`Everyone can play color in any price range,” textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen says. But color can be tricky. Too many colors may make a room appear disorganized. A colorless room can look austere.

A bowl of bright red apples, a vase of yellow daffodils on a gingham-draped table, a painting of shimmering lilac lilies on a pond n all please us with their vibrant color. Color surrounds us, but we ...