Interior Design Tips and how to work with Pastels - The Catwalk Rugs Journal

Creating with Pastels

Pastels can be used effectively in a multitude of ways, and it's only recently that their full potential has really started to show. Balancing gentle shades with the clean-ness of white, going for full on pastel hues in your space, or combining with vivid colours - there's so much you can do! As always, balance is key. 

1. Pairing Pastels with White

Our personal favourite! A delicate balance of white and hues, dancing together in synchronous harmony. Familiarity breeds comfort, and you won't find many clashes for attention as these two are the best of friends.

Dining Room

A beautiful example of simple pastels being used to create an overall look.
The cupboard and candles blend easily with the the wooden and white tones of their surroundings.

Living Room

If you want a relaxing lounge room, you should seriously consider looking into pastels. This look was achieved with only a few pillows, the right sofa colour, and a couple of accessories! Simple pastel rug patterns are highly recommended in a setting like this. Easy, and highly effective!

Study

Again, simple cushion placement and accessories upon a white background setting. Calm, peaceful, and easily obtainable.

2. Fade into Black

Contrasting your pastels isn't as hard as you may think. If you don't have too many vivid colours already in your space, your job just got a lot easier! Concrete, bricks, muted tones and dull colouring are all easy to work with. We've mostly chosen a few black on pastel examples here, so check out the following images!

Concrete

The concrete industrial look is also trending. While this isn't the best example of that, you can see how pastels do work wonderfully well in brick settings.

A predominantly brown theme here gradually blends with the pastel hermitage rug effortlessly.

Black, Pastel and White!

A rather simple, but very memorable black piano setting.

The stark white floor makes this work as there's no competition between the two.
Pastels help to gently mix up the theme a little here, playfully avoiding that 'sterile' look.

Natural fibre rugs

This may not be for everyone, but a brilliantly daring setting.
A focal point based upon the natural fibre rug, almost competing for attention with the black and white backdrop but balanced with a pastel sofa. Whew! 

3. Accessorize!

You might have noticed already based upon the previous images, but using accessories is one of the easiest ways to get that pastel look. Sometimes all it takes is a few cushions, the right kitchenware, or the right rug and you're all good to go!

Start pushin some cushions

Cushions are easy, cheap, and an effective way to change your look up. You'll also notice similarly themed pictures behind the sofa that add to the effect.

Without these cushions and pictures, you'd basically have a grey sofa. It's as easy as that!

Sometimes less is more

Note the careful use of the cowhide rug here, purposefully chosen to add but not compete with the pastel effect of the accessories. But without it, this space may seem too bare!

Mix it up

Our last example is just a mix of different pastels all working together harmoniously, if not a little adventurously. The white walls will always create the perfect setting for you to experiment with different colours without locking you in to any particular theme.

The rug cleverly lends itself to a few different colours, helping the transition between focal points in the room!

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