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It's no secret that since moving into my home last year, I kept my decor pretty neutral. I'm still a huge neutrals gal but lately I've enjoyed injecting subtle hints of colour into my home just to brighten up the space and add a bit more character. I've recently been working on my lounge, and whilst I kept my walls 'strong white' by Farrow & Ball which is a light grey, I focused on the decor itself to add little hints of colour. I think keeping the walls and furniture quite neutral gives you a lot of freedom to play with your decor as you can constantly switch up your cushions/cushion covers, you can add new lamps, plants, candles, ornaments, whatever. However if you opt for say a bold sofa or bold wall, it's more difficult to style it and change it up more often if that makes sense?! That's how I feel anyway. Having said that I was very tempted to go for a greeny blue velvet sofa but I just couldn't bring myself to do it in the end! I'm trying to be braver, but for now I thought I'd share a few tips I've picked up whilst trying to add a bit more colour to my home.
a splash of paint
I think the biggest way to add colour is to obviously paint the walls, now as mentioned above I do tend to keep my walls pretty neutral. However, lately I have added 'half walls' of colour into a few rooms which I think injects colour without being too much. I have farrow & ball downpipe in the kitchen and the hallway now, I don't know if you would class that as colour - but I do as it's basically a very blue toned grey which looks navy on my walls. The room that I wasn't scared to go bright in however, was Reubens bedroom because I think a childrens bedroom needs to be a bright and creative space to enhance their little imaginations. I added a splash of Orange 02 in here, and I did a section of the wall using frog tape rather than just painting the whole thing and it's a great way to use colour in a room without going overboard!
the flooring choices
If you're renovating or due a new flooring, really think about the choice you make. I'm planning on swapping out my living room flooring laminate which is really quite dark for something much lighter, like some warm wood effect laminate. Really warm tones in flooring make such a difference, rather than going for something grey/dark like I have. My bedroom laminate is a warm oak laminate and it's so much brighter and less dull in there, despite having a grey bed, white bedding and the fact that there's not being a huge amount of colour in that room. Flooring365 have some gorgeous wood flooring options to choose from if you're shopping around. I think it looks gorgeous having colourful tiles in your home too, I'd love some in my kitchen.
cushions
Cushions (and blankets) are a great way to add colour to any room. It's so easy to switch them out or change up the cushion covers which is what I love about them. Lately, I've been picking up a mix of light neutral cushions and ones that are a bit more colourful and putting them together on my new sofa. I found some cream cushions in Homesense but they have a very subtle colourful speckled pattern on, so with that I got the best of both worlds as they're pretty neutral whilst also having some colour on them. They're perfect as I can then tie in other colourful cushions with them and I have currently got pink and peach fluffy ones as well as a bolder turquoise one. The beauty of having a light grey sofa means that I can pretty much put any colour cushions I want on it and that's why I knew having a neutral sofa was right for me. I'd love to get a couple more bold colours for it too. You can do the same with blankets but I think doing it with cushions works better for me.
playing around with decor
I've always kept the prints on my walls pretty neutral, but I'm planning on replacing the gallery wall in my lounge with some prints that have a bit more colour in. I'm not going too wild but I'm thinking of mixing up black & white prints with some more colourful ones so it sets the balance nicely. I love adding gold frames too and having neutral prints in them because then you got the pop of gold which adds a nice splash of colour. Lots of plants can instantly brighten up a space too with all that lovely greenery. Even simple things like a colourful candle, or ornament can turn a dull surface into something a bit brighter. Just trying to be a bit more daring when shopping for home decor works wonders!
Are you a fan of adding colour to a home?
