Style at Home: A Guide to Nailing Colorful Home Decor

Style at Home: A Guide to Nailing Colorful Home Decor

GET MORE COLOR IN YOUR LIFE AND MORE PERSONALITY IN YOUR SPACE
colorful home decor wall art

By Jennifer Hunter | Last Updated: Jan 10 2023 | 5 min read

At home right now? Look around. Are things looking a little…drab? Using color to spice up your living quarters is the fastest way to turn your boring beige box of a space into a home with personality where you actually want to, y’know, hang out. Decorating is not just about dumping things into your home without a plan, though. You’ve gotta get strategic when it comes to interior design. Whether you’re starting from scratch, already on the right path, or a color pro who simply needs inspiration refining your over-the-top look, we’re here to help.

Below, how to nail colorful home decor (without getting too crazy): 

Make a statement with one bold color

colorful home decor
via Apartment Therapy

Whether you’re faced with a completely empty room or just a space that’s got no personality, it’s time for a color infusion. Get brave and pick one item or one area of a room to really dial up the hue. If all your furniture is upholstered in safe neutrals, try shopping for a sofa in burgundy. Or a vibrant rug like the one above. You could even paint an accent wall, or opt for bringing a colorful accent chair into the mix.

Making just one bold move can really change up the look and feel of your space. You’ll see (that sounds like a threat, but I mean it as encouragement!). 

//Shop bold color pieces//

Add a more subtle splash of color

colorful home decor wall art
via Homepolish

A lot of folks wind up with a room full of neutrals, whether by design or because they’re afraid of an overwhelming color and pattern clash. The result? Your space looks cohesive, but, well, a little blah.

If you’re afraid of too much color, it’s okay to think small.

Start by identifying three colors: a neutral, a main statement and an accent color. Chances are you already have examples of all three of these colors in your home already. In the living room above, the neutral is grey, while the main statement color is…actually another neutral (black)! From there, the light blue in the pair of paintings on the wall serves as a subtle accent color, bringing visual interest into the room without overwhelming the eye.

As you can see, it’s perfectly fine to stick to a neutral for most of the space when crafting a cohesive look for a room or space. Pick the color you want to see most when you look around, and make that your main statement color (you’re bound to already have plenty of that color in decor you’ve already picked out).

Of course, you’ll still have small amounts of other colors in a room because this is real life and not a magazine shoot, but try to limit your palette to these three as much as your can in your room from here on out. It will help ensure that anything else you bring into your space works with everything else already there. Suddenly decorating is a snap! 

// Shop accent color pieces //

Go all out…within reason

colorful home decor living room
via Emily Henderson

Perhaps you love using color to decorate, but you’ve gone a little overboard because the look you thought was going to be colorful and fun is too darn overwhelming. You need to edit. Ironically, the solution could actually be to add more color but limit your palette.  

For example, if your walls are painted one color and it’s clashing with your colorful furniture, white ceiling, and carpet-covered floors, honing in on a few key colors will really help give your eye a place to rest. You can add a lot of the colors you love, as long as there aren’t too many represented. That’s what makes a room look crazy rather than cohesive. In the picture above, different hues of green keep the space looking vibrant, not busy (okay, it’s still pretty busy, but not in a bad way!).

Try painting ALL the walls, rather than an accent wall which can actually look more jarring. You could even consider painting your ceiling in the same shade to make the room feel cohesive and cozy. Then continue the theme into the decor – when you use color in your furniture and accessories go ahead and go all in but with limited shades.

// Shop colorful everything //

TELL ME:

ARE YOU A “POP OF COLOR” GUY AT HOME, OR JUST IN YOUR WARDROBE? 

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