LIVING WITH (LOTS OF) COLOR
When we moved into our house about a year ago, the downstairs kitchen (yes there is an upstairs one as well) was a real tribute to the pine loving 80’s. Pinewood kitchen, pinewood wall panels and pine wood ceiling. Although we do love wood, it all felt rather dark and outdated, so we took it all out and started fresh. The house is from the 30’s, and we enjoy flirting with that era (linoleum floors hello) - but still making it our own (PURPLE linoleum floors hello). After renovating apartments with a small voice in the back of our heads that white & neutral is always a good idea when one might sell one day, we now wanted to go all in on our love for colors. But where does one start when choosing colors for a home? Here is some of our thoughts (and a peek into the downstairs kitchen at the moment).
Find something you really love; a wall color, a piece of art, a unique carpet - and start from there. In the case with this room, we fell in love with a quite intense pastel green, Restful Lyon from Nordsjö Idé & design, and a purple linoleum floor from Forbo. So we decided to go with that, and let the rest of the decor be a complement to these choices.
Cushion cover TRP Protector pink, a vintage blanket and sofa from Bolia.
2. Think about contrast. Rather than desperately trying to match everything together in the “right” tones, consider adding a bit of contrast. As we went for a really sweet pastel backdrop in this room, we wanted to add a bit of darkness and mystery to the mix. We did this by choosing dark wooden furniture, old masks, orange and pink details and creating an eclectic art wall.
Riso prints In full bloom & POF dog green, offset print The Path, wooden TRP Protector sculptures, Flower Helmet print from Jenny o Jens and dress from Henry Rude
3. Don’t be afraid to mix! One room can take quite a lot of different colors. It is however helpful to let one or two colors reappear in a bunch of items, like in our case the orange that is seen in the print Protected together, a vase from HAY, the TRP Protector carpet and paintings. It gives a sense of it all coming together a bit.
An old mask from India, riso print Protected Together, painting from our latest exhibition, vase from HAY, lamp from Marimekko and sideboard from marketplace.
4. Use what you’ve got! Maybe that sideboard that was a bit off in the kitchen works great in your living room, or your bedside table sits even better next to your sofa? Before you run out and buy everything new, consider if there is something in your home you can use, and if not, try your local flea market or craigslist before you search the web for a brand new item. The great thing about going for a mix of styles and colors is that eventually everything will fit in!
5. Try, try, try! We’ve said it before but we can’t stress this one enough. As with pretty much everything else in life, it’s absolutely impossible to know what works (and to learn something new!) if you haven’t tried. Sure you can read blogs like this and interior magazines, but really before you’ve hands on tried out what works in your own home, you’ll never know. It’s really like learning to ride a bike - you’d never be able to figure out how to do it by reading the manual. You will fall off, but it will also be so much fun - enjoy it!
