Pastels are showing up everywhere this spring, from the garden into the runways and anyplace in between. The new appearances use pastels in unexpected pairings that feel fresh, present and enjoyable. From pale mint and aqua to lemon chiffon, these five ways utilize a beautiful palette of pastels in the home.
Design House
1. Lighten up a space that is traditional. Classic furnishings create great investment pieces, but we all get the desire to shake up things now and then. For a quick color makeover, then repaint the interior of a bookcase or china cupboard and switch out linens, lampshades and pillows for a new look with your existing pieces. Pick one or two pastel hues (say, light blue and lilac) to keep matters sophisticated.
Jute Interior Design
2. Punch gray up. If you want to use pastels but worry about veering into saccharine territory, keep things grounded with warm gray walls. Warm gray, or greige, is a very versatile foil for just about every other colour and makes artwork look amazing.
3. Use pastel accents with loads of white. For a cheerful look that feels modern and refreshing, go out with the pastels — pink, soft blue, mint green, buttercup — but temper them with a wholesome dose of white. White furniture, white walls (except for the strange accent wall) and even white flooring help the pastels pop and improve natural light.
SFGIRLBYBAY
White walls and furniture provide a refreshing palette cleanser between layers of classic light and finds accents in Victoria Smith’s San Francisco apartment. Bring this look home by using light purple and pink in artwork, light fixtures and textiles. Flea markets and thrift stores can be excellent sources for classic aqua glassware and affordable finds that can always receive a quick update with a coating of pastel paint.
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Kelly Scanlon Interior Design
If you are lucky enough to have a claw-foot tub, make it the focal point of the space by giving the outside a coat of colour, maybe chalky blue for a classic, serene look or soft beige pink for a romantic option. If you plan to remodel your bathroom soon, you could be able to hunt down a classic claw-foot tub (try searching online for “salvage yard” along with your town for great sources) using a less-than-perfect end and spruce it up with your choice of colour.
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4. Start with a print. Feeling a bit overwhelmed about where to begin your new decorating scheme? Borrow a page in the decorators’ playbook and begin with a cloth or rug which you like. Use the print (choose a swatch or photograph with you once you’re out shopping) as a starting point, repeating the colors everywhere in the area.
Jute Interior Design
5. Start with artwork. Another fantastic way to pull a room together is using a bit of artwork you love. The gorgeous pastel shades in your selected painting or painting can provide inspiration for choosing pillows, rugs and more. Repeating the least used colour in a part of artwork somewhere else in the space is a tip experts often use to create a pulled-together look.
Inform us : Would you attempt this at home? Which is your favorite look?
More:
In the Runways Home: Pastels Spring Back
Mint Green Is Brand New Again
Inspired by Peeps: A Sliding Scale of Pastel