I’ve found one of the most useful pieces of décor advice has been to keep a fairly neutral palette – think stones, whites and greys – with layering of colour on top. That can be anything from a brightly coloured cushion on the couch, to a feature wall painted a different colour. This enables you to update your room’s look and feel by swapping out a few key items or simply grabbing a tin of paint and giving either a wall or a piece of furniture a new look.
Some people like to keep a general theme throughout their entire house, others prefer to individualise each space with a different look and feel. My preference is to keep a central design or ‘theme’ to your house but choosing to accent different rooms – the kitchen is very different to the baby room, which again is different to a study – with some key colour or themed items.
Here are a few of my favourite ways in which you can add a pop of colour or particular theme to a neutral room in your home:
EASY PEASY POP OF COLOUR
This is probably the easiest thing you can do to transform or update your space. Simply add one key item, or a couple of smaller items into a generally neutral space – the below examples show how pink can be used effectively in a white office or grey bathroom – to instantly WOW your room. This works really well in smaller areas and can help tie your design dreams over until you have enough cash in the bank to do a full room redo! (I know the feeling).
source: Chronicles of Frivolity & Kylie M Interiors
COLOUR FEATURE
Step it up a notch by whipping out your paintbrush (or foam roller – those things are the BOMB) and cleverly painting one feature area in a room or a space that really stands out. Examples below show how a yellow back door pops amazingly, especially with the bouganvillea alongside, and how the inside of a white kitchen cupboard provides a surprising space to showcase your best crockery. LOVE.
source: Domino & Country Living
COLOUR MIX
If you’ve got a little more imagination than most, and a little more time to flex your DIY muscles, a clever colour mix can really tie a neutral room together. The fireplace example is so easy to do – simply by painting the ends of some wood and stacking them into a white fireplace, cleverly matched with the prints above the mantelpiece. The homeowner has also added books and bookends in the same colour palette as well as a vase of dried flowers and feathers. The kitchen example is also a clever way of adding colour to a space without going the whole hog of creating a theme. Simply throw down a cheerful rug, and pick up the colours in a desktop calendar, vase of flowers or photo frame somewhere else in the kitchen. That way, you add a warm feel to a neutral room that is generally a very functional space.
source: Fancy and Staple & Dwell Beautiful
COLOUR THEME
Finally, if you have the drive and time to go the whole hog and use colour to create a proper theme to a neutral room, then the below examples should inspire! Use a mood board and brainstorm the look you want, then match colour and other pieces like furniture and decor to complement it. The gorgeous living room example shows how a neutral printed wallpaper is accented with copper, grey, deep red and navy, while the fun kids room uses yellow as the accent colour, cleverly themed in the bedspread, side lamp, wall prints and throw pillows.
Do you have any colour ideas to share? What’s your favourite neutral palette, and if you could choose any colour to ‘pop’a room, what would it be? Will be great to hear your ideas and inspirations!
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