A home with lots of colour is considered a happy home. Colour is a great mood booster and adds a sense of playfulness to any room or space, whether you achieve this by painting all the walls with different colours or just by playing around with bright and cheery accent pieces.
Now here's some great news - decorating a space with colour could be as easy as 60-30-10! Don't believe us? Look at some of the rooms in designer magazines that appeal to you. You'll notice that the rooms you like the most are almost invariably divided into percentages of 60-30-10. Perhaps it is the human tendency to see an overall theme in the 60 percent hue, unifying the coloration, while the 30 percent provides visual interest and the remaining 10 percent, not unlike jewelry, provides that little bit of sparkle and shine.
So, when decorating with colour, use the 60-30-10 Rule: 60% of a dominant color + 30% of a secondary color + 10% of an accent color.
Translated to a room setting, this typically means: 60% of the room's color is the walls, 30% of the room's color is the upholstery, and the remaining 10% of the room's color is, say, an accent piece or a floral arrangement.
Want to add color to a room but don't want to make a big commitment? No problem. You don't need to paint an entire room or reupholster a sofa to get that nice punch of color. We focus this article on the small but very important 10% in the 60-30-10 Rule to show you 10 cheap, effective, and easy ways to add color without emptying the bank.
1. All Lit Up
When you think of brightening up a room, think of adding a whimsical lamp. Lamps are functional and can provide instant lift and airiness to any space by illuminating the surroundings.
Look for lamps with colourful structural bases, or interesting lamp shapes with fabric design and shape.
But like a good cocktail, be careful about proportions. If you choose a great brightly coloured lamp-base, then keep it cool with a white or beige drum.
Alternatively, get yourself a funky lamp-shade with an interesting shape or trimmings, but tone it down with a monochrome base. The idea is to add a colourful point of interest or to anchor an otherwise plain space.
2. Dress Up The Floor
Flooring takes up a large amount of a room's visual space, so why not use it to add some color?
A large, colorful patterned rug really anchors a room and makes it more vibrant. You can base a whole design on one gorgeous rug -- clear out the space, add in the rug, and in that single move, you've added color, softness, and a palette to work from. Layer in neutral furniture, window treatments, and accessories to finish out the look.
While wall-to-wall carpeting is a longtime commitment, area rugs can go just about anywhere and are a great choice for introducing colour into a space. They can be moved around, layered to add texture, changed about with your choice of furniture. And with a large selection spanning natural fibres, to traditional wool, to more masculine leather, and fun-filled denim, you can experiment without spending a lot of money (or change them when you tire of the ones you currently have).
3. Follow Nature's Lead
Green plants or flowering ones add color, fragrance, personality, and just play up good feelings in any living space.
If you really don’t have a green thumb, ask your nursery or home center to recommend ones that require little or no care. If you’re gone from home a lot, settle for some of the wonderful artificial ones on the market now. You can find great looking plants, foliage, and flowers that only need to be dusted.
Top designers and bloggers are putting plants and trees into living spaces not just as an afterthought but as an intentional part of the design -- think fiddle leaf figs, succulents, lemon trees, air plants, hibiscus, amaryllis, or orchids. It’s not without reason that Pantone called Green the defining colour of 2017!
Flowers are the easiest way to add a burst of color without making a commitment. Add them to any room and you'll notice an immediate difference. In fact, when flowers die and get taken out of a room, it leaves the space where they were feeling a little empty.
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Flowers add life in a way that nothing else can. They're also a great way to experiment with color to figure out which ones look best before you commit to something larger and more long lasting.
4. Reflect Colour
Reflective metallic surfaces are excellent for showing off coloured accents and walls.
Choose an interesting frame to offset a brightly coloured wall or accent. A collection of metallic-tone mirrors against a brightly coloured wall not only complement the colours, but make the colours pop out due to their reflective properties.
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Better still try placing a large mirror with a vividly coloured frame, preferably in an accent colour, on a bare, boring wall.
Opt for frames in bright accent colours to create interesting focal walls and for creating colour bursts throughout your living space. The mirrors reflect the colour from around the room and bounce off light, and the accented frames can break the monotony of neutral walls commonly found in homes.
5. Artsy Addition
When people think of art, they tend to automatically assume it's expensive. Not so! While original works of art can be costly, prints, textured paintings, framed wall-paper, and decals can all be purchased and mounted on walls for very little money. They not only add personality to your living space, but can instantly provide a splash of color with a decorative touch.
A big bold painting or a curated grouping of colourful prints and paintings can add serious flair and sophistication to your living space, instantly changing the vibe and context.
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Whether hung above a sofa or elsewhere in the room, a painting can create a focal point with impact and add both colour and dimension. Pick up a few of its colors in complimentary accessories, like pillows, to highlight the piece even more.
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6. Personalize with Photos
Don’t see anything at the gallery that grabs you? It’s easier than ever to get exactly what you want on the walls -- by framing it yourself. Pick up colourful photo-frames and add colourful or black and white photos that you want to cherish and showcase.
Blow up a favorite vacation print on canvas or create a gallery wall of mixed up photo-frames with fun pictures to personalize your space with a vibrant update.
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This doesn’t require you to have an extensive collection of fine art, and who doesn’t love photos! In fact, nothing is as reflective of one’s style as the photos in one’s home. A home truly looks and feels lived-in, and it’s always easy to change and update photos. Over time, you can add more photos to your gallery wall in matching or contrasting frames, making it eye-catching and organic like your home.
7. Start a Candle Collection
Now here is a style secret that most designers won’t tell you. Candles and candleholders! Yes, these simple accessories can amp up the colour palette of any room and are available for cheap. With the right hued candle wax and tinted or metallic-edged glass votives, it is easy to complement any room’s furniture and accessories.
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It’s fun to let your home evolve over time, so why not start a collection of candles and candleholders? You could set aside the top of your coffee-table or console to arrange interesting shapes of candleholders and lanterns - leave space to add to the vignette over time, and stick to different shades of the same color family or go for stunning metallic like gold or silver for a coordinated look.
For maximum impact, light little candles in metallic-edged candleholders to create a reflective and illuminated space, which plays off the bright colours of your living space, magnifying the impact in a mellow and cozy way.
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Another quirky way of adding piquant excitement to your living space is to use coloured glass candleholders as vases for flowers, providing an unexpected twist to an otherwise plain setting. Oh, so refreshing!
8. Show-off Your Wares
Don’t let all your kitchenware sit behind closed doors; instead, let it become the star of the show. Why not line up colored tumblers on an open shelf, or stack multicolored plates and bowls to make a pretty feature out of your kitchen storage?
In fact, sift through your kitchen cupboards, and you’ll probably see a pattern emerge in the color and textures of your ceramics and glassware. Try grouping similar styles together to make pretty and colorful vignettes from pieces you already have.
Some of your ceramics such as wall plates might be pretty enough to mount on bare walls in interesting and vivid groupings.
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9. Accessorize, Accessorize
We cannot say this enough, but you can instantly add color to change the tone and hue of your room by just layering on accessories. Swap out throw blankets and cushions for those of a different hue or pattern from time to time. This inexpensive face lift can dramatically alter the mood of your room. In fact, bring out different colours at different times of the year, to complement passing seasons to keep your decor contextual.
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When in doubt, add a colorful and high-contrast accessory or a small piece of furniture. Whether it's a wall accent, a vase, a bright bowl of fruit, a sculpture, or accent pieces such as a bright bar-cart or corner chair, these little extras you place in a room can really add a great shot of personality and charm. Play with coloured grouping and don't be shy of bright floral prints, which are an easy fix to any dull space.
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Other decorative accessories such as books, figurines, and even bright bed linen are a simple yet effective way to step up colour quotient of any room. Mix and match patterns and solids to create a dynamic contrast or combine colors that are direct opposites on the color wheel to unify and anchor a room.
For maximum impact, flow the colour from room to room – use small accents in coordinated or complimentary colours across the rooms. This gives the illusion of bright interiors, but with minimal spending.
10. Don't Forget Black
While we keep this point for the very end, it is an important style tip from top decorators globally. There is an old adage in interior design, that whatever colour you choose for your living space, add at least one object that is black.
This might seem counter-intuitive at first, but black is very effective in bringing out the contrast across your colour palette, given its light absorbent properties.
The black element — say, a black table-clock, lampshade, wall plaque or picture, etc. — will help ground the space and clarify or enhance the other colours in the same space. Try it — it really works!
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So there you have it – a powerful colour upgrade for your living space with plenty of change to spare! Ready to start living a colourful life?
Excited to Add Colour to Your Living Space?
It looks like 2017 is only getting bolder and brighter, and designers are embracing the clash of colors, patterns, and textures. So our editors have put together a wonderful collection of colourful and attractive accessories that will instantly amp up the brightness of your home. So beautiful and yet so affordable!
Inspired? Shop our 'Living with Colour Collection' or click on any of the accents below to bring in a splash of colour to your home right away!
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