Giving your living room a complete makeover can be expensive and time consuming. That said, there are many small and creative ways of redoing your living room to give it more luster and beauty without having to break the bank.
Apart from the addition of interesting furniture, one of the best ways in which you can breathe life into your living room is by making it more colourful. The colour scheme of a home can reveal a lot about the character and behavior of the resident. Each colour has a different effect on the human psyche and can cause different emotions. More so, colours create a certain atmosphere and give rooms a certain character. Therefore, they play a decisive role in whether we like to be in that room or not.
That said, if you’re here in search of alternative ways to add extra colour to your living room without applying so much effort and resources, the following simple ways are a cinch to apply and will add vibrant hues to your living room.
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1. Incorporate art prints
Bring in a large and colourful masterpiece to give your living room a bold and colourful effect. If you can’t afford a new piece of art, you can opt for abstract art prints. Brightly coloured abstract art prints not only bring life to dull corners of a living room, they also liven up bare, unpainted walls.
That said, where to hang the artwork is as important as choosing the piece of art. You can choose to hang it above your cushion or sofa, or above a fireplace mantel, or on empty wall spaces near a window. Regardless of where you choose, a bold and colourful piece of art will introduce bright and vibrant hues into your living room.
2. Make use of colourful accessories
Coloured accessories can greatly impact your living room space by adding non-permanent pops of colour. Fusing various living room accessories with a blend of brilliant and vibrant hues provides some sort of freshness, so your space feels like a full makeover. You could try getting bright coloured lamps, plant pots, bold drapes, or even something as little as a brightly coloured tray.
Or, you may choose to add something larger than an accessory such as a Yamaha grand piano to help your room pop. While they may not always be available (within price range) in bright colours, they will certainly help add colour and a talking point to your living room.
These bright and coloured accessories will make your living room look more cohesive and balanced. Choose colours that contrast the surface where they are to be placed on. Or, you could go for colours that are lighter or darker in shade of the one used on the surface.
3. Add flowers and plants
With the addition of flowers and plants, the boundary between inside and outside disappears and you enjoy the freshness of summer, even when you are at home. On top of this, adding plants is one of the easiest ways to add natural hue and colour to your room. In fact, they possess some of the most glorious and vibrant colours to add to your living room. However, it’s best to incorporate a plant that is best suited for indoor conditions. You can then test them out at different locations to find the perfect spot where they can breathe life and add a dose of vibrant colour to your space.
4. Add a colourful rug
Rugs have a special ability for tying designs together. To add more hue to your living room, you can try bringing in a colourful area rug. Brightly coloured area rugs, layered over a hardwood flooring, or on top a carpeting adds more texture and colour to your living space.
Area rugs also make your living area more cozy and comfortable. So, why not opt for a rug with a colourful detail or pattern to add some interest? Interestingly, a long rug with a coloured component can help brighten up unexpected places around your living space too.
5. Add some colourful pillows
Go ahead and toss in a couple of bright coloured pillows to give your living room a brighter and colourful effect. Pillows not only add colour, they encourage that comfortable and cozy feel every living room needs. And the good thing is, they also offer flexibility in case you change your mind.
In picking an accent pillow, opt for one that will compliment the chair or sofa it will be sitting on quite nicely. You can also creatively mix and match a few patterns for a more vibrant feel. These brightly coloured throw pillows can sit comfortably on neutral sofas, cushions, and rugs and will provide a contrasting effect that will liven up your living room.
6. Reupholster the furniture
Reupholstering a chair cushion is not as difficult as it is made out to be. In fact, reupholstering is one of the easiest ways to effect change in your living space without applying much effort. You can do the upholstering yourself, or consider giving it out to a professional carpenter to do it.
Investing your money into getting new sets of furniture might seem too much considering that you recently changed them or they are not so old. Reupholstering might be your only option in reviving your old furniture and in giving it a new look.
Going for a bright and colourful fabric is presumably your best option. Opt for colours that are vibrant and bold to give your living room an impressive hue. Items you can reupholster include sofas, cushions, and dining chairs (if you have a dining area in the living room).
7. Install a mirror on an empty wall
Decorating with mirrors is a great way to reflect light and colour in your living room. No doubt, placing a large mirror in the living room is one of the best ways to fill a bare wall in your living room. What’s more, a large mirror, through its reflection, can open up more space and make your living room feel bigger than it actually is.
That said, it’s always best to opt for a mirror with a well-crafted bright coloured frame. If you have a mirror with a plain frame, try embellishing it with cording or braid before applying a coat of paint to it.
8. Paint a wall
Painting one wall of your living room is one of the easiest tricks in the book to brighten up your living room. colours and patterns on the wall will influence the spatial effect and ultimately the feel-good atmosphere enormously. More so, an airy ambience creates harmony, which you can achieve even in a small winding hallway with bright colours.
That said, it’s best to opt for a larger wall that is easily noticeable.You can have an option to hire a skilled spray painter to make sure that the color that you want will contrast to those of your living room accessories. Whatever colour you choose, be sure that it compliments other accessories in the living room.
9. Paint a cabinet
You can breathe new life into a bland cabinet, shelf, or bookcase by accenting it with a coat of coloured paint. There are a variety of ways to paint a cabinet and shelf. The first is to try painting the interior and exterior with two contrasting colours to give your space a bright hue. You can also paint the interior walls behind the cabinet with a vibrant colour to add a bit of dimension to both the cabinet and the living room. You can then place books with bright covers to add another layer of colour to your book cabinet.
Your cabinet can also be used to display various decorative items like artworks, photo frames, baskets and boxes. Your choice of which item to use should depend entirely on your setting and the coloured effect you are trying to create.
10. Incorporate colourful throws, quilts and blankets
New trends in interior decoration offer a lot in leeway in fulfilling your décor goals. Items that were originally meant for bedroom areas can now be incorporated into the living room. Blankets, quilts and throws can provide colour, depth, and comfort to your living space.
Quilts or blankets can also be draped over the arm or back of a neutral cushion or sofa in the living room to introduce a vibrant and electrifying hue into your space. Opt for a standout colour when looking for a colour to accent these items with. Additionally, bright and vibrant colours that sit comfortably well on the neutral surface are also a good option.
11. Window treatments
Living room windows can be as stunning as the rest of the room. Window treatments, such as shades and drapes, can be installed on your windows to give it a beautiful and vibrant appearance. More so, they provide a perfect vibrant backdrop for the other parts of the living room.
Owing to the expensive nature of these window treatments, you might want to opt for something durable that would last through future makeovers. Select a neutral window treatment that will compliment other colour palettes you introduce into your living area. You can also layer your windows with brightly coloured drapery and light filtering roman shades.
12. Bring in coloured ribbons
Little extras like ribbons can add a great deal of colour to any room. The good thing about ribbons is that they are quite affordable and also offer you a lot of flexibility in terms of style and design. However, to provide a more mature outlook for your space, you need to be creative in how you apply the ribbons.
Some ideal locations where they can easily fit include your window treatments, lampshades, picture frames, cabinet doors, and even mirrors. More so, velvet, silk and grosgrain ribbons are some options you can choose from.
