Pastel colors in interior design

According to research by psychologists, pastel shades have a positive effect on a person and have a calming effect. Muted colors create a pleasant atmosphere.

Any, the brightest tone, can be muted by diluting with a simple white paint. This can be done until you get a gently delicate, transparent shade. Pastel colors are considered universal: such shades can be added to almost any style of interior design. The exception is the avant-garde trends with their riot of saturated shades and broken lines.

How to make a beautiful interior design in pastel colors?

Our experts will reveal the secrets of the arrangement of pastel interiors, give advice on the choice of finishes and stylistics of the premises.

Basic rules

What is a pastel? Previously, this was the name of crayons used by artists. The drawings turned out to be very light, with a pleasant velvety texture and fascinating, deep colors, as if sprinkled with powder. Pastel paints for interiors are obtained by mixing any color you like with a white or light yellow base.

Let’s open the most important secret of professional designers: it is very easy to work with pastel colors. Taking it as a basis, it is very difficult to make a mistake, because it perfectly combines with traditional and modern materials, trends and a variety of colors. However, there are several nuances:

• The pastel palette looks great as a background, favorably emphasizing brighter accents. You can use such tones for decoration, elements that focus attention on themselves.
• Light colors are ideal for small, cramped rooms. They add extra volume to the rooms, create a feeling of open space, full of air and light.
• The pastel palette is harmoniously combined with white, pearl and gray tones. Moreover, any light shade can be safely combined with more saturated colors of the same color. If the owners like a certain color, you can create an interior in monochrome, for example, mint, peach or vanilla.
• To give a neutral palette of diversity, you can add interesting geometric shapes, prints and bright accents. Handmade items, exquisitely curved, intricate forms of furniture, various decorative elements in the form of pillows, figurines, vases are welcome.

• You can also diversify the interior with the help of textures. Harmoniously combine smooth and rough, fluffy and hard, soft and deliberately aged.

Wallpaper for the interior in pastel colors

For finishing the walls of rooms in pastel colors, choose either paints applied to plaster or wallpaper. With paints, everything is clear: it is enough to find or dilute the desired color, and apply in two layers on a leveled and primed surface. But with wallpaper, not everything is so clear. A huge assortment can stump even a professional. There are monophonic products and models with drawings, prints, geometric patterns and even art paintings on sale. Let’s try to understand this issue.

• Solid pastel wallpaper is good because it is an ideal background, a “blank sheet” on which you can create your own, individual, design. They do not draw attention to themselves, favorably emphasize the elegant shapes and colors of furnishings. In addition, there is no need to puzzle over choosing a decor for a drawing for the selected furniture.
• It is very important to choose a pattern or pattern according to the composition in the room. You can’t just stick on the canvases you like in the hope that “it will come off anyway.” If the pattern introduces disharmony into the overall picture, the impression of such a design will be ambiguous. So, elegant monograms and medallions are well suited for classical styles. Clear geometry is typical for modern interiors – pop art, minimalism. At the same time, horizontal and vertical stripes are used in such designs as Provence, Mediterranean, classic.
• Floral motifs on the wallpaper are great for romantic trends – shabby chic, country, Provence, any rural interiors. Flowers can be small and medium, represent opened buds or intertwined vines. They are arranged either over the entire surface, in a certain order, or in wide and narrow stripes on a neutral background.

• Photo wallpapers allow you to create a special mood in the room. The composition is selected based on their own tastes and preferences, a suitable color. Someone likes stunning natural views. And someone is crazy about pastoral rural landscapes, art canvases or charming streets of ancient cities. Usually, one wall that is in the focus of attention is accentuated. In rare cases, two or more walls are covered with wallpaper.

• Textured wallpaper has a relief structure, well defined by touch. Even monochrome models with patterns of the same color look great, thanks to the play of light and shadows. Such wallpapers are offered with various subjects, from geometric shapes and abstract patterns to floral ornaments, imitation of natural materials and plaster.
• There is another wonderful way to create a unique interior – to make a painting with watercolor paints on plaster. To do this, choose a suitable plot, and, with the help of a stencil, apply a drawing to the main background.

How to arrange different rooms?

Depending on the purpose, rooms in a house or apartment are decorated in different ways. The main goal is to create a certain mood, an atmosphere conducive to relaxation or, conversely, encouraging creativity, active work. What recommendations do experts give?

• In the living room and kitchen, the household spends most of their free time from work and study. Therefore, the main palette should be selected extremely neutral, so that all family members like it, and do not get bored with time. And a few bright or unusual details will allow you to place accents: paintings, interesting lamps and vases, poufs and mirrors, original dishes, house plants. Sometimes they are replaced with others, thereby updating the interior.
• In the bedroom, it is important to create a peaceful, calm atmosphere. Only favorite tones that evoke pleasant emotions are selected. Home textiles will help to create a cozy, homely atmosphere without much expense.
• In the nursery, delicate pastel shades play the role of a background on which parents create their masterpiece. Bright toys, posters and pictures, and even colorful furniture look advantageous on a light monochrome background. One condition: if wallpaper with a pattern is selected for the nursery, then additional decor is not needed. This finish perfectly copes with the role of an accent element.
• Light tones can visually expand the boundaries of cramped rooms. That is why they are often used for finishing hallways and bathrooms.
• For a private home, a pastel palette is one of the most successful solutions. It is perfectly combined with both wood and brickwork. You can complement the interior with vintage items inherited from grandmothers and great-grandmothers. For example, an old sideboard or chest put in order will become the “highlight” of the living room. Pale blue, yellowish and pinkish furniture facades in combination with light curtains and tablecloths made of cotton or linen are suitable for the kitchen.
• Furniture in pastel interiors can play a dual role: it is either invisible, merges with the general background, or attracts attention with bright colors or unusual shapes. So, the center of the composition can be a banquette with a brighter upholstery, a sofa or a coffee table.

The interior is complemented with airy tulle and thick curtains or light curtains. Snow-white, mint and blue shades bring refreshing notes of frosty air, and warm peach and yellowish tones, on the contrary, make the rooms warmer.