Springtime is all about freshening up, blowing away the cobwebs of winter, and getting ready for brighter, sunnier, breezier days – assuming the British summertime brings any of those.
It’s little surprise then, that pastels are a popular option in springtime, watercolour shades that catch the sunlight without dazzling onlookers, and bring to mind those long childhood summers spent dipping rhubarb into a bag of sherbet.
But what are the best ways to use pastels, not only for the immediate spring and summer to come, but all year round?
Muted palette
It’s useful to think of pastels as ‘baby’ colours – baby blue and baby pink are common terms, but you don’t often hear of baby green or baby orange; however, that is effectively what pastel shades are.
To that end, treat your room as though it were a nursery. Decorate with soft whites that will help to bring out the colour in your pastels, without competing against it.
You have the chance to create a soothing, relaxing environment, peaceful enough for a sleeping baby – and that’s something that should be welcomed by people of any age.
Colour combinations
If you find plain white walls a little too boring, you can take the alternative route by combining lots of different pastel colours together.
This gives a summery, seasidey feeling to a room, and can be made slightly more formal with the use of candy-stripe fabrics for soft furnishings, curtains and so on.
You can be brave and bold here, despite the innately delicate nature of pastels, so have some fun – it’s not hard to paint over pastels later if you change your mind.
Natural world
Pastels are soft, warm colours, so draw your inspiration from the natural world to dress your room in a way that makes the most of your colour palette.
Pale wood, perhaps painted in white or a complementary pastel shade, can work well while maintaining the lightness and brightness of the colour scheme.
Fluffy white cotton cushion covers and soft sofa throws can help to bring your furniture into the scheme too, creating a cloud-like couch on which to recline and drift away to the depths of your imagination.
Personal pastels
Pastels are a paradox – pale and washed out, they should be boring, but they somehow manage to pack in more personality than most of the brightest paints.
Don’t be afraid to express your own personality through your use of pastels – the more of yourself you put into your interior design scheme, the better your chances of creating a vibrant room that feels welcoming to guests.
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