“Living without color is like living without Love.”
Kelly Wreastler
Do you love color or are you a closet colorful home decor lover? Need a little pick me up? In this post, I will be using a past project of mine and others as case studies for including fun pops of color to make you a little bolder and maybe even get a little happier.
There are studies that link color positively benefiting our mood and I can really resonate with that. Pops of color can really brighten an “off” day for me. Here are a few examples of spaces that used loads of color beautifully in order to create perfectly amazing spaces.
What is Color?
“Color results from the electromagnetic radiation that forms hue, saturation, and brightness” According to Brittanica.com. Keep in mind that something will appear colored because of how it interacts with light. We find that to be true in interior design when we paint a room and see all the different hues it can become during the different phases of the day. I have also noticed, that some colors next to others will completely bring out or decrease the hue next to another. In order to get colorful home decor to work together, the most important thing to know regarding color, in general, is that they contain these 3 main attributes:
- Hue: The most discernible and dominant shade
- Saturation: The intensity and strength of the color
- Value: How light or dark the color is
The following are examples of homes that got colorful home decor right!
1. Analogous Colorful Home Decor
Analogous means 3 colors next to each other on the ever-ubiquitous color wheel. In this case, Alex Papachristidis Interiors created a dream in this bedroom and throughout this home, using blues, purples, lavenders, and periwinkles. A lovely example of colorful home decor done right.
2. Monochromatic Colorful Home Decor
If you love one particular color, go ahead and use it all over the place! Here, Jessie D. Miller created a stunning emerald teal green lounge for the grown-ups in the home. Don’t be afraid of painting the baseboards the same color as the wall. I like to do this and just change the sheen so it gives the room some depth and reflectiveness. I see too many plain white baseboards adjacent to beautifully painted walls.
3. I Don’t Give A Fork
This living masterpiece is by Sarah Jacobs. I mean…I have no words. If you love colorful home decor this is the best example of using my favorite “technique” of selecting a “tetradic” palette. Basically, this just means selecting 4 colors on the color wheel that make a rectangular shape. These unorthodox, out-of-the-box colors provide interest and still magically end up working somehow. Adding the natural organic wood visual in the console pictured above gives the color palette some grounding and balance. Sarah just did this all over her flat! This is timeless, bold, and joyful.
My Colorful Client
The picture at the top of the post is my own experience working with pops of color and it was a truly delightful project to be a part of. We went more analogous blue and green with pops of orange and gold. It was featured on Houzz shortly after it was done and you can read more about that here.
Now, if you would like to give color a whirl in your own home, try a powder or bathroom first. These small areas are great spaces to test out pops of color!
Thank you
Thank you for reading. As you can see color can change moods, feelings, and maybe even your life! I hope just even taking a peek here inspired you to take action and if not hopefully just brought you a smile.