Colorful Decor by Kirsten of 6th Street Design School

We're so glad to have Kirsten at Bloom again teaching us about how to incorporate more color into our home decor. Hope this is helpful! Thanks for being here, Kirsten...

Color can be very scary. For some people bringing color into a home feels very complex. There are so many questions like; what color should I choose? What colors look good together? Where should I put the color? What if I don't even like color!? Just take a deep breath and stay calm. Color is your friend.

The biggest advice I give to my clients if they are afraid of color is to stay neutral with wall color and big furniture pieces. Then they can add color with pillows, draperies and other accessories.

rug from West Elm, coffee table and side table from Bungalow 5, sofa from Williams Sonoma Home, Lamp from Pier 1, pendant from Currey and Co, draperies from Anthropologie, lobster pillow from Thomas Paul, chevron pillow from allmodern and art from Etsy.

Here is a mood board I created for a summer living room. In this room I picked three key colors. Teal, yellow and red remind me of summer and make this room feel fresh and fun. I kept the rug, sofa and draperies neutral. I then brought in my three colors with artwork, pillows and a fun yellow side table.

If you are bringing in a neutral rug then your coffee table is a great chance to bring in some color. Upholster an ottoman in a fun fabric or paint an old coffee table a fresh color.

If you are confused on what colors to choose take stock of what colors you are drawn to. My favorite thing to do is find a single pillow and take all my colors from that.

pillows from Milk and Cookies

You can buy pillows in coordinating colors. Now you have a foundation to draw all your other colors from.

In figuring out what colors you like or work well together you can get inspiration all over the internet! Look through blogs and magazines to find great color combinations.

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If you really just can't stand color don't worry. You don't have to like all of the colors in the rainbow. Pick one or two colors that you love and stick with those.

Even just one color can bring great personality and interest to a room.

{photo}

Here a blush pink makes this neutral room dreamy and angelic.

Color doesn't have to be cartoonish and crazy. It can be very sophisticated. To avoid your home feeling too "teen" or "juvenile" avoid bright colors and instead bring in deep jewel tones or soft pastels to make your home feel rich and elegant.

{photo from House Beautiful}

You don't have to be color crazy to make your home look exciting. Just bring it in every so often to breath some life into your space.

For more inspiration, visit Kirsten's blog: 6th Street Design School.
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