Decorating
Don’t Be an Interiors Chromophobe!
Are you scared of using colour? Cautious home decorators can ease into adding a hue or two with one of these simple strategies
When decorating a room, do you get nervous about adding colour? Is the real reason why you stick to neutrals or monochromes because you have an inability to commit to colour, for fear of getting it wrong? If you secretly love colour but have so far avoided taking the plunge, there are ways to ease your home into it. Just adopt one of the six strategies below.
It is easy to see how the decoration of the bedroom pictured here shows off the trend of pairing pastels with monochromes. Warm pinks work superbly on walls instead of creams or whites, especially when complemented with grey or black. By adding modern black elements, such as the Tom Dixon lights seen here, the femininity of the pastel pink is beautifully complemented. And the pink is pretty close to on-trend ‘Rose Quartz’, a colour which was nominated as one of Pantone’s colours of 2016.
A couple of items of furniture, such as pastel-coloured chairs or ottomans, can be used to introduce colour to a decorating scheme in a considered yet unobtrusive way. Here, pale blue seating complements the black and white elements in the room.
Strategy 2: Add colour in small doses
You can also safely add a small dose of bright colour in a curated way through the placement of accessories, such as cushions, vases, rugs and artworks. Introduce two or three small decorative pieces in any colour to add an accent to a room.
In the bedroom pictured here, a horse figurine and a cushion in the same aqua hue add a pop of colour to the neutral scheme. These items can easily be changed over for pieces in a different shade, giving the space a different look for a relatively small investment.
How to be confident with colour
You can also safely add a small dose of bright colour in a curated way through the placement of accessories, such as cushions, vases, rugs and artworks. Introduce two or three small decorative pieces in any colour to add an accent to a room.
In the bedroom pictured here, a horse figurine and a cushion in the same aqua hue add a pop of colour to the neutral scheme. These items can easily be changed over for pieces in a different shade, giving the space a different look for a relatively small investment.
How to be confident with colour
We all know that artworks are an easy way to add accent colours to a room. To make sure it looks purposeful and carefully considered, add one or two other elements in a similar hue. In this living room, for example, orange books on a coffee table reflect the colourings of artworks on the fireplace ledge, as does the other decorator piece in the room: the tribal totem. This repetition of colour helps the eye travel all around the room, and really gives the viewer a chance to appreciate all elements in the room rather than just one bold piece.
If you want your interior palettes to be neutrals-only, you can still introduce colour on occasion via a temporary accent such as flowers, or you can go a step further to coordinate the look by selecting napkins or dinnerware in the same hue. In this photo, the bright pink posies look great next to the taupes and chocolates, but this could just as easily be swapped out with flowers in yellow, orange, red or purple.
Strategy 3: Transition with denim blues
Denim blue tends to range from blue-black to blue-grey and thus provides an alternative to those darker monochromes. At the same time, denim tones will introduce subtle dusty blue into a scheme. Whether you incorporate actual denim or borrow from its range of blues, you can add this hue to your interiors in a myriad of ways.
Here, an informal sitting room features a patchwork rug of denim swatches. It seems to cry out for a contrast colour too, which is perhaps why the tangerine couch and chocolate walls work so well with it.
Denim blue tends to range from blue-black to blue-grey and thus provides an alternative to those darker monochromes. At the same time, denim tones will introduce subtle dusty blue into a scheme. Whether you incorporate actual denim or borrow from its range of blues, you can add this hue to your interiors in a myriad of ways.
Here, an informal sitting room features a patchwork rug of denim swatches. It seems to cry out for a contrast colour too, which is perhaps why the tangerine couch and chocolate walls work so well with it.
Paint a bedroom’s feature wall a deep denim/navy, such as Porter’s Paints’ ‘Atlantic’, or upholster a bedhead in a denim-coloured velvet for a sophisticated effect. Here in this little girl’s room, the fairy lights sparkle against a deep blue wall, which is a delightful alternative to the pinks and purples so common in most girls’ rooms. Whether the denim colour is used in a child’s bedroom or an adult’s, the deep blue hue can create an inviting haven in any scenario, especially when teamed with fresh white linens, stone-washed velvets and warm lighting.
Introduce a denim blue-coloured island into an otherwise neutral kitchen to ensure it becomes the focus of the room. Here you can see how this one block of colour adds interest to the mostly monochrome palette, while staying true to the understated elegance inherent in the overall design. As a feature, black and copper pendant lights have been added, ensuring that this kitchen looks smart for many years to come.
Where do colour trends come from?
Where do colour trends come from?
Strategy 4: Lean on natural materials for warm hues
Look to natural timbers and leather to add warm hues to your home’s interiors, without actually adding colour. In the living room pictured here, the tan tones of the leather sofa create warmth in an otherwise plain room. A beige-coloured textured wallpaper and gold accents complete this modern sophisticated look, which comfortably takes its cues from the colourings of the natural materials.
Look to natural timbers and leather to add warm hues to your home’s interiors, without actually adding colour. In the living room pictured here, the tan tones of the leather sofa create warmth in an otherwise plain room. A beige-coloured textured wallpaper and gold accents complete this modern sophisticated look, which comfortably takes its cues from the colourings of the natural materials.
Natural timber has a diverse range of warm brown tones, from pale blonde through to honey, tan and deep maroon. The hue and grain of wood can add colour as well as introduce texture to a room. In this bedroom, for example, the chestnut-coloured timber panels behind the bed interrupt the expanse of cool, light and white tones found in the rest of the space.
Real and faux hides come in a huge range, and can introduce natural colours to neutral interiors. Depending on the animal print, or the one being emulated, hides can be found with patterns that range from a light honey to dark reddish-brown. Faux reindeer hides are wonderful underfoot in a bedroom, and come in light fawns complemented by white or grey patches or patterns. Mongolian sheep skins come in a wide variety of dyed colours, and can add texture and comfort when draped over armchairs.
Strategy 5: Metallics can provide colour too
Metallics can be used to add interesting highlights to a room’s decorative scheme. Gold and brass metals hint at yellows, working to add a little colour to a room, and offering an especially warm welcome in black or white interiors.
Metallics can be used to add interesting highlights to a room’s decorative scheme. Gold and brass metals hint at yellows, working to add a little colour to a room, and offering an especially warm welcome in black or white interiors.
Similarly, bronze and copper add a rose-pink hue to a decorating scheme, and may be just the way to add warmth – and therefore balance – to a contemporary but overly restrained look.
By taking advantage of how metallics can oxidise over time if not sealed with a lacquer, you can add a really interesting element to a room’s decor. In this powder room, the green of the oxidised copper wall surrounding the oversized mirror provides a unique decorative colour component.
Browse a gallery of colourful powder rooms
Browse a gallery of colourful powder rooms
Strategy 6: Let green be seen
Move colour from the outdoors into your interior by strategically placing potted plants in your rooms. A large indoor plant, such as the fiddle-leaf fig pictured here, offers a beautifully sculptural element to the home as well as adding green to the room.
Move colour from the outdoors into your interior by strategically placing potted plants in your rooms. A large indoor plant, such as the fiddle-leaf fig pictured here, offers a beautifully sculptural element to the home as well as adding green to the room.
A ribbon window used as a splashback, which looks out onto a greenery wall, is a clever way of breaking up an otherwise white-on-white kitchen. The long narrow feature window also provides something interesting for the cook to look at while preparing meals or cleaning up.
Use fruit, flowers or a mix of both as colourful elements for the kitchen. As seen here, the fresh green of limes or Granny Smith apples teamed with green hydrangeas, breaks up the monochrome palette chosen for this contemporary kitchen. You could also use red-coloured grocery items, such as red chillies, capsicums, apples and oranges, dragon fruits and red flowers to achieve a similar result.
An oversized window incorporated into a bathroom can provide a feeling of living outdoors, without the downsides of bugs and inclement weather. Screening plants offer both colour and privacy in this monotoned bathroom.
TELL US
Have you struggled to use colour in your home? Or did you manage to use it in a subtle way that you could share with those who are just starting to experiment with colour? Upload photos or share your tips in the Comments below.
MORE
See more rooms with pops of colour
TELL US
Have you struggled to use colour in your home? Or did you manage to use it in a subtle way that you could share with those who are just starting to experiment with colour? Upload photos or share your tips in the Comments below.
MORE
See more rooms with pops of colour
If you are feeling skittish about adding colour to your decor, pastels can perk up a neutral palette, adding colour by stealth. Pale colours aren’t so demanding and work beautifully with natural tones, such as grey and taupe.
An automatic response to decorating this room might be to paint all walls white, but I think you’ll agree the mint-coloured feature wall gently breaks up the various neutrals without being overwhelming. It is also a nod to the home’s coastal location.