Embracing the Bold and Beautiful

I’ll admit it – I’m crazy about the designers’ spunky use of vibrant color and bold pattern this season. We’re seeing everything from upholstered furnishings to accents in exciting hues like coral, turquoise, and marigold, bringing to life contemporary and geometric patterns that are as invigorating as sunshine. If you’re as drawn to these delicious colors and patterns as I am, but aren’t sure how to incorporate them into your decor, never fear. Weaving color and pattern into any style home is easy if you know how.

Mastering the Color Palette

Remember the color wheel you learned about in high school art class, where groups of colors are paired perfectly with one another? Well, that’s the key to unlocking the power of bold color in your home. As one of our talented designers at Sofa Spectacular, Rich is a master at working with vibrant hues, harnessing their energy to energize a room without letting them get out of control.

“I always have a plan when I design a space,” Rich shares. “That way, you’ll end up with a space that is harmonious, not chaotic.” The secret? Pull out that color wheel and use it as your guide when creating a color palette for your room. This ensures a cohesive, balanced look that’s far from a rainbow explosion.

Finding the Right Balance

Of course, there’s a fine line between exciting and overwhelming when it comes to bold color. Rich has a few tricks up his sleeve to make sure the scales don’t tip too far in one direction.

“If I’m going with really colorful upholstery, I go neutral on the walls,” he explains. “If I go bold with the wall color, the upholstery is toned down. Then I bring in the wall color through accents like accessories and pillows. You have to pick one or the other.”

This approach creates a harmonious space that’s bursting with energy, without feeling chaotic or assaulting the senses. Just take a look at the stunning family room Rich designed for one of our color-loving customers. The walls were painted a warm, serene white to counterbalance the room’s exciting palette of navy, turquoise, aqua, salmon, green, and yellow. The sofas were covered in a navy fabric, then “pepped up” with white, yellow, salmon, and aqua accent pillows.

The coffee table ottoman, covered in a grass green burlap-like fabric, added yet another pop of color. And the remaining hues were woven throughout the space using a mix of fabric types and patterns – from Chinese toile to Greek key. The result? A vibrant, visually captivating room that still feels grounded and balanced.

Starting Small with Splashes of Color

If the thought of bringing in bright color and bold pattern makes your palms sweat, try starting out with just a tiny splash here and there. Even a pop of magenta, turquoise, or marigold through a few lovely and inexpensive accessories can have a big impact in a room.

“Put a turquoise, apple green, or yellow vase, urn, or cachepot on your fireplace mantel, on a sofa table, or inside a bookcase,” suggests Rich. “Toss a silk green pillow in a chain pattern on your side chairs. Start small and stay in your comfort zone – you’ll be amazed by how these little additions punch up your room.”

Experimenting with Paint

An easy yet incredibly effective way to bring color into your home is to paint a room a vibrant hue. “Wall paint is relatively inexpensive,” Rich points out, “and if you end up regretting your decision, you can just cover the offending color with something a bit more sedate.”

In the house that Rich helped design, the owner was tired of the dated oak paneling in her family room. So, to “de-oak” the room, they covered the built-in bookcases and molding with a high-gloss grass green lacquer. The effect was absolutely stunning – a bold, modern transformation that breathed new life into the space.

Seasonal Color Splashes

Normally in the summer, I like to keep my decor light and simple, featuring lots of crisp navy, cream, and white in my living room. But this year, I’m going to spark things up a bit by adding in some of the coral, marigold, and turquoise accents we’re carrying at Sofa Spectacular, like our inexpensive pottery pieces.

I’m also “zipping up” my sofas by mixing ready-made accent pillows in contemporary fabrics with my custom-made traditional pillows. Try doing the same in your home this summer and see how you like living with the new colorful additions. Decorating with color and pattern just may become habit-forming for you.

Exploring in Private Spaces

Instead of tackling one of the most visible rooms in your home, like the living room or kitchen, why not experiment with color in a room that’s not in the public eye, such as a spare bedroom? “The stakes aren’t as high,” as Rich puts it, so you can really let your creative juices flow.

At our Sofa Spectacular Briarcliff location, we did just that – painting the walls a soft neutral, then layering in lovely colors and interesting patterns through the bedding. The result is a sensational custom bedding set that’s both visually stunning and incredibly inviting.

Focal Point Furniture

Another fantastic way to work color and pattern into a room is to do so through a piece of upholstered furniture. Cover an ottoman or side chair in a fresh geometric fabric, making it the vibrant focal point for the furniture grouping.

Right now, we’re loving traditional chairs like wingbacks covered in reinvented botanical fabrics – a fresh twist on an old favorite that features large, playful images of flora and fauna. Talk about an instant mood boost!

Finishing Touches

You can also bring in color and pattern through your window and floor treatments. I’m a huge fan of curtain panels that feature a relaxed pinch pleat, hemmed so they just break on the floor like a man’s trousers. But just because the design of a window treatment is simple doesn’t mean the color or pattern of the fabric has to be.

And don’t be afraid to mix a host of different colored and patterned area rugs together in a room to create an interesting patchwork. In the breakfast room of the home that Rich helped design, they featured a red, blue, and green Oriental rug under the white farmhouse table – a stunning juxtaposition of classic and contemporary.

Inspiration from Across the Pond

Next week, I’ll be sharing the incredible design inspiration I brought home from my recent trip to France. I had the chance of a lifetime to slip away to the French countryside for three weeks with my husband, Dan, and the ideas I gathered while poking about marvelously decorated homes and shops are sure to have you reaching for your color wheel. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, if you’re ready to infuse your living space with a healthy dose of vibrant hues and bold patterns, I encourage you to visit our Sofa Spectacular showroom. Our designers would be thrilled to help you create the colorful, energized home of your dreams.