Do you want to bring colour into a room? No problem, away you go then!
Oh, something’s stopping you? Are you not allowed to decorate? Have you been struck with chromophobia? Maybe you don’t trust yourself with colour.
Please don’t expect this simple blog to help you overcome patterns you’ve inherited, probably from a parent, which now guide you and drive all your decisions on an unconscious level and have done all your life. Instead, consider this a very tiny step on your journey to discovering how to bring colour into a room, and therefore the rest of your life.
How to have the confidence to bring colour into a room
Confidence doesn’t just happen. It took me twelve weeks. Yes, I did do a course. And just to assure you that you can do something about your confidence levels, I had none for more than forty years. Yes, that was quite the course. I only went on it because I was desperate. You may not be desperate to bring colour into a room, but if you lack the confidence to do something a lot more important in your life, bringing colour into a room could be the baby step you need.
But how do you take that first step?
Just do it.
That’s incredibly unhelpful, isn’t it, If you could do it, you would have done it. But that’s what it comes down to. I didn’t want to go to that introductory evening to build my confidence but I had to and I ended up on the 12-week course. When it comes to taking that first step, you have to take it.
So …
How to bring colour into a room with accessories
Start with soft tones. A lilac throw or some sage green cushions are a gentle starting point. If a bejewelled lamp is too much, pick something a little bit shinier than you’d normally choose to bring colour into your room.
And your windows? With the wide range of fabrics available, you can pick a muted colour with a subtle pattern to enhance your environment. You can have that classy Roman blind, or modern Roller blind, something understated that still brings colour into your room.
How to bring colour into a room when you’re looking to make big changes!
You’re ready to bring all the colours into all of your rooms now?! You want lime green walls and golden chandeliers hanging from black ceilings? You need a tetradic colour scheme.
Using this scheme for guidance, you can have a rich colour scheme without making your room look like a unicorn crime scene. The tetradic uses two complementary pairs of colours, giving you four colours to play with.
How to decide on which two pairs of colours? Take the colour wheel. Pick one colour. Pair it with one of the colours on either side of it. That’s one pair and the other pair are the two colours directly opposite. This could give you two shades of orange and two shades of blue. Start on a different segment of the wheel, and it can give you green, yellow, purple and pink! Or, pick one colour, miss the next segment, and partner it with the segment after that. Again, this pair will be directly opposite the second pair. This could give you blue, green, orange and red to play with. Alternatively, pick a colour and jump over two segments so you partner your first colour with the third one along. Again, the two colours opposite are your second pair. You could end up with yellow, blue, purple and orange!
To bring these colours into your room, it’s recommended you choose one as the primary colour, one as the contrast colour, and then have two accent colours. And they don’t all have to be the same intense vibrancy. Play with the different tones and shades and find the balance that works for you as you bring all that colour into your room.
How to bring colour into a room when you love neutrals
When you have different textures and patterns bringing depth to your calm neutral room, why do you need any additional colours? Maybe a little something just to highlight the neutrals all the more? Nature’s colours slip seamlessly into a neutral scheme. Greens, browns or the violet of a sunset will bring a warmth and dashing touch of colour into your room, making it all the more cosy while still keeping things neutrally serene.
