How This Designer Pulled Off All-Over Pink As If It Was a Neutral

PublishedJun 29, 2025 1:40 AM EDT

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OK so designerCathryn Royeris still kind of amazed by how chill she was when her client told her she wanted to paint her entire Vancouver apartment pink. "I didn't hesitate at all, which was maybe unusual, because I feel like I've just begun to really dip my toe into big splashes of color," says Royer. Her client, a friend's mom who had bought a condo in the city to be closer to her daughter and granddaughter, wanted her space to be a joyful escape for the family. She tasked Royer with finding shades that would deliver that happy feeling while still feeling sophisticated. Two paint colors played a key role. "I would have contractors come in and be like, 'It's funny, I don't like pink, but I likethis,'" says the designer. Ahead, she reveals exactly how she got this loud hue to play the role of a neutral. Trust me, you'll want to take notes.

Royer had spottedBenjamin Moore's Amaryllison an accent wall before, so it was the first swatch to come to mind for her client's space. While browsing the fan deck, she noticed another shade calledRose Lacethat also had those earthy undertones she was after (no bubblegum vibes, please). "I wanted to drench the space, including the ceiling, so I loved the idea of pulling two hues from the same color palette," shares Royer.

On the walls and door casings, she went with Rose Lace, using an eggshell finish on the walls and semi-gloss on the trim. "There will be little kids in the condo, so we didn't want too many fingerprints," she points out—smart thinking! For the ceiling, Amaryllis (in eggshell) provided a darker launch point for introducing hits of maroon and baby blue. "I know many people will paint a ceiling white to make a space seem bigger and more open, but in this case the goal wasto make it feel cozy and warm," she says. And honestly? It works.

Royer's seasoned painter took some creative liberty and covered the drop ceiling over the dining area in Rose Lace rather than Amaryllis to make the contrast between the two planes slightly more noticeable. Love a bold creative choice!

In a lot of ways, Royer's furniture hunt was made easier by her client's crystal-clear direction. "When I would go to a brand or showroom's website, I'd automatically type in 'pink' and see what it brought me," she says. Her focus was on bringing in different textures:wood stoolsin the kitchen,soft velvet chairsaround the dining table, amatte chandelier. The only risky part? Royer is based in Calgary, a ten-hour drive away, and wasn't always able to color match pieces in person. "There were a few items I took a chance on but they turned out great because all of these pinks have so much dimension to them," she says.

A pink trundle bed for her client's granddaughter was the most challenging find. Royer figured she'd have to go custom or find a piece and have it reupholstered, so she was genuinely shocked when she eventually found the perfect piece hiding out on Wayfair (sadly, it's now discontinued—of course it is). Another genius Wayfair find? The slipper chair in the living room. "That one was sight unseen and it turned out to be perfect," she says. Sometimes you just get lucky!

She learned quickly that white and blue were the perfect complementary hues, so she scooped up a throw blanket fromClr Shopand hung it on the wall like a tapestry and broughtWest Elm's Laurent sectionalinto the formal living area.

Another trick for making the apartment feel more neutral and lessBarbiewas by choosing designs that look old, like the bed quilt from U.K.-based shopProjektityyny. "I needed to bring in something from afar, something that didn't seem sonew," says Royer. And the final word? When it comes to going all in on pink, there should be no tip-toeing involved. "You go big or go home," she adds. Honestly, the only way to do it.

Lydia Geisel has been on the editorial team at Domino since 2017. Today, she writes and edits home and renovation stories, including house tours, before and afters, and DIYs, and leads our design news coverage. She lives in New York City.

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