Nicole and Caffery’s Favorite Ways to Add Colour to Your Home

Making your home’s interior pop is an art form. Like all art, interior design requires that you start with a blank canvas. If everything is bold and loud that colour will leave less of an impact, while subdued tones give a jumping off point for colour to leave a lasting impression: Whites, greys, and beiges all have a purpose.

When it comes to colour, consistency is important. That doesn’t mean that every room must have the same three paint colours or that you can’t deviate, but you’ll want a cohesive theme throughout. If you accent your décor in one room with a bright and vibrant wallpaper pattern and in the next your feature wall is a deep highland green, this can leave your home feeling compartmentalized. You want to create a natural progression within your design.

The rule of three is an easy and simple technique to elevate any space. You start with three colours to create a cohesive design; your first color should act as the base and will cover much of the surface area. From there, you’ll want an accent colour that compliments your base. These two colours together will give you a clean and sophisticated area for your third and most bold colour to pop from. The best part is that once you master this rule, you’ll know how to break it without getting too busy.

When entering any space, you want your aesthetic to gradually build. Too much all at once will overwhelm and fatigue the eyes. A subdued entryway with subtle accents will act as a build up for more bold and adventurous designs within the home that can be appreciated accordingly.

Colour isn’t just meant for your walls, your fixtures deserve to be in on the fun! Consider unique tones, colours, and even patterns on the pieces you use every day to add an elevated burst of colour and design to your space.

Adding colour to a space should be fun, a spectacle even. By adding a large colourful focal point to a room, separate from the design around it, it creates a sense of fun and levity. An eye-catching piece of pottery, a prominent artwork, or a statement wallpaper amongst a more subtle backdrop will make that feature feel special.

It can be daunting decorating large and open spaces. When designing the larger spaces of a home the best method is going big, too. Rather than cluttering a large space with lots of medium to small pieces, find one or two stand-outs that will grab focus. It can be artwork, or a unique piece of furniture.

Centering a design or space around a single object doesn’t mean you have to go out and find the biggest, most colourful piece of decor there is. Objects can be bold without being big, it’s all in how you use them. A neon wall piece, a unique material, or a vivid and contrasting colour choice can be enough to make something small become a true focal point in your design.

Not every addition of colour needs to be upfront, there’s just as much fun in being sneaky and sly with colour as well. Making all of your small appliances or accent pieces a gradient of the same colour will create gradual intrigue. A design should be something that needs time to be fully appreciated, small accents make you slow down and absorb all the work that goes into it.

Creating a pop of colour in your space through multiple smaller details will always be more work than larger decor. To do this properly, you’ll need to populate a room with design pieces that are of the same colour, palette, or hue.

Smaller pieces that collectively bring colour to a room will make the space feel natural, but if you’re worried about that splash of colour seeming scattered, consider housing them within a shelving unit. Multiple pieces grouped together on open shelves or a display unit will give the appearance of a single cohesive feature without overpowering a space.

Bold colours, patterns, and design choice are fun, but don’t forget that nothing brings life to a space like actual life. Whether it be a lush green monstera or a burst of red from a blooming cactus, plants are a versatile addition to any room.

Lighting is often overlooked while considering colours, but it plays a critical role in how we perceive and appreciate them. For instance, a dark room with little natural lighting will feel gloomy if you choose to play with deeper and richer colours. Alternatively, vibrant and bright colours and patterns can lose some of their impact when in an already bright room. Every colour has a time and a place.

For those times when the sun has gone down and there is no natural lighting, you’ll need modern lighting to showcase your designs. Not all bulbs are created equal. Depending on the aesthetic you’re after, you’ll have to consider this. For a softer more subdued palette you may want Edison bulbs to create a warm intimate atmosphere. If your room has a brighter scheme to it, consider white indirect lighting.

Fads come and go; just because a certain colour, pattern, or material is in right now, doesn’t mean that it’s better than any other, or right for you. If something popular speaks to you, you should try it, but the same is true for the less trendy. The best thing about colour is how easy it is to change, so don’t be afraid to get adventurous with it.

At the end of the day, the designs that you will be creating will be lived in. You’ll want to choose colours and patterns that you can enjoy for years to come. Take design inspo, but most importantly, make sure that the space is one that you enjoy being in.