Are you getting bored of the colour magnolia and the collection of neutral colours that are on trend at the moment? It seems to be a reversal on the fashion of ten years ago when Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen used bright clashing colours like vivid lime green in ‘Changing Rooms’.
Understandably, if you are trying to sell your home, it is better to tone things down and try to appeal to the taste of the masses. But with some clever colour choices, you can add some colour to a room with accents that will look fantastic and can be even more appealing than a bland, neutral palate.
However, the introduction of brighter colours, even if just as accents, has to be done right or things can go severely wrong! So, to help you to avoid colour mishap, have come up with some great tips on how to decorate your home with accent colours.
The 60-30-10 Rule
When it comes to decorating especially with accent colours, the one thing you need to remember is the 60-30-10 rule, we are not sure why it works but it just does. The 60-30-10 rule is simple and easy to remember:
60% of a dominant colour
30% of a secondary colour
10% of an accent colour
Accent Headboard
Your bedroom needs to be a cosy, relaxing, warm environment, sanctuary that will allow for restful sleep and a relaxing lie in on a Sunday morning. There is no reason why you need to splash accent colours all over the walls of your bedroom; you can use additional features like adding a creative, colourful headboard for example.
Most little girls love purple and as an alternative for this bedroom they have opted for neutral walls and brought in accent colour in the form of this headboard with the bright splash of purple which works really well with the white boarder.
Not only do we love the use of accent colour but this headboard was actually made by upcycling an old dresser mirror, very clever.
We love this headboard! Not only does the colour make us think of summer but the accent colour has been extended into the draw fronts on the bed side tables with a different pattern.
Again, this bedroom has been decorated very tastefully with neutral colours, and the use of plush matching cushions on the bed makes it look very cosy and inviting. The headboard brings a splash of colour, tieing in all the matching soft furnishings.
A bright orange colour could so easily look completely outrageous if it had been painted all over the walls, but it has been incorporated really well in this bedroom.
Accent Little Touches
Sometimes when it comes to interior design, the simple approach is far better, so there is no reason why you can’t go for accent colour in a more minimalist way. You don’t have to go and splash brightly coloured paint over the walls to make the most of decorating with accent colour as is well demonstrated here.
Picture frames, lamps, cushions, throws, flowers, vases and more are all great ways to add touches of colour to what is just a plain and simple room. Using accent colours in this way can really bring life to a room.
Accent Furniture
Similarly to use the use of little touches, furniture is a great alternative way to add accent colour to a room. We particularly love these dining table chairs; what was originally some simple, standard white wooden chairs have been transformed by painting the legs with an accent colour. Not only does the addition of colour to liven up dull furniture work really well but the use of gloss paint in this case adds a new texture and makes the red stand out even more without being too intense. Simple touches like this can really make an impact.
But even with a slight change of the use of accent furniture the effect is transformed and comes across completely different but still really well. The first example was rather simple and slightly playful, whereas the use of the bright purple chairs brings in what is a rather dull room to life and also creates an element of luxury.
Adding this bright furniture transforms a safely decorated room into a room with a sense of fun without losing the stylish feel.
Accent Juxtaposition
In a way, all accent decorating works in juxtaposition as it is two things brought together but with contrasting effect. You can really have some fun with this by adding some really bright pieces of furniture.
In the grey and bright mix example here, the room is pretty dark and dull with a very traditional feel. But with the addition of the fluorescent, shiny pink coffee table, contrasting with the yellow lamps and soft furnishings it looks really fabulous. So if you decide to decorate with a dark palate it is definitely worth considering one off pieces of bright colour. Juxtaposition can be used in so many different ways, with great results.
Will You Be Using Accent Colour?
Hopefully now you will be more confident at using accent colours in your next decorating project. And even if you currently have a room that is looking a bit bland or you do have magnolia on the walls then why not go out and buy bright furnishings. You don’t even have to completely redecorate a room to give it a completely different look.
So have fun experimenting with pops of colour in different ways.
And who knows you might be decorating with accent colours in a Green Spinnaker home in the future, call the team today to find out about our latest projects.
