Living

Forget the subdued neutral palette; plunge into pastel shades that can bring a cheerful mood to your living room

Plunge into the pastel trend—explore chic ways to bring these soft shades into your home

If you’ve ever been to Miami’s South Beach or the Cuban capital of Havana, you’ll know that pastels can add much character and a happy vibe to a place. Because they are such cheery shades, pastels can brighten your living room by increasing the diffusion of natural light in the space. These gentle hues can also add softness and femininity to your interior. Depending on the shade and the intensity of the hue, pastels can create a mood that’s dreamy and serene or high-energy and fun. “Although it’s often thought as suitable only for children’s spaces, pastel decor schemes can be sophisticated too—and in a gentler way than stronger coloured rooms,” shares Nikki Hunt, principal of Design Intervention. For Hunt, pastels are ideal for rooms that bask in the sunlight. “Pastel shades are like a cool breeze on a scorching day, while white just amplifies the direct sunlight, making the room seem hotter,” she explains. The easiest way to introduce pastels to your living room is to accessorise with throw cushions, rugs, or lamps in these soft shades. Pastel accents will bring dynamism to an otherwise pared-down interior scheme. You can also create a clean and crisp look by avoiding overly ornate patterns and details, and choose furniture with streamlined forms. Include splashes of darker colours, to add contrast and texture to your pastel interior scheme. Look to these bright ideas to start with:

PLAYFUL DIVISION Designed by Milan-based studio Bernhardt & Vella, Italian manufacturer Arflex’s Vela screens consist of two pastel-tinted glass sheets that play with light and shadow while demarcating spatial boundaries. These partitions offer a unique way to create intimate alcoves or cosy reading nooks within your living room, without weighing down the space.

SITTING PRETTY Produced by Italian furniture brand Lema, designer Roberto Lazzeroni’s Felix armchair has a decidedly feminine allure. With its smooth, rounded monolothic seat and curved backrest, the seat features seams and stitching that exalt its subtle contours. To add to its elegant look, this graceful design can be upholstered in dreamy pink, teal or powdery blue fabric.

LOOK UP Create a contemporary interior by matching pastels with lighting or furniture pieces in materials such as brass, copper and glass. Look to lamps such as Shape Up from New Yorkbased lighting brand Roll & Hill. The work of Brooklyn-based Ladies & Gentlemen Studio, this chandelier celebrates bold geometric shapes clad in a variety of materials including aluminium, steel and glass. It comprises a sphere, half-sphere, curved tube, half capsule and cone, to create a whimsical light source that also appears like a mobile sculpture.

SLEEK AND NEAT Opt for slick design pieces in monochromatic hues to keep your interior chic and cohesive. One elegant piece that will work nicely with soft colours is the Arc coffee table by Italian furniture brand Molteni&c. Marrying stability with a sense of fluidity, this coffee table has a sculptural base inspired by the fibrous cement used in modern technostructures and a circular glass top.

BLUSHING BEAUTY You know that pastels are in vogue when Dulux’s Colour of the Year for 2018 is a beautiful blush tone named Heart Wood. Depending on accent colours that you use, walls painted in this shade can create a nurturing, relaxing, or invigorating mood. Besides the winning shade, Dulux also offers a number of other pastel paints such as Lemon Ice (a sorbet yellow pictured here), Big Chill (a frosty blue), Gentle Tide (a pale green), and Mystic Purple (a periwinkle hue) that can help you create inspiring spaces in your home.

HINT OF MINT Look to pastel fabrics with metallic details such as the Palace fabric in a Tiffany-like blue from the Cetec Inter/continental collection designed by textile designer Pascal Walter for a more elegant take on this trend. “Pastels can appear very macaron-like—but in an interior; it can look a little bit too sweet,” advises Walter. “Match pastels with a second colour in a more neutral shade such as grey, to complement a wall or flooring that’s in a darker colour.”

“MATCH PASTELS WITH A SECOND COLOUR IN A MORE NEUTRAL SHADE SUCH AS GREY, TO COMPLEMENT A WALL OR FLOORING THAT’S IN A DARKER COLOUR”

VERDANT TOUCH Indoor plants work particularly well for pastel-themed living rooms, and can bring a zippy mood to interiors. The Cups plant pots designed by Naoto Fukasawa for Serranlunga have a strong, simple form, which works well with a variety of interior concepts. Available in different sizes, these mattefinished pots come in various pastel and neutral colours.

PEBBLE GARDEN Pair soft pastels with deeper shades and richer textures for a contemporary pastel-themed living room. Designed by Oslobased studio Anderssen & Voll for Italian furniture maker La Palma, Kipu is a collection of versatile, pebble-shaped ottomans in different sizes that can be used as footrests, low tables or stools. Available in bright blues and yellows as well as muted greys, Kipu is a brilliant way to enliven a room.