Three Leading Experts on Revamping Your Home with Color

Color is one of the most important factors to consider when designing your home space. Not only can it have an enormous impact visually, but colors can greatly affect your mood. Did you know that green is known to encourage balance, while yellow can make you emotional? Thankfully, you don’t need to go all out and repaint your whole apartment to infuse your space with new life. In fact, there are plenty of things you can do that require minimal expense and time investment. To find out more about how we can work color into our home, we turned to three prominent interior design experts.

Playing It Safe vs. Being Adventurous

“If you want to use color in your home, you can approach it in two different ways,” says ‎Director of Interior Design at Handel Architects Noelia Ibáñez. “Either you can follow the ‘color palette rule’ or you can be different and let your personality express itself by using the ‘rule’ in your own way.” If you’re looking to play it safe, opt for a monochromatic space in which you choose a single color in different hues for an elegant effect. Another option, she says, is to combine colors that are very close to each other on the color wheel, thereby ensuring optimal harmony.

For a more dynamic space, however, she suggests combining complementary colors or using neutrals that are spiced up with another color. “To give more personality to a space, you can choose colors that contrast with one another. At the end of the day, color in your space is based on your feelings and the way you choose to express yourself.” Afraid of mixing and matching colors? Ibáñez suggests using white as a neutral wall color base and mixing it with bright color accessory accents to give your home space “a warm, lively and distinctive feel.” 

Quick and Easy Monochromatic Color Revamps

“While a neutral home might be calming and sophisticated, it can also lack energy and confidence,” explains Heather Humphrey, founder of Alder & Tweed. “Adding a strong color accent can be the added punch and contrast to breathe new life into a tired, outdated room.” Humphrey suggests using area rugs, pillows, single bloom flowers and bowls of fresh fruit of a single color for a dramatic effect with minimal monetary and time investment. “These are easy changes you can periodically make when you’re craving a change.”

Get Inspired by Your Wardrobe

“Let your wardrobe inspire the color in your home. Why not use a color you love to wear? It is a sure safe way that you will always feel good in the space and never get sick of it,” suggests founder of J+G Design Jennifer Beek. The designer highlights that you can go small with accessories like pillows and art or for something big like changing up your wall color. “Keep it exciting by using color in unexpected ways and places. Don’t be afraid to go bold, especially in smaller spaces. An entry coat closet interior is the perfect place to experiment with color. It will completely wow your guests and ensure their coats pop against the vibrant hue.” Alternatively, you can, throughout your home, update old pieces with color. Try revamping a family heirloom, flea market find or something lying around your home with your current favorite color.

Another option is to group items of the same color, says Beek. “Try taking a collection of something you already own, like books or vases, and organize them by color. Your collection will act like an intentional part of the design of the room.” Lastly, it’s important to remember, especially if you are afraid of going bold with your color choices, that you can greatly mellow out your space by balancing warm colors with cooler ones; for example, while red can be an intense color on its own, if you add accents of blue or purple, the intensity will be noticeably mitigated.

Now that you’re well versed in the ins and outs of decorating with color, you can get started on revamping your home space with some of the colorful finds below.

sponsored by The Home Depot