Decorating with Color Accents

Want to add some color to your home without painting the walls? Try adding several colorful accent items throughout the house to add variety at a reasonable price. Using color accents to decorate is a great option if you rent or share a home since painting may not be permitted by your landlord. Adding small color accent items is also far less expensive than having an entire room painted a new color. Here are a few ideas of color accents you can bring into your home to change up its appearance.

Decorating with color accents: Window treatments and fabrics

Adding color accents to your window treatments is one of the easiest ways to change up the look of a room. Bright colored curtains or blinds can illuminate the room even more when the sun shines through the windows. You can either purchase commercial window treatments or make your own set of curtains from the fabric of your choice. Fabric coverings allow you to add color to furniture or bedding. You can make your own homemade blankets, slipcovers, or pillow cases for throw pillows. With a bit of creativity, you can add a color accent to any item in your home.

Decorating with color accents: Artwork

Vivid artwork or tapestries on the wall are another form of color accents that can be used as a substitute for painting. Painted or decorated wooden furniture or individualized blankets add a personal touch with your color accenting. Be conservative when deciding how much artwork to display. Too much artwork or knickknacks can clutter up a room's appearance instead of brightening it up.

Decorating with color accents: Shelves

You can use shelving as an opportunity to add colorful books or collectibles to the room. Select your books carefully, looking at the color of each cover and how well it works with the other books you have chosen. The idea behind using color accents is to add a second color that complements the room's existing colors, not to throw a hodgepodge of multicolored books on the shelves. The shelves themselves can also be used as a color accent. Even a conservatively decorated room can be accented effectively with a small set of shelves painted in a light, neutral color that contrasts with the wall color.

Decorating with color accents: Lighting

Specialty lighting such as overhead recessed spotlights can be equipped with colored lenses to give a room a colorful ambient glow. Aim the spotlight at the ceiling or a blank spot on the wall for maximum effect. You can easily change the color of the lens to switch up the color accent in the room.