Adding color to your home can be trickier than you might think. Pick a few of your favorite colors, paint the room a bit, and you’ll probably be left with a horrible mess that just hurts the eyes! There are a lot of nuances in adding color to your home and it’s vital that you understand all of those small things. Without further ado, let’s take a look at how you can add some color to your home without making a huge mess of it.
How much do you know about color psychology?
But before we get into the details, we need to talk about something very important: color psychology. Colors are incredibly powerful, capable of influencing our emotions and changing our moods. Color psychology is important to grasp if you plan to transform your home with your own interior design ideas. Since this entire article is about adding more color to your home, we think it’s important that we talk about some of the basics of color psychology.
For starters, each color can spark a different kind of emotion. There are “cool” colors such as green, purple, blue, and gray. Then there are “warm” colors such as red, yellow, and orange. Cooler colors tend to be a bit more soothing, calm, or even sad. On the other hand, warm colors are brighter, they pop out more, and they can often feel more aggressive and passionate. Knowing this, it’s important to consider what kind of colors you’re using in your interior design. Do you want your room to be cooler and more calming? If so, then you should try to add cooler tones. Are you trying to make a bright and cheerful room? In that case, big warm colors are your go-to choice.
In addition, you should also learn a little about color theory. This is a different branch of color knowledge that focuses on complementary colors. In other words, it’s about colors that go well with each other. For example, blue and pink go well together because they create a nice balance with each other. The blue is cool and soothing, whereas a light pink adds contrast to lighten the mood. It’s also possible to stick with one color, such as green, but use different tones. Dark, pastel, and light colors go great with each other when used correctly. Lastly, you should also consider the option of using neutral colors to create a fairly basic and modern-looking design.
Hopefully, this information has given you something to think about when it comes to actually choosing colors. Here are some golden rules that we think are important to keep in mind when picking colors for your home:
- Consider what tones your room currently already has. Unless you plan to strip your laminate flooring, you’re always going to have a light brownish color on your floor. As such, try to pick colors that complement this well.
- Changing your color palette is difficult, especially if you don’t want to paint entire walls or swap wallpapers around. As such, look at the existing colors in your rooms and try to plan a color palette around them.
- Clashing colors can work in unique circumstances. However, if you’re relatively new to interior design, then you should try to stick with established color combinations that are comfortable to the eye.
With these tips, we hope that you’ll have a much easier time actually choosing colors to add to your home. Don’t just pick random colors because you like them! Always think carefully about what colors you’re adding.
Add color to your room with these unique ideas
So how can you add a splash of color to your room without changing it too much? Here are a couple of ideas to consider.
Use pillows and throws with different covers
Pillows and throws are fantastic accessories that can quickly and cheaply add a bit of color to your rooms. They come in all kinds of sizes and shapes, you can get them in different patterns, and most importantly, they are generally available in all kinds of colors. This makes them especially easy to fit into your rooms, giving you a simple way to add color. Just remember that they are usually going to be placed on your sofa or chairs, so their colors also need to complement the furniture they’re being put on!
Switch out your blinds and curtains for something else
Blinds and curtains take up a lot of space in our vision. This is because they’re often used to cover windows which can be fairly large when comparing their size to your room. As such, changing out your blinds and curtains can be a fantastic way to introduce some color to your rooms. Consider using different interior blinds, buy new curtains, and switch up the colors so that they complement the rest of your room. When your blinds and curtains are closed, they’ll add a solid block of color to your room which can be overwhelming at times, so we’d suggest pairing this with a room that has neutral tones.
Place some potted plants around the room
Potted plants are a fantastic way to add a splash of color and nature to your home. You could get basic potted plants in a large vase, you could get a small vase with a few flowers, or you could even go all out with a long planter in the corner of your room. Another good option is to hang plants from the ceiling or from your shelves.
If you think that taking care of plants is a bit too time-consuming for you, then why not try artificial plants? These look just as good and you can get really creative since they won’t dry out or die. For instance, you could get a beautiful vine with flowers on the edge of your bookshelves. Since it’s artificial, you won’t need to worry about them wilting after a while, and you don’t need to have a planter somewhere for the vines in the first place. It also means you can just dust them like a regular decoration in your home instead of watering them on a regular basis.
Add some art to the walls of your room
Art can add a lot of unique patterns and colors to a room, especially if you have big open walls with nothing on them. Hanging up some pictures, posters, or even canvas artwork can attract the eyes and create a unique balance between it and the rest of your room. Plain neutral walls can suddenly transform into something beautiful just by adding a piece of artwork, and you can often pick up unique and interesting pieces of artwork for a small price. You could even consider getting posters of something you’re passionate about, such as movie posters or landscape paintings.
For families, you might even want to transform one of your larger walls into an art zone. Let your children draw on it, pin their favorite pictures, or even take snippets from magazines and newspapers to add to it. This adds so much personality and fun to a room, and it’ll always be changing with new designs and colors.
Have a relatively neutral room? Get a crazy centerpiece
A centerpiece is something that attracts attention in the room. It’s the thing that all eyes turn to and it’s what gives an otherwise boring room a bright and playful feel. There are two simple ways to do this.
First, add a colorful couch or sofa. You can easily find these at furniture stores, but you also have the option of decorating your couch with custom upholstery. This is a great option if you’re the creative type.
Second, you should consider adding an interesting rug underneath your coffee table. Rugs can come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, patterns, and even materials. We suggest choosing something that really speaks to you. This could be something like a rug that has cultural symbols that you like, or it could be a rug that is made in a country that you enjoy visiting. You could also just use simple patterns such as a checkerboard, but pick one with lots of bright and bold colors in the design.
You can get really creative with a colorful centerpiece. It’s a brilliant way to add some color to an otherwise boring and dull home, and you also don’t need to swap out a lot of furniture to achieve it either.
Hopefully, this post has given you a couple of ideas to help you create a relaxing haven with the colors in your home. Designing your own rooms can be daunting at times, but we believe that an easy way to get into this is to add a splash of color by introducing new items one by one. Whether it’s a painting, a piece of furniture, or even just a new set of blinds, it’s a good point to start your interior design adventures.
