We recently shared our top 3 interior design predictions for 2018 in our January, 17th blog post. Our first design prediction suggested adding some color to your home decor. Today, we want to discuss this trend in more detail. If you’re reading this, chances are you want to make some big changes in your home because lately it’s been looking tired. Adding color is a fantastic, and most importantly, an easy, way to add energy to your home!
What Kinds of Colors Are Trending For 2018?
To recap, in 2018 the bolder the hue, the better. In 2017, the white-on-white design reigned supreme, but now we could all use some color in our lives. We believe that rich jewel tones, peppy sherbert ice cream hues, and dark moodier shades will rise in popularity this year. Both Pantone and Sherwin Williams chose bold shades for their 2018 colors of the year, and we believe that says something. Think sapphires, teals, terracottas, oranges, yellows, and even greens.
Color Adds A Sense of Confidence to Your Homes
Some fear that adding color to their home will cause a visual overload—but that is not true when done correctly. Color adds that special touch to your home. It adds personality. It makes your home unique. At the end of the day, we all want our homes to reflect our unique personality and tastes. Our homes should be a reflection of ourselves. That is why we decorate our homes in the first place. When everyone’s home is monochromatic and grayscale then your home begins to look just like everyone else’s. Bold color choices exude confidence because you are venturing away from the crowd and making a statement. When you take the leap, you will be glad you chose that hue that makes you happy and adds interest to your home.
How to Add Color to Your Decor Without it Being Too Much
Don’t get us wrong, color can be overdone. We staged a few homes in 2017 that we nicknamed “rainbow homes” because every single room had bright hues everywhere. The trick to adding color to your home is to find a good balance that works for your needs. Here are some of our suggestions to figure out what works best for you and your home.
Try Painting An Exciting Accent Wall or Wall Color
A bold accent wall really anchors any room. Its design genius is that it draws focus to a certain area. We suggest choosing a wall that will showcase a certain feature of the home you would like to show off, such as a fireplace, an alcove, or built-in shelves. An accent wall is also great for bedrooms behind your bed. Hundreds of years ago they used lavish drapery to flaunt their beds; now, today in modern times we use accent walls to draw the eye. You could also choose to paint your walls with a more gentle color to brighten up the whole room. It will still make features such as cabinetry and fireplaces stand out. The best thing about using paint to add a pop of color to your home is for whatever reason you change your mind you can easily repaint it!
Examples From Our Stages
In the above dining room, there were two different bold wall colors near to one another. To balance the space out, we opted for all white and cream furniture and accessories to let the focus stay on the gorgeous wall colors.
A close up of the kitchen of the same house. All white cabinets and stainless steel appliances kept the kitchen looking clean and fresh— but overall the kitchen was also peppy and colorful!
Similar to the above kitchen, this house had a similar wall color to make the built-in white cabinetry stand out. In the above kitchen, a brighter coral shade was used. In this eating nook, we were able to use a dark brown table with beige chairs because its walls were a slightly softer shade of terracotta. Same concept, both beautiful designs.
Again, a color made the built-in features of the home stand out in this gorgeous master suite bathroom. Color doesn’t necessarily have to be about adding energy to a room but can also be used to create a zen environment. Green can be such a relaxing color and creates a soothing atmosphere—perfect for taking a long, hot bubble bath after a stressful day!
If the room is on the smaller side, we suggest having an accent wall instead of painting the entire room the same color. This will make the space appear larger instead of shrinking it further. We absolutely loved this bright teal accent wall for this small bathroom/laundry room. Looking at a fun color definitely helps things when you’re doing a mundane chore, don’t you think?
While the living room in this luxury Mercer Island home is large, an accent wall was still the right choice. It used floor-to-ceiling slate as an accent wall for its fireplace. The same idea can easily be achieved in your homes with paint. The focus of the room is on this amazing fireplace feature of the home because it stands out from the rest of the wall colors. We added orange accessories and an accent chair to make things pop even further.
Try Using Colorful Cushions, Throws, or Bedding
If you still want to keep your walls a neutral shade, opting for colorful scatter cushions is an excellent compromise. Some high-quality pillows with different colors and textures will go a long way. This is the easiest way to add a pop of color because you can always change up your cushions depending on the season, your mood, or for no reason at all. They are easy to mix and match won’t overwhelm any space. In the master bedroom, you can also grab people’s attention towards your bed with colorful bedding if an accent wall is too much for you. Perhaps a nice jewel tone to keep things looking luxurious?
Examples From Our Stages
While we used a cream-colored sofa in this living room design, we used different bright colored cushions to brighten things up. Sometimes a touch of color is all you need. We then mimicked the colors of the cushions with our other accessories such as the flowers and books in the wicker tray.
Yellow is such a happy color. This patterned bedding we chose really enlivened this bedroom. Coming home to this simplistic bedroom after a stressful day at work will definitely brighten up your mood. How could it not when it’s the color of cheerful flowers such as dasies or sunflowers?
Here is another bedding example. We kept most things neutral except a few pops of teal throughout the room. The bedding had a satiny finish that made the room feel extra luxurious.
This family room design was lovely because it had a beautiful shade of medium grey on the walls balanced out with white wainscotting to keep the room light. We then added a bunch of orange and blue accessories to add energy throughout the room. We used a patterned orange pillow with white so we could use a solid orange throw. It’s amazing how just a blanket can do so much for a room.
Try Using Colorful Accent Pieces
If you’re someone who is looking for a middle ground solution, we suggest adding color to your decor by making either your sofa or an accent piece a bold hue. A colored sofa is another great way to anchor a living room. If you opt for an accent piece instead, this could coordinate with your colorful cushions on your neutral sofa to tie everything together. An accent chair or rug still add enough color without attracting all of the attention. One of the biggest positives with this strategy is that it is harder to see stains on colorful pieces! A white or cream rug needs frequent spot cleaning and will have to be shampooed more often. A navy blue rug, for example, will not have the same problem. The same applies to sofas.
Examples From Our Stages
In this Belltown condo’s living room, we used a mustard yellow leather chair to make a statement. We used white accesories around it and sofa across from it to really make it stand out. While the other major pieces are white to keep things looking clean, we used plenty of other colorful accessories to keep a balance throughout the room.
The same idea applies to this living room. We used bold accent chairs with a neutral colored sofa to make things pop. We kept up the rust accent color with our accessories throughout the room such as the throw, pillows, and artwork. Adding turmeric hues with one of the cushions and the candles softened things out. All of this created a cohesive space.
In this contemporary Bellevue dining room, we added lush blue dining chairs to attract attention to the dining table in this home’s open concept floorplan. Because we are a boutique staging company, we have relationships with local artists. We commissioned an original piece of art to coordinate with our dining chairs to make the house cohesive.
Another quick note is that you don’t have to keep all your color indoors. If you have a deck or patio in your home, bring the color outside! It’s especially nice when most of the year it looks so dull and gray outside. And in the summer your decor can match the flowers in your garden. For this stage, we added orange chairs for a cheerful, summery look.
Here are some links to national paint companies so you can start selecting your favorite colors. Click here for Sherwin Williams. Click here for Pantone. Click here for Benjamin Moore. Play around with the balance until your decor gains the right amount of a fun and colorful flair that is right for you. If you need any help with achieving this, feel free to email our designers at design@seattlestagedtosell.com for an interior design consultation. Happy designing!
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