It has an energy that no other color can contain, it is a born seducer, it transforms the atmosphere, makes spaces dynamic, infuses vitality: just a touch of red is enough to make the heart of every home beat faster.
Having gone viral on social media thanks to Brooklyn interior designer Taylor Simon, red theory is based on the idea that adding a touch of red to a room makes it more lively and exciting, charges it with emotion and makes it a more interesting space. If you like to dare, you can add a touch of red in environments where it doesn’t seem to match at all or, if you prefer a more discreet approach, you can start with small doses, using it to create original focal points, integrating just one, very special complement.
The effect is immediate, especially in a context dominated by a few minimal shades, such as the Parisian loft renovated by the atelier Leymarie Gourdon, which offers an ideal palette to best express the fervent concepts of the red theory. How to enhance every space through red? There is no need to exaggerate: look for a piece that is suitable for every environment, but that is truly out of the ordinary, like the ones we propose here, so that the charisma of red can also be released in all its powerful poetry.
Two glimpses of the living area of the Parisian loft, balanced and minimal designed by atelier Leymarie Gourdon.
The central space of the loft is occupied by the living room, dominated by neutral tones: on the light parquet floor, the comfortable and important sofa and the rigorous chair play on the contrasts of materials and colors and surround a wooden coffee table, placed on a nuanced rug. The image conveys balance and sobriety: to upgrade, add your red touch!
IDEAS FOR THE LIVING
One or two red elements and you’re done, but always opt for creations with an intriguing design or particular workmanship. The highlight of the living area is the sofa: Ploum by Ligne Roset with high backrest not only offers 7 fabric variants and 71 colours, but is also as comfortable as a nest thanks to special comfort studies that led to its special elastic covering and ultra-soft foam inside.
Two-seater sofa with high backrest, Ploum by Ligne Roset, € 4.370 | photo © Ligne Roset – ligne-roset.com
If the red sofa seems excessive to you, you can indulge in the search for softer accessories: a small armchair like the artisanal one by Paola Lenti: it belongs to the Ami line, designed by Francesco Rota, and has a stainless steel structure with a hand-woven covering of padded polyester tubular mesh; or a low table: Tao by Slide: it loves round lines, the design by Guglielmo Berchicci makes it light and resistant, thanks to the polyethylene base and central top in opaque glass.
On the left, armchair with hand-woven tubular mesh covering, Ami by Paola Lenti, € 4.330 VAT excluded (cushions sold separately at€ 385 each, VAT excluded) | photo © Paola Lenti – paolalenti.it; on the right, cofee table with central glass top, Tao by Slide, 390 from€ 715 | photo © Slide Design – slidedesign.it
Or, you can color the rug red, like the one in New Zealand wool hand-tufted and signed by Color Therapis (the model is called Red is the New Red!).
Handcrafted wool rug, Red is the New Red by Color Therapis, from € 715 | photo © Color Therapis – colortherapis.com
Two details of the loft: the staircase leading to the mezzanine and a corner dedicated to relaxation.
If a red frame seems obvious to you, hang a gem from the ceiling of the living area: the limited edition of the punching bag with a brick pattern, born from the collaboration between Gufram and Studio Job. Handcrafted, Punch a Wall is sculpted from a piece of polyurethane foam covered with Guflac Ultra, an evolution of the special paint patented by Gufram over 50 years ago, which makes it durable and resistant.
In a secluded corner dedicated to relaxation, on a short shelf, you can concentrate romantic light points with a particular design, small lanterns or candelabras that create atmosphere. Like the Linfa model by Bitossi Home, which recalls naïve flowers in bud, perfect for welcoming the arrival of spring.
On the left, a punching bag in a limited edition of 333 pieces, Gufram Punch a Wall by Studio Job, € 4.500 | photo © Gufram – gufram.it ; on the right, ceramic candelabra, Linfa by Bitossi Home, € 360 | photo © Bitossi Home – bitossihome.it
The kitchen in the Parisian loft has black and white worktops and an island around which to gather, equipped with stools and dominated by the presence of a plant that receives the beautiful light coming from the large windows. When evening falls, lighting comes from linear pendant lamps. Red, in this context, amplifies the vitality of the most convivial space of the house.
Two details of the kitchen, with a large tree integrated into the island, minimal furniture and worktops.
KITCHEN IDEAS
The island attracts hosts, inspires conviviality and conversation. It is a modern, welcoming and functional space just like the high stools that embrace its perimeter, accessories that, tinged with red, stand out and accelerate the beating of the pulsating heart of the kitchen.
Those by Vondom, Africa model (designed by Eugeni Quitllet) are made of polypropylene injected with gas air moulding and fibreglass. Comfortable, scenic and clever: they can be stacked and used outdoors too. Another important element is the lighting: the most glamorous pendant lights are the Cherry Lamp, red cherries designed by Adriani & Rossi with a metal support and a glossy or opaque ceramic diffuser.
Africa high stool by Vondom, from €146 | photo © Vondom – vondom.com
Cherry Lamp in the shape of a cherry, Adriani & Rossi, from €318 | photo © Vondom Adriani & Rossi – adrianierossi.com
Brightening up your countertops with red appliances is an alternative that satisfies the desire for design, technology and creativity. KitchenAid, for example, also makes a wide range of appliances and kitchen robots in red, including a new semi-automatic espresso machine with a grinder. With a timeless design, it is part of an entire range awarded with the Red Dot Design Award 2024: style, color and practicality in a single object.
On the table, the Circus plates, handmade by the artisans of the Laboratorio Paravicini in Milan, will add an elegant and delicate touch. They have decorated the thin white earthenware worked on the lathe with 12 unforgettable subjects inspired by the circus of yesteryear.
KitchenAid Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine, €799 | photo © KitchenAid – kitchenaid.it
Circus hand-made plate set, Laboratorio Paravicini, from €780 | photo © Laboratorio Paravicini – paravicini.it
The sleeping area of the loft rises on a mezzanine that is accessed via a dark metal staircase, which creates a strong contrast and is echoed in the railing that delimits the room. In addition to the bed, there are two bedside tables, lampshades and some shelves to hold books and photos. Being a color full of energy, red should be used sparingly in the bedroom.
Detail of the mezzanine sleeping area of the loft.
IDEAS FOR THE SLEEPING AREA
Rather than an entire heart-stopping red set, it’s better to go with light, solid-colored bed linen, to then brighten up with a red plaid, like the Cortina blanket in pure extra-fine merino virgin wool by Lanerossi: with its 270 grams per square meter, it’s perfect for the mid-season.
The usual horizontal shelves can be replaced with the Mikado wall bookcase by Compagnie (design Jean-François Bellemère). Lightweight, durable, it is made of lacquered beech from sustainably managed wood. Following the dictates of the red theory, even bedside tables can become surprising: The Shorty by Mustard abandons classic shapes and presents itself as a mini metal cabinet. It is available with both right and left opening and is a support for the lampshade.
Small wall bookcase in lacquered beech, Mikado by Compagnie, €503.20 | photo © Compagnie – editioncompagnie.fr
The Shorty Metal Nightstand by Mustard, €151.49 | photo © Mustard – eu.mustardmade.com
If you decide that the latter will be your red touch, you can find the ideal piece in the vintage style bedside lamp Buonanotte by Stilnovo. Designed by Giovanni Luigi Gorgoni in 1965, it has a spherical glass diffuser and a metal structure with adjustable intensity, which you can open and close just like an eye.
On the left, double blanket in pure extra virgin wool, Cortina di Lanerossi, €400 | photo © Lanerossi – lanerossi.it;on the right, iconic Buonanotte lamp by Stilnovo, €396.50 | photo © Stilnovo – stilnovo.com
In the area below the mezzanine, the loft’s utility rooms, wardrobe and bathroom are hidden from view. Here the eye is captured by a pair of identical mirrors that expand the space, always constructed through the same nuances as the rest of the house: the dominant whitewash, together with details in wood, black and metal. Minimal, elegant, functional.
Detail of the bathroom where the space is amplified thanks to two twin mirrors.
BATHROOM IDEAS
In the bathroom, red therapy is useful for making a limited space more playful and dynamic. A mirror that looks like it came out of a children’s book serves this purpose: Coty di Iplex Design. 150 cm tall, it is not just a fairy tale: the virgin polymer plexiglass used for its frame is non-toxic, hypoallergenic, odorless, antibacterial and 100% recyclable.
Left, Mirror on the Wall XL, Coty by Iplex Design, €526 | photo © Ipex Design – iplexdesign.com; on the right, Solotuo sponge set by Zucchi, from €21 | photo © Zucchi – zucchi.it
Bathroom linen, unlike nightwear, can be all-red, like the Solotuo line by Zucchi in combed cotton terry with jacquard chiselling. Extremely soft, highly absorbent and free from harmful substances, it keeps colours bright and unaltered over time. The set consists of a 60×110 towel and a 40×60 guest towel, which can be expanded with the 100×150 bath towel.
Red theory works even when it is only put into practice with a bathmat. The one from Maison Flâneur is called Lobster and, not by chance, it has an original and anti-noia design that reproduces a lobster. Red, ça va sans dire!
Project by Atelier Leymarie Gourdon – leymariegourdon.com
Photo © bcdf studio
Lobster bath mat by Maison Flâneur, €42.95 | photo © Maison Flâneur – maisonflaneur.com
On the cover, an overview of the Parisian loft played on neutral and calm tones, perfect for applying the principles of red theory.
