Pushy, stimulating, the decorating equivalent of Wagner’s Ring, the colour red is making a dramatic comeback on the walls of fashionable houses.

Two Dublin 6 period houses in this week’s supplement have almost identical red drawing-rooms. Could magnolia be on the way out?

Decorator Lorraine O’Conaill is currently painting red panels on the wall of a client’s bedroom. It looks fantastic, she insists, adding that people should try several sample pots before deciding on the exact tone when using red.

Red was traditionally the colour used for diningrooms, where the vibrant colour strikes a positive note.

However, if guests are distracted from the table by the paintwork, think again say experts.

The ‘arty’ reds are selling well at Dublin paint shop MRCB, who stock most designer paint ranges. Picture Gallery Red, Stagecoach and Codman Calret are the favourites, according to their colour consultant Marena Kavanagh, who agrees that designers are fed up with picking the same neutral colours.

“Red works well with dark oak floors and antique mahogany furniture, but the room needs to be big enough to take and have a lot of other things happening in it.”