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how to add accent colors to your room's decor

How to Make Your Room Awesome with Accent Colors

Cottage Craft DIY Tutorial, Cottage Home, Featured, French Country

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So, you’ve spent a lot of time selecting that just right wall color for your room. You’ve chosen your furniture and have confidence in your layout. The room is coming together. Yeah! Now, let’s talk accent colors.

How to make your room awesome with accent colors. Free Printable included!

How to Make Your Room Awesome with Accent Colors

Accent colors are like the jewelry to a room. They’re the accent that bring the room together. Remember in my last post I shared the 60-30-10 color scheme and how you can break that rule? Well, the colors you select should complement the main color. These are the colors too that can be a bit more bold, more lively – if you’ve chosen a neutral color for your walls.

using the 60-30-10 decorating rule to apply accent colors to your room's decor

The General Rule and Why it Works

The 60-30-10 Rule: To play on the imagery of accent colors as jewelry. Imagine how much jewelry is too much. I know a few elderly ladies who wear big rings on every finger of their hands. As they talk gesturing with their hands you’re mesmerized! There’s a balance and only so many people can get away with a lot of jewelry. For a room’s decor if you select too many accent colors, you end up with a mess! It only works if there’s several colors in one fabric or if it’s part of the room’s theme. I’m thinking English Cottage – because it has a collected atmosphere. Or, I’m thinking a zoo theme for a child! The general rule works because visually it adds just the right amount of color to make your room beautiful.

Select Two – or Three –  Accent Colors

In the 60-30-10 scheme you have the main color at 60 percent, a secondary color at 30 and an accent color at 10 (or another extra 10 percent). Here are a few examples. Can you see the beauty and impact of just a couple accent colors? These rooms are not boring!

The One Color You should have in Every Room

Just like every lady should have a great black dress, black is the color you should add to every room. It is considered that one neutral that adds Pop to every room. Remember – it’s just an accent and should be at that 10 percent. Unless, it is your secondary color in your color scheme.

how to add accent colors to your room's decor

My Color Scheme for the Guest Bedroom

The main color is pink. I shared earlier that I was searching for a perfect blush pink. My selection for our guest bedroom was Sherwin Williams – Charming Pink. The Secondary accent color is Blanched Beige. The 10 percent accent colors are gold and green. And, I’ve added pops of black here and there.

French or Parisienne decor style

A Parisienne French Influence

This house is old and has good ‘bones’. This is one of the first considerations in implementing Parisienne decor to a room. Then you consider decorating the windows, aged furniture and you ‘go for the gold’.  I share more in my post, How to Add French Parisienne and French Country Style to your Decor.

What to Consider when Adding Accent Color

O.K., what do you need to consider when adding accent colors? It all depends. Are you going for complementary, analogous, split complementary colors in your decor scheme? Here are four color wheels you can use when deciding. 

four color wheels when deciding accent color in decor scheme

Look around your home. You probably already have a style and color in accents that appeals to you. Take pictures of what you admire or love. Trust yourself – and know your style! It’s important to note to take samples of your wall color, fabrics etc. with you when shopping. There are shades and undertones in colors that don’t complement and you won’t know until they’re side-by-side.

How to confidently add accent colors to your room's decor

Make Your Room Awesome with Accent Colors

Using the 60-30-10 color scheme rule makes selecting your accent colors easy. Using the color wheels and selecting the type of complementary colors makes it just that more accessible. Keeping samples of what you’re using and what you love keep you from making mistakes in choices. Most importantly – be you. Know what makes you smile, what you’re drawn to and stick to it! 
I’m including a worksheet(s) for you to take some of these tips and principles with you! Go out there, decorate your rooms confidently and have fun with it!

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