Decorating
Unleash Your Passion for Pastels
From the palest of pinks to washed-out blues, lilacs, greens and yellows, pastels can be just dreamy
It’s safe to come out all you pastel lovers, because pastels are no longer passé. Primary colours have their place, but they’re not soft and soothing in the way that pastels can be. All these washed-out, muted dreamy pastels can be deeply relaxing. Done right, they are a little sweet but not sickly, as these photos show.
DIY pastel
If you don’t happen to have any pastel in your home, is there some lovely old piece of furniture you could experiment with? Artist Paula Mills found this vintage ’50s kitchen cupboard at a local op shop and turned it from cream to this. She used a base of white house paint and added acrylic paint from her studio, then mixed it with a stick to get the right colour.
See more of this home
If you don’t happen to have any pastel in your home, is there some lovely old piece of furniture you could experiment with? Artist Paula Mills found this vintage ’50s kitchen cupboard at a local op shop and turned it from cream to this. She used a base of white house paint and added acrylic paint from her studio, then mixed it with a stick to get the right colour.
See more of this home
Mid-century
A relaxing lounge room in Melbourne exudes a Mid-century Modern vibe, with a Featherston style chair upholstered in a soft green hue and paired beautifully with a dusty pink sofa. A breathtaking combination.
A relaxing lounge room in Melbourne exudes a Mid-century Modern vibe, with a Featherston style chair upholstered in a soft green hue and paired beautifully with a dusty pink sofa. A breathtaking combination.
In the pantry
Well, this one is sugary sweet but fair enough, because it looks like the baking section of the kitchen pantry – and if you can’t have a sugary-sweet palette in there, where can you have one?
Well, this one is sugary sweet but fair enough, because it looks like the baking section of the kitchen pantry – and if you can’t have a sugary-sweet palette in there, where can you have one?
In the bedroom
Not your average pastel-infused kids’ bedroom. The kids – or adults – lucky enough to sleep in these bunk beds are likely to have a restful night’s sleep.
Not your average pastel-infused kids’ bedroom. The kids – or adults – lucky enough to sleep in these bunk beds are likely to have a restful night’s sleep.
In the mix
You could easily DIY a mix and match pastel dining setting. Simply take some older timber or white dining chairs and paint in differing shades of blue, yellow and green pastels for a fun and lovely dining setting. The trick is to get each of the pastel colours in the same muted tone.
You could easily DIY a mix and match pastel dining setting. Simply take some older timber or white dining chairs and paint in differing shades of blue, yellow and green pastels for a fun and lovely dining setting. The trick is to get each of the pastel colours in the same muted tone.
Soothing
A lounge room all awash with a mix of pastels can make for a relaxing scene. Here the backdrop of an industrial-style exposed wall, a natural rug and a white wall, all offer a counterpoint to the sherbert-y sweetness.
A lounge room all awash with a mix of pastels can make for a relaxing scene. Here the backdrop of an industrial-style exposed wall, a natural rug and a white wall, all offer a counterpoint to the sherbert-y sweetness.
Soft verdant hues
Combine the palest pastel green with a slightly darker version in an otherwise white kitchen. Both elegant and relaxing.
Combine the palest pastel green with a slightly darker version in an otherwise white kitchen. Both elegant and relaxing.
Granny chic
For anyone who thinks pastel pink is a bit granny, worked right it’s more like granny chic. A retro pink table and a brighter pink vintage sofa make for a delicious combination.
For anyone who thinks pastel pink is a bit granny, worked right it’s more like granny chic. A retro pink table and a brighter pink vintage sofa make for a delicious combination.
Even painted en masse, combined with a vintage black and pink chair, Danish style sideboard and dark floorboards, the overall look is simply stylish.
Wall paint in ‘Nancy’s Blushes’: Farrow & Ball
Wall paint in ‘Nancy’s Blushes’: Farrow & Ball
Elegant
If you don’t think of pastels as elegant, think again because, as the next three photos show, muted blues paired with soft greys can be just that.
If you don’t think of pastels as elegant, think again because, as the next three photos show, muted blues paired with soft greys can be just that.
You just need the right furniture and furnishings to work these pastel hues.
Wall paint in colours from the Silentshift range: Dulux
Striking with black
How stunning is this composition? The pale pink chair against the black piano, the pale green in the artwork, and painted white floorboards – and let’s not leave out that Cath Kidston wallpaper – all make up a heavenly scene.
How stunning is this composition? The pale pink chair against the black piano, the pale green in the artwork, and painted white floorboards – and let’s not leave out that Cath Kidston wallpaper – all make up a heavenly scene.
Another gorgeous way to pair pastels with dark tones. The bed awash in pastels is the centrepiece against a charcoal backdrop. The darkness is the perfect counterpoint to the femininity of the bedlinen.
Paired with white
Or for an entirely different look, bring washed-out colours together with white for a breezy, fresh look.
Or for an entirely different look, bring washed-out colours together with white for a breezy, fresh look.
A hint of pastel
I really like this way to bring in a single pastel – the eye is drawn to just one hint in the dusty pink cushion. It works perfectly against the grey sofa.
I really like this way to bring in a single pastel – the eye is drawn to just one hint in the dusty pink cushion. It works perfectly against the grey sofa.
Or just one single pastel in the form of a vase.
In the kitchen
Or if you have a white kitchen, bring just a hint of pastel loveliness into your kitchen with a retro stool or appliance.
Or if you have a white kitchen, bring just a hint of pastel loveliness into your kitchen with a retro stool or appliance.
Blue and pink
Equal tones of blue and pink is a classic colour combination and perfectly soothing for a bedroom or rest area.
TELL US
Do you like pastels or do you think they’re sickly sweet? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
MORE
Why You Shouldn’t Go Overboard With Colour
How to Be Truly Confident with Colour
11 Pretty Sweet Decorating Styles Using Pastels
21 Ways With the Colour Purple
Equal tones of blue and pink is a classic colour combination and perfectly soothing for a bedroom or rest area.
TELL US
Do you like pastels or do you think they’re sickly sweet? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
MORE
Why You Shouldn’t Go Overboard With Colour
How to Be Truly Confident with Colour
11 Pretty Sweet Decorating Styles Using Pastels
21 Ways With the Colour Purple
Have fun with pastels, mixing and matching them around the house.