Decorate

How soft colours can give your home an uplift

Embrace this dusty, sweet palette
Chris Warnes

With pastel colours hitting the fashion catwalks this year we’re delighted to see it’s already hitting home.

Soft colours nurture us and make us happy

You may already have considered purchasing a dusty pink velvet armchair, or have weathered winter under the cover of a fluffy over-sized sage green throw, but it’s time to go one step further with pastels.

“Pastel colour is a really a soft way to introduce a trend into your home,” says HB Junior Stylist Tilly Roberts. “Mix with bright colours for poppy fun or, if you already have neutrals in your home, it’s a great way to introduce colour.”

Never underestimate the power of TLC that a little pastel colour can bring to a room. The perfect foil to the overstimulation and white noise of our daily lives, soft, washed-out shades of powder blue, dusty pink and wholesome oatmeal envelope us in to relax the world away.

“It’s not a look that’s going to date quickly,” says Tilly. “This classic trend is perfect for a soft approach to summer.”

Start with soft furnishings, upholstered finishes and flecked stone surfaces and move slowly into wall colours, floor coverings and statement wallpapers.

Look to incorporate shapely curves, natural fabrics and plenty of tactile texture to create a sense of balance for spaces and minds.

“This colour palette takes on a retro quality with a nod to 80’s optimism, with shades of dusty mauve, apricot, mint and blush”

Keti Lytras, Design Manager, Globewest

Keep the look fresh and up to date with elements of terrazzo marble, chenille and fine tweed fabrics to bring tactility and grounding to this theme.

“Matte black rounded tubing adds an element of the soft industrial which is unexpected and fresh,” says Globewest Design Manager, Keti Lytras.

Get the look:

How soft colours can give your entire home an uplift | Home Beautiful Magazine Australia

(left) Freya arm chair, $520 | (centre) Odin terrazzo round dining table, $2,875 | (right) Mauritius rope centre sofa, $2,185, all Globewest

How soft colours can give your entire home an uplift | Home Beautiful Magazine Australia
Archie buffet, $2,760 (Credit: Globewest)
How soft colours can give your entire home an uplift | Home Beautiful Magazine Australia

(left) Marble Canister in Pink, $29.95 | (centre) Marble Soap Dish in Pink, $21.95 | (right) Marble Soap Dispenser in Pink, $36.95, all Zanui

How soft colours can give your entire home an uplift | Home Beautiful Magazine Australia
Emi Seagrass Hamper set/2 $324.95, Zanui (Credit: Zanui)
How soft colours can give your entire home an uplift | Home Beautiful Magazine Australia
Designers Guild ‘Tulipa Stellata’ wallpaper, Radford Furnishings (Credit: Radford Furnishings)

You might also like:

5 ideas to steal from Josh & Jenna’s award-winning home

Room recipe: painterly bedroom

50 Beautiful Rooms finalists revealed

Related stories


Exterior of Camilla Franks' home in Woollahra with the designer's face inset.
Decorate

‘Kaftan Queen’ Camilla Franks lists maximalist Sydney home

Fashion designer Camilla Franks, known for her vibrant range of luxurious kaftans adored by celebrities including Beyonce, Oprah, Kate Hudson and Miranda Kerr, has listed her Sydney home with a buyers guide of $7 million, almost double the price she originally paid for it back in 2016.  The home, which was built in the 1880s […]