{"id":528774,"date":"2026-01-20T02:02:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T02:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/528774\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T02:02:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T02:02:27","slug":"this-nyc-living-room-had-white-walls-and-no-details-until-it-went-bright-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/528774\/","title":{"rendered":"This NYC Living Room Had White Walls and No Details \u2014 Until It Went Bright Green"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"This<\/p>\n

This NYC Living Room Had White Walls and No Details \u2014 Until It Went Bright Green<\/p>\n

ABOUT THIS BEFORE & AFTER<\/p>\n

HOME TYPE:<\/b> Studio Apartment<\/p>\n

PROJECT TYPE:<\/b> Living Room<\/p>\n

STYLE:<\/b> Colorful, Parisian, Traditional<\/p>\n

SKILL LEVEL:<\/b> DIY, Professional<\/p>\n

How To Use a Level<\/p>\n

RENTAL FRIENDLY:<\/b> No<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing stopping clever DIYers from turning cookie-cutter apartments into spaces full of charm<\/a> and (added) architectural detail \u2014 including Barbara Campbell.<\/p>\n

Barbara is an interior stylist who lives in a 300-square-foot Upper East Side apartment which had \u201cwhite walls, no architecture\u201d before she got her hands, and colorful sense of style, on it. \u201cI preferred color on the walls and needed something to counteract the \u2018white box\u2019 look,\u201d Barbara says.<\/p>\n

\"Architectural<\/p>\n

Credit: Susan Phillips<\/p>\n

\"TelevisionIt\u2019s all in the architectural details.<\/p>\n

Her first step was making some architectural upgrades and amplifying any architectural details that were already there. \u201cI installed picture frame molding on the walls to give the space some depth and beefed up the crown molding and the baseboard molding,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

She also installed a Carrara marble shelf beneath the long window on the back wall to have an additional surface to put things on.<\/p>\n

Barbara liked the existing floors in the space \u2014 after all, they\u2019d been covered by carpet before she moved in so were in pretty good shape \u2014 so all she had to do was apply a clear coat to protect them. Barbara says the light wood color provides a nice contrast to the saturated colors on the walls.<\/p>\n

\"Large<\/p>\n

Credit: Susan Phillips<\/p>\n

\"TVTwo paint projects (one extremely bold one) brighten the room.<\/p>\n

And speaking of the walls, she went bold with Sherwin-Williams\u2019 Emerald Green paint. Barbara says the paint color inspired the design of the rest of her apartment. \u201cI pulled together a ton of samples, I mixed paints myself, and I finally landed on the color that was in my head,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

You can steal one other paint tip from Barbara\u2019s living room if you look overhead. \u201cI always paint white ceilings in high-gloss,\u201d she says. \u201cThe light from outside reflects off of them as do candles\/lamps.\u201d Barbara\u2019s ceiling is painted Benjamin Moore\u2019s Simply White.<\/p>\n

\"Shelving<\/p>\n

Credit: Susan Phillips<\/p>\n

\"GreenFurniture \u2014 and lots of pattern \u2014 completes the room.<\/p>\n

Barbara\u2019s living room is furnished with a black chesterfield sofa, a black lacquer dresser, and chairs, ottomans, and curtains in fabrics of her choosing, plus lamps from Pooky<\/a> and an abstract oil painting.<\/p>\n

Another piece of advice to take away from Barbara\u2019s living room? Don\u2019t be afraid to customize your own patterns \u2014 even if you can\u2019t splurge on custom upholstery or curtains. \u201cI used Etsy to design the area rug for the Living Room space,\u201d she says. \u201cI sent photos of the fabric\/wallpaper\/paint to the resource \u2026 and they made a custom piece. It pulls the whole space together. Surprisingly affordable.\u201d She also added wallpaper to the back of her built-in bookshelves.<\/p>\n

Lastly, Barbara added brass hardware and pulls to the cabinets in the room \u201cwhich worked better with the colors in the space,\u201d she says. The result? A colorful, glam living room that\u2019s far from cookie-cutter. Barbara says her new living room feels \u201chappy, comfy, classic.\u201d To see the rest of her home where the same could be said, check out the full studio tour. <\/a><\/p>\n

Inspired? Submit your own project here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Further Reading<\/p>\n

6 IKEA Hacks for the Most Disorganized Among Us<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

I Tried My Grandmother\u2019s Technique for Cleaning Stainless Steel & I\u2019m Never Using Anything Else<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

10 Smart Tupperware Storage Ideas That Will Organize Your Cabinets Once and For All<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This NYC Living Room Had White Walls and No Details \u2014 Until It Went Bright Green ABOUT THIS…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":528775,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,234600,234599,163358,118963,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,234601,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-528774","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-architectural-detail","10":"tag-architectural-details","11":"tag-barbara-campbell","12":"tag-living-room","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-newyork","16":"tag-newyorkcity","17":"tag-ny","18":"tag-nyc","19":"tag-susan-phillips","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115924969006586798","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/528775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}