White paint is still a popular choice. It makes a home look and feel clean and attractive. But more than that, it also makes a home feel cooler because of its albedo effect, a measure of how much sunlight is reflected back into the atmosphere.
After years of being a member of #teamputi or embracing the Scandinavian interior style, some people may ditch white. But they would hesitate to go all-out colorful and choose for light neutrals instead. That’s the reason for beige and other light browns, as well as dark browns having their moment again. Even mushroom hues are now hogging the spotlight.
Yet, industry experts say that there are more homeowners reaching for high intensity paint colors, not just a couple of hues but a lot. They dare to drench their walls with colors. They’re playful. They’re not afraid to experiment. They’re mavericks.
Age doesn’t have anything to do with it: Gen Z’s penchant for a maximalist interior style drives the popularity of colorful design, but other demographic generations have been bitten by the kaleidoscopic bug too.
The Gen Z Aesthetic: How Young People are Styling Their Homes
Colors Galore
More and more homeowners, also renters, are choosing high intensity colors to energize their homes. They’ve discarded the fear of having to choose colors and palettes, and are now converts who equate colors to joy and authenticity, instead.
Some see it as a psychological countermeasure to the flood of bad news we get from all sides. People just want to pivot from negativity and increase the positive energy in their private spaces, to make it feel more personal and alive. Freshness and joyfulness? You can have loads of that by reaching out for warm and cool colors, combine them, then paint your walls with happy hues.
I wish it were as easy as chanting “bibbidi-bobbidi-boo”…like the fairy godmother of Cinderella who cast a spell and got her ready for the ball. A big help would be to hire a color consultant to do the magic. Usually though, most of us mere mortals have to be our own fairy godmother or godfather and learn how to combine colors ourselves. I say don’t despair. March onwards. The rainbow is there for the taking.
The Color Wheel
Get yourself a color wheel from bookstores or online shopping platforms. Then put on your precocious child hat and get into a playful mood. Armed with a color wheel, start choosing your color combinations. A good starting point would be to base your color palette on a memory, a mood, or a personal object you treasure.
Then you really just need to bite the bullet and experiment. It’s best to start with a small room.
If you want to skip the step of making your own color combination, check out ready-made, expertly-curated color palettes at the Boysen Color Trend website.
Color Drenched Homes
Let me get you started with these social media videos of color drenched homes. Watching one or two may get your algorithm going in its hunt for similar content.
Type in “colorful interiors” in the search bar. Also the prompt “dopamine decor” will deliver so many results. Let me leave you with another video.
Social media algorithms create a constant churn of trends or microtrends. We may talk about these in the blog just to give our readers ideas. But seriously, just listen to your own heart. Don’t be lured by the quickly packaged aesthetics that may last just a couple of months.
If you want to embrace vibrant colors, stop overthinking and just start doing. You can always get small (200 mL) cans of paint to start your multi-colored journey.
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