In honor of this bright and shiny Friday, I thought I’d share with you some gorgeous, happy interiors that never fail to make me smile and feel inspired – and I hope they have the same effect on you!
Are you happy now?!?
The common themes among these interiors that give them their cheerful, inspirational quality are themes that you can certainly incorporate into your own home to add a little zip and glamour:
1. Use white liberally. Who said white is boring? You’ll notice that bright white plays a huge factor in each of these interiors. Using white provides a gallery-like effect in your home, showcasing any color that you choose to highlight. White also gives your eye a break from bold colors, which allows you to be daring and play with a variety of colors and patterns.
2. Be bold with color. Since you have a base of white, go for some really saturated, exciting colors like turquoise, sunshine yellow or lime green. These fun punches of color can be brought into your room through artwork, painted furniture, throw pillows, or accessories like vases and flowers. You’ll notice that most of the bold colors used in these interiors aren’t your basic primary colors – each color is a tint of one of the primary colors, which gives it a little more edge and keeps things from looking harsh or cartoony. Think magenta instead of red, lemon instead of yellow, teal instead of blue.
3. Take chances. Now that you have a base of white with colorful accents, it’s time to take it up a notch. Patterns and textures allow you to really give a room personality and make it feel alive. Don’t be afraid to mix floral and animal prints with stripes, leather and silk and chenille, or raw wood against shiny chrome. And be sure to throw in a little bling – glass, mirrors and a touch of sparkle add depth and interest to a room. If mixing patterns and textures makes you nervous, start slow – buy a few inexpensive throw pillows in a funky and fresh pattern and build from there.
4. Go with what you like. The whole point of this approach to decorating is to let your personality shine through, and to have a little fun. Mix and match and experiment with color, patterns and textures until it feels right to you. Does it matter if the end result would never make it into a decorating magazine? Nope. All that matters is that it makes you happy.
What decorating tips and tricks do you have up your sleeve? Which interior is your favorite? And, most importantly, did these gorgeous interiors make you happy??
This post is shared with Hooked on Houses.
Images courtesy of Design*Sponge, desiretoinspire, Canadian House & Home, Apartment Therapy, PointClickHome, decor8 and Domino.
Thanks for the relief from neutral, and subtle. Whack me with some color please.
Terry Kearns,
I’m happy to oblige!! You just made me laugh – thanks!! :)
~ Liz
I do love me some colors and too often people tend to lean more towards neutrals these days. Quite refreshing to see these today of all days.
I wish I had a bigger house. I’d love to take a little bit of something from each of these rooms and put them in my own home. I am drooling over that blue hutch! Turquoisey color right?
Great choices, Liz! I’m going to have to file a bunch of these away for my inspiration files.
And yes, I’m still on vacation…but the weather here in Galway today is AWFUL and I’ve decided to take advantage of the free business center. :)
Have a great weekend!
Averill,
Ahhh, I hope you’re having an amazing vacation!!! Can’t wait to read all about it on your blog when you get back. :) Sorry the weather is icky today!
~ Liz
Now those are indeed some happy pictures! I think the best one was that painting on the dining room wall – that just bursts with happiness!
Those are all great, bright and happy pictures. Yes bold colors are the key to most of those room. Great job.
I could live in any of those rooms—happily!
~Tracy
p.s. Got “Gnarly Giveaway” glue in the mail today!! Hubby was more excited than me! Will put it to good use for sure!! Thanks again!
Love the colourful bottles with numbers on them, about half-way down. Are they candle sticks? Cute, whatever they are.
Edwina,
Good eye!! I think those are either empty liquor bottles or recycled bottles with decals – either way, they look dynamite grouped together on a table.
Daily Decorator,
Yay, so glad the Gorilla Glue products arrived safely. :) Hope you guys enjoy them as much as I do!!
~ Liz
I keep returning to look just one more time at photo #3, the restful bedroom with robin’s egg blue walls and wood floors. Yummy.
In fact, all of the rooms here that I really love have at least an accent of a turquoise-y shade — a good reminder of what makes me happy as I contemplate new surroundings. :)
I’m loving the bursts of color! those pics are what fun interiors are all about!