EXCL: Influencer Rachel Martino Reveals How to Bring Color Into Your Home
Influencer and interior design expert Rachel Martino has lifted the lid on her ultimate home tips for adding color into your home—even in the most unassuming places.
In her New York City rental, the home guru has found a way to give a hallway washer and dryer their own colorful moment—and conceal the appliances when they’re not in use.
Speaking with Realtor.com® about her partnership with Tide, which reveals that Tide Orange is officially a Pantone-recognized color, Martino shared how she approaches decorating a rental, why wallpaper has become one of her favorite tools, and how spending more time at home changed her relationship with her surroundings.
The colorful interiors she embraces today weren’t always part of her decorating style. Although Martino had long experimented with bold fashion, her earlier living spaces were considerably more restrained.
That began to change during the pandemic, when being at home prompted her to reconsider whether her interiors actually reflected her personality.
“I realized I really want a space that actually reflects who I am and my personality,” she said. “And my personality is very bold and bright and colorful.”
Instead of continuing to gravitate toward neutral rooms, she started experimenting with the colors and patterns she already loved wearing.
Today, that approach extends to some of the most practical corners of her home, including the hallway where her stacked washer and dryer are located.
Without a separate laundry room to decorate, she used wallpaper and a custom sliding mirror to make the area feel intentional.
The mirror moves aside to provide access to the appliances and slides back into place to conceal them.
The setup allows her to incorporate a necessary household function into her home while still giving the surrounding space a decorative identity.
Martino’s enthusiasm for wallpaper also carries into her closet, which she described as her favorite room in the home.
“And it has a bright pink wallpaper that has large-scale florals,” she said. “And then I have a library ladder that goes in like a U shape around the room.”
Her living room offers another example of using a practical feature to introduce color: painted shelving.
For Martino, shelves can bring personality and visual interest into a room while also providing storage. And their color can change again if a homeowner or renter wants a different look.
That willingness to experiment underpins her broader decorating advice. A small room, she explained, can offer an opportunity to try something more adventurous without needing to rethink the entire home.
“So I think the fun thing about a laundry room is that you really can play,” she said.
Martino pointed to laundry rooms and bathrooms, particularly powder rooms, as places where people can explore color and pattern.
Because those rooms are often enclosed, their design doesn’t necessarily have to match every other space in the home.
“It’s like a little jewel box within a home,” she explained.
Wallpaper is one way to create that effect, with both traditional and renter-friendly options allowing people to personalize a room.
Martino also encouraged people to give DIY projects a chance, even when the prospect feels a little intimidating.
For those who aren’t ready to commit to an entire patterned wall or a room filled with one bold shade, she suggested starting smaller.
A colorful pillow, a lamp, or even a coffee-table book can introduce a brighter accent without requiring a major transformation.
Her own color preferences include reds, pinks, and oranges. Through her Tide collaboration, she is bringing that approach to a contest offering winners a laundry-space redesign incorporating Tide Orange, which she discussed in connection with the brand’s Pantone partnership.
The shade could appear throughout a room or in smaller decorative touches, depending on the space.
That flexibility reflects Martino’s emphasis on choosing a design that speaks to the person who lives there.
Still, her personal preference is clear: she gravitates toward warm, colorful rooms with plenty of personality. The popularity of white, gray, and beige interiors hasn’t persuaded her to set aside her own taste.
“I think it’s so easy to kind of go with the flow and just do what’s trending or what’s popular and stick with easy white things or gray and beige,” she said.
For Martino, introducing a bolder shade is also a way to take a more active role in shaping a home.
“But when you take that power back into your hands and you use a bold color, it can really affect your mood and the joy that you feel in your home.”
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