5 Fast Ways To Introduce Colour To Your All-White Home

The white-on-white look has been popular for a few years now. But there are plenty of reasons to feel an unusually strong urge to introduce colour.

Perhaps you've already been there done that, you've discovered white isn't really conducive to young children and pets, that your teenage kids want to decorate their rooms in the opposite of your pale colour scheme, or possibly you've decided to dip your toes into the enormous rainbow of colour possibility.

Here's five painless ways to introduce colour to your home.

1. Rugs, cushions and throws
Rugs, cushions and throws are one of the best soft furnishing options for introducing colour to an all-white decorating scheme and you can swap them out for the season, or keep them until you feel like another change. You could introduce just one element, experiment with a couple of pieces, or layer all three types.

Imagine the big, boofy impact of say, an emerald green cashmere throw over a white boucle armchair in an all-white living room. Visualise the drama and glamour created by a leopard-print rug under a clear glass coffee table between your TV and your family's L-shaped sectional lounge, or under your dining table.

Or why not consider adding a witty trio of printed Hamptons style blue and white ginger jar cushions to your three-seater cream linen sofa. 

2. Bedspreads, comforters and pillows
Everyone jokes how the longer you're married the more cushions appear on your bed.

But cushions ARE a fabulous way to introduce colour, texture and shape. A classic white bedlinen set is transformed simply with a cushion covered in silver sequins, an embroidered applique, or faux fur (hopefully not at all on the same cushion!).

Think how much surface area a bedspread or duvet cover takes up visually in your bedroom. Just adding a cotton sage throw instantly introduces some colour. Changing your classic white-striped king-size bed sheet set to say, something in coral pink, will instantly change the mood and colour scheme of your room.

Another option is to add an upholstered bedhead, such as one covered in forest green velvet. This will add a major shot of colour to your all-white bedroom, without the hassle and mess of painting or wallpapering.

3. Plants and flowers
Mother Nature LOVES colour! After all, flowers come in all hues of the rainbow to attract the bees.

So if you're reluctant to add much colour, one of the quickest ways is to ask your local florist to add a couple of vibrant florals to your bouquet for home.

If a giant floral display is just a bridge too far, you could always add a brilliantly hued bud or two to some posy vases to be placed on your bathroom vanity, hall console table and in your kitchen.

If you can't bring yourself to buy a bright bunch of flowers, why not add the colour through carefully chosen floral vases?

Plants add life and a calming influence via the connection to Mother Nature whether they're faux foliage walls, hardy succulents, frothy fig trees or feather maidenhair ferns. A stately fronded palm tree in a statement planter box adds drama to your all-white living room.

4. Small accessories
You may have noticed you need to be dedicated to keep your home decor scheme completely pale as so few items are packaged purely in white!

From dishcloths, tea towels, napkins and tablecloths to cutlery handles, tea light votives, candle lanterns and hurricane vases, there are endless ways to introduce some colour or accents - if you want to!

Tempted to try a little colour in your kitchen? Have some fun experimenting by adding a drop of red and a drop of blue food colouring to your transparent dispenser bottle to create a lavender liquid soap.

Hold your cookbooks together neatly with a set of faux coral navy bookends. Drape a sunny yellow tea towel from the oven door. Use a rose quartz serving platter as a mini curated jewellery display on your bedroom chest of drawers.

5. Lighting
If you have an all-white home, it can look a little strange to have all-white lighting as well. Typically you'll choose a chandelier, floor lamp or table lamp of brushed nickel, brushed brass, or copper metal, or a cotton, capiz shell or rattan material to make it as neutral as possible.

So while you're very unlikely to want the flamboyant riotousness of a rainbow-coloured bauble chandelier unless it's for your child's bedroom, you can gently increase the ambience by adding a lamp or pendant light with amber Edison filament lightbulbs which instantly add visual warmth.

If you're redecorating your all-white home with kids in mind, you could highlight just one colour - or several to make a rainbow - in a particular corner of their bedroom with an illuminated, colour-changing, space-saving corner lamp, with its base supports at 90-degrees, designed to squeeze right in. Perfect for adding atmosphere for a party, and it's a huge hit with teenagers.

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