One of the questions I get asked the most in my social media direct messages or emails is this – “How do I easily add colour into my home without being completely over the top or mixing the wrong colours together?“
And this is what I aim to answer for you in this blog post this week. Actionable ideas that you can implement into your home straight away to add some colour and interest into your spaces. Don’t worry if you’re on a tight budget – there is something for everyone to take away from.
It is important to mention before we dive right into this, that there may be ideas shared here today that you don’t think is right for your home. And I don’t mean this in a negative way at all! I mean this in the sense that if there is an aspect that I share today that really doesn’t resonate well with you or doesn’t feel right for your home – then don’t add it into your space.
The easiest way you can test some of these things shared today is to start with the small items which you can take back if you’re not happy with how they sit or look in your room.
(I have ordered this post with the smaller, actionable things first, then ended with some more complex ideas which you can work towards, at the end).
As always, if you’d like some Interiors advice tailored specifically to your space, please drop me an email and we can chat through your ideas on the phone.
With that, are you ready to take a look at how you can easily add some colour into your home?
Let’s go!
Accessories
This area is by far the easiest, most straight forward and cost effective way to introduce colour into your home. Accessories is definitely a very broad term used in Interior Design.
Accessories encompasses all of the finishing touches to your home. This could be (but is not limited to); cushions, throws, rugs, lamps, decorative accessories (such as books, trinkets, ornaments etc), even lighting to an extent.
Introducing colour through your accessories in the home is the easiest way for anyone who is scared of adding colour, to add small “pops” of colour. This could be to a bookcase display, coffee table styling, or even in the dressing to your furniture.
If you’re struggling to understand which colour is for you, you may find my Injecting Colour into Your Home and How to Use Colour Psychology can Create a Calming Home posts interesting reads also.
—- TOP TIP —-
Once you have decided on a colour, or a couple of colours, that you would like to add to your space, think about the ways you can and would like to implement them into your room.
“Buddy Up” Colours and keep to a range (or shades) of the same colour… Your grey sofa should be a buddy with something else that is grey within that room, or your bright green sofa should marry up with a lamp for example.
Keeping to a particular range of colour and “buddy’ing” them up is great if you’re nervous to use more than one colour. Another example would be, have a light blue wallpaper “buddy up” with navy / dark blue cushions.
Re-Purpose Existing Furnitue
Another really easy and cost effective way to introduce colour into your home is to re-purpose your existing furniture. What I mean by this is that old cream or off-white / light fabric sofa or chair – you could use an at-home fabric dye to give it a new lease of life. (You can easily find these in Dunelm stores across the UK)
Alternatively, you could send key existing pieces to be re-upholstered in an entirely different fabric. Many upholsterers across the country are extremely helpful in helping you to decide what is right for your home in terms of fabric and colour choice. They can even add more cushioning to the base and back cushions to help it feel brand new again!
Make the Walls Talk
This is more of a drastic way to add colour into your home, it may take more time and effort to get this one right but when it is done right, it really shows.
Painting your home is probably quite a daunting task, I get it. All the preparation work of removing / covering furniture, making good of the walls, getting sample pots to try, deciding on a colour and then painting two layers of it. I yawned just writing all of that!
But seriously – it’s something worth taking the time to consider, and time investing into it as well.
Take a really good look at Pinterest for some inspiration on which bold colours look good in rooms similar to yours. With similar furniture styles and colourings, this will help you to become confident with your colour choice.
Be creative with paint! There are some brilliant examples of this where people have painted their doors a bright and bold colour to add a really woah factor to their entire home. Or even painted their wooden stairs a bold colour to connect floors, windows and woodwork are great in a darker statement colour too. Be creative, and OWN it.
Another area to be creative with is wallpaper. This is something I don’t speak enough of here on the Blog because when I was younger my parents saw wallpaper as being a nightmare and chore to put up! Which they are right… But on the other hand I can’t help but feel like they were missing a trick there.
If your brave, confident and prefer neutral accessories, adding colour to your walls or woodwork could be the way forward for adding more colour into your home.
Finally …
The biggest piece of advice I offer everyone is to follow what you love. Don’t listen to what other people (even us Bloggers!) have to say about what is “in” and “on trend”. All that matters is you and what you love! If colour isn’t it, then that’s okay! Embrace neutrals and textures instead…
So there you have it! Those are just three of my top tips for easily adding colour into your home… I will be sharing more on how you can gain confidence with making design and colour choices for your own home soon in a blog post or PODCAST very soon…
And yes! That really does say “podcast“! Which is coming very soon.
For now though, I hope you have been able to take some inspiration and key pointers on how you can easily add some colour into your home. Do you embrace colour in your home easily? Or are you a little more nervous about it? I would love to hear from you in the comments below!
Speak soon!
Jessica xo
