Exploring Methods to Intensify Chromatic Accents in Residential Spaces by 2025
Exploring Methods to Intensify Chromatic Accents in Residential Spaces by 2025
While fashion in home decor is always evolving, spaces with a classic feel, bursts of vivid colors, numerous antiques, and attention-grabbing accents will always make you feel comfortable and at ease. It's predicted that saturation of color will be a popular choice among designers in 2025, but what if you prefer a more diverse color palette?
Regardless of whether your style is minimalist or you subscribe to the belief that "more is more," you have many methods to refresh your living space with lively, enduring hues in the year to come. We talked to maximalist designers, known for their eclectic, layered style, mix of patterns, and more, to get their top tips.
01of 08## Pick Colors That Harmonize and Intensify
Sarah Stacey, a Texas-based designer, brings thoughtfully constructed maximalism to her residential and commercial projects, an aesthetic she's cultivated since her childhood, when she would visit vintage markets in New Orleans and Baton Rouge with her mother. When working with color, she suggests utilizing a palette that creates "a seamless flow between rooms."
For example, use a delicate peach in main spaces, an intense, warm red in hallways, and link them together with lilac in a bathroom or marigold in a bedroom," she suggests. Additionally, incorporate small details, such as a patterned curtain or accent piece with colors from adjacent spaces, to "echo colors and tie rooms together."
02of 08## Start With Art as a Foundation
While a vibrant fabric may seem like the obvious starting point, Lucy Doswell, a designer, prefers to begin with "bold, abstract paintings." Her current color pairings lean towards the serene atmosphere of the winter season: "chocolate brown, olive green, and rust tones for a sense of warmth and coziness."
03of 08## Introduce Light and Punchy Colors
For interior expert Lizzie Pincoffs, a palette with only neutrals is a non-starter. "If I couldn't work with color, I probably wouldn't take the job. Color is everything," she says. In lieu of a broad spectrum, her projects often feature a family of tones. "If earthy tones are present in the entry, I want to ensure that those same tones are carried throughout the rest of the project so the rooms communicate with each other."
04of 08## Consider Colorful Cabinetry
In the event that a kitchen upgrade is imminent, alternatives like navy cabinetry and purple-veined Italian marble make a strong statement, options that "feel contemporary but timeless." says interior designer Amity Worrel.
05of 08## Draw Inspiration From Your Home's Architecture
Interior designer Bethany Adams favors Benjamin Moore's Blue Bayou, a powder blue, which she used as the backdrop for the library in a Victorian home in historic Old Louisville. The key to this particular shade's success? "It's actually found in the tile of the adjacent room, so while it's bold, it's not completely unexpected," she says. By integrating similar pops of color, it provides "multiple rooms with the benefits of the color's impact without overwhelming them."
06of 08## Utilize an Unconventional Window Treatment
To counteract bright interiors, restraint is important. In one of Shannon Eddings' recent Austin, Texas, builds in the Travis Heights neighborhood, she emphasized balance, complementing a limited color palette with chartreuse window treatments, paired with blue chairs and a chocolate brown linen sofa. "It's an excellent example of how even a small amount of color can have a significant impact," she says.
07of 08## Swap Out Your Lighting (Even in a Rental)
Don't overlook a simple lighting switch as an opportunity to introduce color. Michelle Lorenz of Ashby Collective suggests "switching out the original fixtures for eye-catching statement pieces throughout."
08of 08## Add to an Eternally Popular Pairing
Pink and green are a traditional combination, so why not add caramel, chartreuse, and purples, as well? Amity Worrel recommends fully embracing color and utilizing patterned wallpaper, drawing inspiration from a previous project for a family with two young children and four cats, which she filled with wallpaper— thirteen different patterns!
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Incorporating Color Palettes Paint into home decor ideas, Southern Living magazine suggests using a palette that creates a "seamless flow between rooms" like designer Sarah Stacey does, using delicate peach in main spaces, an intense, warm red in hallways, and linking them together with lilac in a bathroom or marigold in a bedroom. Home decor enthusiasts looking for inspiration can also check out Home Decor Ideas featured on SouthernLiving's website for more colorful home decor ideas.