bedroom color accents

Photo: Rachel Mae Smith

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How to Apply

Instead of using lots of pastels together (and making your home feel like an Easter basket), add them as soft accents instead. When in doubt, stick with one. You'll also want to avoid pairing pastels with bold colors in equal proportion. Because the hues of the colors have different vibrancies, they will clash more than complement if used in the same amount in a given space. Pastels tend to look best when they're complementing a richer color either as an accent or dominating as the only color in a white space. They're a bit tricky to work with, but when done right, they can make a room come across much softer and inviting.

If you're consider updating your interior paint with pastels, start by covering just a wall or two. It's important to test the color on the wall before committing: because the color is so subtle, it can read dramatically different depending on the light. However, the nice thing is that you can paint over a pastel paint job more easily than most other colors, so don't be afraid to have a little fun. And if you really, really can't paint your walls, trying putting up an oversized wall hanging in a lovely pastel shade.