Decorating & Design
August 24, 2017
Can’t Commit To Color? Here’s How To Brighten Up Your Space
Decorating with color can be intimidating, but when it’s done right, it can take a space from bland to grand. To help you navigate the rainbow, we’re sharing tips from our favorite bloggers who have mastered the art of decorating with color.
In Style Me Pretty founder Abby Larsen’s home, splashes of color bring a neutral palette to life.
Take a cue from her designers, Suzanne and Lauren McGrath, and add a few throw pillows in your favorite hues. You can easily add more as you get more confident with color, and remove some when your eyes need a break.
Bright dining or accent chairs can do wonders for a space filled with neutrals. If you’re buying multiples, start with one and live with it in the room for a few days before you commit.
Try incorporating some inexpensive small accessories in your favorite colors. Coffee table books and flowers bring life to an all-white space.
Celebrity designer Jillian Harris is known for her signature soft, white palette, but she incorporated pretty hits of color into her Vancouver pied-à-terre.
An area rug in a vibrant pattern is a great way to add a pop of color to a living space. Try swapping out a heavy winter rug for a bright one in a lighter fabric for the summer months.
Artwork is a great way to work color into a room.
Working with color doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Try adding a few throw pillows in a soft hue to your bed or toss a colorful quilt over your regular duvet.
Kids rooms are a great space to experiment with color, since brights can help with mental stimulation and brain development. Keep most pieces neutral (try grey or white) but pick an accent color and go to town.
Fashion and interior design blogger Aimee Song of Song Of Style doesn’t shy away from color.
Like most fashion bloggers, Aimee knows that color is critical to a well-rounded look. While most of her office space is natural and neutral, she’s worked color in with patterned throw pillows and bright blue armchairs.
Designer Shea McGee of Studio McGee is a master at mixing color into bright, clean spaces for impact.
Shea used color as the focal point in this living room, choosing to let the bright blue sofa shine while keeping everything else neutral.
If you’re not ready to commit to bold hues, try adding fresh florals to one of the room’s tables or shelving units.
If a bright blue sofa is too much for you, try accenting the room with pale shades in unexpected places. Shea used a soft bluish grey tile to highlight the fireplace.
Blogger Alicia Tenise let neutrals lead the way when it came to her bedroom design, but didn’t shy away from color when it came to accessories.
Alicia used a bold pink to brighten up her almost all-white bedroom and gold accessories to add a dash of elegance.
Take a tip from blogger Lizzie Garrett Mettler of The Reed and let colors help your home shine.
If you’re not ready to dive into accents in a solid color, try patterns that incorporate neutrals and brights. Here, the patterns of Lizzie’s pillows mimic the oversized windows.
This look isn’t for the color-conscious. Lizzie used brights all around the room, grounding the space with a neutral white rug. If you love this look but are afraid to commit, keep in mind that changing the wall color is as simple as picking up a can of paint.
Blogger and stylist Emily Henderson sticks to a few hues for a uniform look that offers a sophisticated take on color.
To complete blogger Bri Emery‘s living room, Emily found accessories in modern graphic patterns (check out the chair and the throw pillows) and finished it off with furniture in bright hues like turquoise and pink.
Emily convinced Bri to breathe new life into her space by reupholstering old furniture with colored fabrics and interesting patterns.
Emily used two bright patterned rugs and a large piece of art to bring color into an otherwise neutral dining room.
While the entryway is almost completely white, a few small accessories have a big impact — the teal lamps and the bright painting are the perfect contrast to the blank walls and white table.
Blogger Lucy Akins of Craftberry Bush advises staying within your color comfort zone and decorating with your favorite hues.
One of the easiest ways to experiment with color is by picking items that mix neutrals with a soft hue. Lucy selected a white and blue duvet for this room and rounded out the look with other blue accessories.
Blogger Jenny Komenda of Little Green Notebook says the key to decorating with color is grounding your space with neutrals.
Jenny used a wall of brightly colored books to complement the colors in her area rug.
In addition to the bookshelf full of colorful covers, and her very vivid area rug, Jenny added a stack of turquoise hardcover books to her coffee table, a maroon chair and a few patterned pillows.