When I was a tween and saw Gigi for the first time, the 1958 musical directed by Vincente Minnelli, I had one and only one take away: I want a red room! I’d never seen anything like it–a room where everything in it was the same color. It blew my mind. The closest I’ve come to recreating one for myself was when I had an upholstered red headboard that I paired with an all-red comforter. Needless to say, from a young age my compass was set to highly saturated color choices. Homes & Gardens, however, seem a little more cautious in bold colors for interior design. This week they brought in a color psychologist to dissect a crimson area carpet in an Instagram post from Lady Gaga:
Lady Gaga is instantly associable with her statement-making fashion choices, but a look inside her home suggests her interior design decisions are (almost) as bold.
The singer-turned-actress shared a look inside her Malibu mansion, once labeled her ‘sanctuary’, but her living room rug exhibits a hue that is far from therapeutic. So, how does this impact her home’s therapeutic energy? And, can we ever decorate with red to create a sanctuary-like space similar to Lady Gaga’s home?
While red has a controversial reputation – some color psychologists suggest that, in the right space, this tone can create positivity – and act as a talking point in the process. This is exactly what Lady Gaga has achieved. Here’s how.
‘The beautiful thing about red is that it raises the heart rate and even excites hunger,’ says color psychologist Michelle Lewis. ‘Of course, designers get nervous using it because it can sometimes be too stimulating’ – but in cloudier or color-less contexts, this color can work perfectly.
‘What if you live in a cloudy climate? Gray is known to cause certain depressions and to mute personalities when exposed to it over time, so imagine how helpful a red kitchen would be,’ she adds.
Admittedly, red isn’t ideal for every space, especially in homes where vibrant hues already reign supreme – however, as Michelle suggests, this color has its place in calmer settings. In Lady Gaga’s case, her room (rug aside) is primarily neutral, featuring white walls and marble accents – allowing her red rug to impress – without overwhelming the room.
‘Red isn’t always the way to go, but it certainly can be the perfect fit in certain situations to bring more energy, excitement, and action-taking to the home,’ Michelle says.
In cases where we’re already working with lots of colors – or still (understandably) nervous about flirting with red, Michelle recommends working with red undertones as a subtler alternative.
‘It also can be a much more flexible situation when we look at the undertones we may use with red,’ she says. ‘For example, will we choose to add a gray tone? A black shade? A white tint? Or keep it the true hue? The choice here can alter the feel dramatically.’
Michelle Lewis is a color psychologist, interior designer, and founder of The Color Cure.
Ok, I don’t mean to knock the writers at Homes & Gardens, but I noticed something so I know our faithful readers will too: the Instagram post they’re framing their article around is from March 2021, and in the caption Gaga thanks her manager for sending her flowers to her room where she’s filming House of Gucci. Um, the film was shot in Italy. This isn’t Gaga’s house! Now, that doesn’t affect any of the interior design commentary, I just find it hilarious after the intro of “how can you have red and call it a sanctuary?!”
Moving right along. This is all a matter of taste, no? I understand the note that the red rug (in whoever’s lovely room) works because it is surrounded by neutrals. I get why that works on a compositional level. I also know that personally I’m a “more is more” kind of girl and have an average of six dominant colors going on at once in any room of my (humble) home. Seriously, I had a vintage chair reupholstered and my bestie looked at it and said, “well she’s certainly not shy!” The important thing is color is emotional, so I say always follow your gut. Trust the instinctual responses you have when you encounter a particular hue. I also recommend the Fortune-Telling Book of Colors for some fun, light dabbling into various cultural, historical, even astrological color associations.
Hilarious. “Red rug in a Malibu home” was a much different picture in my mind. I was thinking edgy or super streamlined, but this is basically a giant carpet in the best suite of a European hotel.
The rug is awful. It would give me vertigo. I much prefer Kim K’s superminimalistic design. When I’m home I can relax so much better when there is less stimulus, and clutter gives me heart pulpitations. My kids are elementary school age, so there stuff everywhere is enough chaos for me.
Hard agree. I’m always amazed at the snotty comments about Kim’s home but I find it soothing and restful. Too much stuff and lots of color are seriously over stimulating for me.
It’s literally a hotel room. So not exactly an indication one way or the other of Gaga’s aesthetic.
When I was 6 years old, my parents bought a house, and they let me pick the color of the carpet in my bedroom. I picked cherry red. I mean CHERRY RED.
15 years later I knocked on the door and said I used to live in this house, and the people were the same ones who bought the house from my parents. They were so nice to me. They gave me a tour of my old house. My old bedroom still had the cherry red carpet in it.
Gaga’s carpet is fine. It’s not my taste, but it’s not awful. It’s grand royal room or fancy hotel carpet.
I picked purple shag! And every time we moved, that rug was taken up & moved with us! Also, we had a red rug in our living room. This was a 1910 craftsman with dark wood wainscoting, in gray, rainy Oregon. Gold sectional sofa & red rug. My mom was way ahead of the game!
Okay, things like this would drive me crazy if I were a celebrity. It’s such a dumb little misconception, but it’d be so hard for me to not reply and say “That’s not my house, that’s not my rug. I was in a hotel. Save your “color psychologist” for someone else.”
That color psychologist must have gone to the same school as those body language experts the DM is always hiring.
Right?! Plus it’s not even all red!
This. Not to mention that folks don’t read before commenting so you even have people on this thread talking about her “aesthetic”. Wuuld drive me nuts
Who on earth would look at that photo and think that’s her house in Malibu?
And I guess it was a slow day at house and garden!
Looks like Hong Kong hotel lobby carpet, definitely not a Malibu vibe.
Because it is hotel carpet. It’s a hotel room.
Looking at the pics before I read the wrote up my first thought was ‘wow she has hotel carpet in her home’.
I honestly thought this was about dyed pubes showing through a sheer dress or something. Appreciated the commitment to the Harley Quinn role, but weird headline, clicked through to find out it’s a hotel rug on someone else’s Instagram. LOL.
Heeheehee I totally thought the same
Same here! 😜
People should decorate their home however they want. The interior design industry’s insistence on deeming something trendy, non-trendy, etc is stupid and arrogant. Luckily, most interior designers who work with the public understand this and they focus on what the client wants, not on stupid magazine articles.
Hard agree
The people who owned our place before us must of got a great clearance price on one shade of green. Every wall, all the deck, every privacy fence, everything inside and out of this house that is wood (except the floors), even cabinets, is this same EXACT shade of green. I used to like green, it was my favorite color. AND who PAINTS a deck??
Colors are great, just not the exact same shade everywhere.
Also, I freaking love this red rug.
Love red I have a red sofa, and red accents throughout the house.