It’s that time of year when we really start to see and notice the world around us shifting towards something more positive. The days are noticeably longer, so there’s more light. There is often more sunshine around which makes the leaves start to grow greener, the flowers bud, and generally there seems to be more colour, variation and vibrancy around. But for those isolating at home or living in the city where’s there’s not a great deal of nature around – or, indeed, for anyone who just wants to shake things up a bit – now’s the time to take a lesson from nature’s book and introduce more colour into the home! So when we came across this blog ‘5 Easy Ways to Add More Colour to Your Home‘ by Kristen Bateman we were intrigued!
Here we share our favourite snippets!
Think about it: There are certain shades of blue that you probably feel calmer around without even really realizing it, while pale greens or purple (notoriously polarizing colours) might make you uneasy. The power of colour is what inspired Brooklyn designer Rebecca Atwood to release her latest book Living with colour: inspiration and how-tos to brighten up your home…
• Paint it: the biggest thing you can do from a budget point of view is to paint an entire room or single wall. You can also think beyond walls and paint a simple pine dresser a bold shade for a strong, statement-making moment.
• Create an object collection: Each chapter opens up with an image of a small arrangement of objects, all in their own unique colour palette. It can be really simple. A rock that you found, or a vase or a couple of books. It’s an incredibly easy way to create a colour statement in any room.
• Think in terms of formulas: Choose from a complementary, primary, or a combination of tertiary colours. You can then mix home textiles across one room to build a custom colour palette that naturally works together.
• Don’t forget in-between colours: Remember connecter colour. Following the rule of having a neutral base then adding pops of colours (such as a custom matched red or orange) can fall flat, if you don’t remember the hues in between. Add in multiple shades of that colour. Add some warm neutrals versus cools, so it doesn’t feel so stark.
• Get emotional: If you truly don’t know where to start, imagine a place or memory that felt really wonderful then pull your colour palette out from that. A landscape is often a really good place to start because you have big washes of colour and you can think about that like you would a room. You can also design the palette from a strong object that speaks personally to you in your home, such as a rug.
Futon Company concludes: When you live in a small space or rent rather than own it can be difficult to make big colour statements on walls, for example through paint or wallpaper colours, but all that means is you need to be a little more creative in how you introduce colour into your space! As this blog says, it’s really easy to bring pops of colour into your space. Perhaps it’s a statement sofa or rug, colourful cushions or textiles or maybe a statement ornament, side table or vase that tells the world which colours make your heart sing.
Muse Laptop Dressing Table (nordic blue)
Oak Snug Sofa Bed (Cornish blue)
Hapur Cotton Ribbed Rug (harbour blue)
