
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| This painting looks like a neon sign in the rain, and it absolutely glows in this sleek, neutral living room. |
A combination of neon pink, blue and yellow works here because the room is neutral and formal, and nothing competes for attention.
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White, eclectic and neon. Again, a bunch of different bright colors and patterns can work if the background is neutral and simple.
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| It's like a color field painting come to life in the form of a kitchen. |
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| Tiny Little Touches Most neon appears in tiny little touches, like in the prints above this bed. Nice against a satin black wall, no? |
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Little winks of neon pink in the pillows and on the ceiling.
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Two tiny stripes of neon pink in a field of neutral.
by Amy Lau Design
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Now, this glowing print really is neon colored. It seems to make its own light, and it pops in this subdued dining area.
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Small neon links in a simple and industrial chain.
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Acrylic is a great way to mimic neon. It's both translucent and reflective, giving it that glow.
This is not only a bright, brave color combo, it's also a nifty idea — clamp coat hangers; why didn't I think of that?
by Imagine Living
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Neon Outside
More acrylic neon impersonators. I love these flashes of bright color against the rest of this understated deck.
More acrylic neon impersonators. I love these flashes of bright color against the rest of this understated deck.
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| A little zing of neon chartreuse gives this regular wooden facade a bright facelift. |
Even the natural world can go fluorescent. These pink annuals really pop against the green.
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Neon meets traditional design. You could do a similar DIY spruce-up on a tired piece of furniture for less than $50.
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These acrylic lamps have got the glow.
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Neon paint adds so much design savvy to these simple wooden bowls.
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by Acapulco Chair
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| The iconic Acapulco chair in neon yellow. This would look good with other brights or on a plain, weathered wood deck. |
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A simple wood table becomes a design statement with the addition of an aqua stripe.
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by Benjamin Moore
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| The colors below are not technically fluorescent, but they are bright. Really bright. And they've got a certain glow about them. Krylon makes true fluorescent spray paint in several colors. |
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by Benjamin Moore
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by Benjamin Moore
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Has anyone tried this? Does it glow under black light?
Ideabook updated on Dec. 14, 2012.
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and his pure white buildings... they would be reduced to be a canvass for colour splashing!
Sometimes the colors next to a color will make it appear fluorescent. In the textured abstract below, the color is a lightened "hansa yellow", but it looks closer to a fluorescent yellow in the context of some darker-valued hues.
http://www.printedart.com/content/wild-string
http://www.printedart.com/content/reflections-pre-millennium-landscape-62