20 Ways to Add Color to Your Home

June 06, 2013
Credit: Will Taylor
Guest pinner Will Taylor of Bright Bazaar shares his tips for bringing color into your home.
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Welcome Guest Pinner Will Taylor

Credit: Matt Cant

Will Taylor has an addiction -- an addiction to color. As the market editor for Sweet Paul and The Simple Things magazines and the voice behind his award-winning blog, Bright Bazaar, Will has been documenting his passion for pinks, purples, puce, and more since 2009 and looks forward to publishing his first interior design book in 2014. Now he’s bringing his hooked-on-hue attitude here with his top 20 tips for adding color to your home this summer.

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Customize Your Furniture

Credit: Will Taylor

An otherwise ordinary piece of furniture can be given a new lease on life with a quick lick of paint. You don’t have to go all out -- dipped legs and painted drawer fronts are all that’s needed to make an impact with this entryway console.

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Layer In Color

Credit: Will Taylor

If you’re fickle when it comes to favorite hues, you’d best layer in color as the mood takes you. Keep the base of your room neutral, and then introduce bold accent colors across accessories and textiles. This approach makes it easy to swap out pieces to quickly refresh the scheme.

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Add Quirky Touches

Credit: James Balston

Using everyday objects, like a teapot, in an unusual setting is a great way to make a color statement. Try potting a houseplant in a patterned teapot or old jam jar for instant green-fingered style.

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Color-match Your Style

Credit: Will Taylor

If you find it hard to know how to mix different colors together, then try sticking to a simple palette of two hues. Here a simple blue and yellow scheme creates a fresh and modern look that allows you to add or subtract pieces as you discover new finds.

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Accentuate Existing Features

Credit: SIMON WATSON

You can use color to highlight an everyday aspect of your home and have it make a statement in the process. Why not paint the individual spindles on your staircase in graduating shades? This is a weekend project that will give your entryway the color wow factor!

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Invest in Bright Stationery

Credit: Matt Cant

Color is known for its mood-enhancing and energizing qualities, so you’d be wise to consider introducing uplifting shades of yellow and blue to your stationery arsenal. It will make your work days brighter.

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Group Together Ceramics

Credit: Will Taylor

Sift through your kitchen cupboards, and you’ll probably see a pattern emerge in the color and textures of your ceramics. Try grouping similar styles together to make pretty and colorful vignettes from pieces you already have.

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Show Off Your Wares

Credit: Will Taylor

Don’t let all your kitchenware sit behind closed doors; instead, let it become the star of the show. Why not line up colored tumblers on an open shelf, or stack multicolored plates and bowls to make a pretty feature out of your kitchen storage?

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Style a Color-Coordinated Dresser

Credit: Will Taylor

An eclectic approach can result in a stylish look, but it’s easier to make things look sharp when you create a coordinated color scheme. Here, a country dresser has been given an injection of color with pretty pastel plates in soft pink and blue. Introduce delicate patterns to add interest to the look.

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Make a Statement Sideboard

Credit: Will Taylor

A brightly painted sideboard is a great way to bring a color statement into a room. Style it with a mix of interesting vintage pieces, colored glassware, and foliage to create an effortlessly chic look.

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Mix and Match Textiles

Credit: Will Taylor

Fabrics are one of the quickest ways to bring color into a space. Swap out the pillows on your couch, throw a new coverlet over the bed, or roll out a bright rug along your hallway to inject color with minimum effort.

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Start a Collection

Credit: Will Taylor

It’s fun to let your home evolve over time, so why not start a collection? Taking colored glassware as an example, you could set aside the top of your wardrobe to arrange interesting bottles, vases, and vessels. Leave space to add to the vignette over time, and stick to different shades of the same color family for a coordinated look.

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Refresh Your Bedding

Credit: Will Taylor

The bed is almost always the main focus of the bedroom, so use it to make a color statement with a set of vibrant sheets. Using a double-sided duvet gives you the opportunity to display a pattern that will bring visual interest to a color-blocked design.

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Color Blocking

Credit: Lucas Allen

The shower curtain is the ideal element of a bathroom to introduce color because you can change it quickly when you grow tired of it. Here, a color-block design gives an all-white bathroom a much-needed hit of graphic tones. Replay the colors in the shower curtain across the rest of the space to complete the scheme.

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Introduce a Surprise Accent

Credit: Will Taylor

Perhaps you love color but only in small doses? Painting the inside of drawers on a sideboard chest will show off surprise pops of your favorite hues without having an impact on the rest of the room.

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Throw a Vibrant Party

Credit: James Balston

Entertaining is always a great time to try something new and step outside of your usual style. Why not take inspiration from a previous vacation? Mix and match exotic prints and colors to throw a stylish Mediterranean-themed party.

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Paint a Feature Wall

Credit: Will Taylor

An empty nook or alcove can be given a lift, thanks to a new coat of paint. Pick a color that harmonizes with the textiles in the room to create a calm and serene space.

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Arrange Fresh Blooms

There’s nothing quite so cheery as a bunch of fresh blooms. Whether you cut them from your own garden or treat yourself at the local florist, you can be sure that a vase of flowers will bring beautiful color and scent into your home.

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Paint Your Staircase

You might think you’re stuck with the stairs that were in the house when you bought your home. Think again: Painting the stairs in a simple stripe pattern transforms them into something personal to you and your home. You can also try painting the face of each step in a different color for a rainbow effect.

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Curate a Gallery Wall

Art is not only a great way to personalize a space -- it can also bring color into a room. Hang a grouping of colorful prints and paintings, or give stylish monochromatic pieces a vibrant update with brightly hued mounts.

Get more insights into Will’s color theory on his guest pinning board. Plus, don’t forget to follow all the boards on the Martha Stewart Living’s Pinterest page.

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