Using color in home decor can terrify some people.
There's a difference between 'not liking pattern and color' and being afraid to try it.
If your decorating nature leans toward neutral colors and very few patterns, then this article isn't for you.
I prefer color, patterns, texture, interest, and depth when I decorate a space. I'm not one to walk into a furniture showroom and head towards the modern pieces. However, I have several people in my family who absolutely prefer a neutral decor that focuses on clean lines, fewer pieces, and basic shapes and patterns.
A Step Back Into the 1800s
Our family room isn't exactly the epitome of the 1800s. However, I added pieces to that space over the years to further enhance its vintage feel. The only two parts that are modern are the TV and the gas fireplace.
The recent addition of my mother's personal, high-quality needlepoint work, with their ornate frames, became the finishing touch this space needed. I'm blessed to have six pieces of my mother's personal creations in my home. They fit our decor perfectly.
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| An Old Meets New Family Room Decor Theme |
Choose a Rug with a Pattern
In this article, I explain how to select a patterned rug to go with a patterned sofa. Essentially, it states that if you plan a lot of color and pattern in your room, keep the pattern on the rug fairly minimal and keep it to the edge of the carpet. Let the center part of the rug have larger neutral sections, with bits of patterned items spread sporadically throughout.
Don't choose a geometric, contemporary, or modern rug to go into a space where you want the feel to be old-world. Although you may like to mix and match modern with vintage, you need to approach that particular design with intention. Intention involves thinking about each piece you have, the balance of each piece, and how they contribute to the final look.
In our case, we wanted the family room to have a rich, deep, hotel-lobby feel that crossed into the realm of vintage and old world.
Ultimately for us, the room's emotion was about coziness, warmth, and depth; vintage decor ticks many of those boxes.
Art Work With a Vintage Feel - Not Just the Art Work, But Also the Frames
Admittedly we just added my mother's personal artwork to the room. The three places we added her personally crafted needlework was above two lamps and above a chair. The vintage look to the frames, along with her incredible needlepoint, completes the space.
My mom created these pieces nearly 50 years ago, in the 1970s. The three pieces are now part of our family room; Blue Boy, Red Boy, and Pink Lady. The photos below don't do it justice! They look outstanding in our color-rich family room.
Here are Mom's Handcrafted Pieces
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| Blue Boy - Handcrafted by Georgette Tremblay |
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| Pink Lady - Handcrafted by Georgette Tremblay |
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| Red Boy - Handcrafted by Georgette Tremblay |
Quick Summary of What to Consider When Decorating with Color
- Keep the room balanced - especially if you're fearful of decorating with color.
- Choose a few areas with patterns (such as the drapes, pillows, and rugs) and go with solid tones for the rest (the walls, the furniture, and lamps/lighting) - This is the easy way to take that leap into color.
- For the Batman-Brave, put a bit of pattern in everything BUT keep certain accessories solid in color, such as the lamps, the drapes, and the tables. Take your color and pattern bravery out on the sofa, the rug, the pillows, and the art.
- Keep the family of colors complimentary. Here's an excellent article explaining complementary colors.
- Decide upon the mood you want for your room; comfortable, airy, lush, cheerful, cool, warm - whatever you want. Check out this article for more on that topic.
