There’s no surprise that I’m a huge fan of bold colors and graphic wall patterns. I love the impact that both elements bring to a room, and I combine the two whenever possible. However, the magic in a bold, graphic room is knowing where to play up the boldness and where to tone it down.
Last year when I first painted the grey and white chevrons in my bedroom, I admit that it felt like too much. It was really the only thing I had done in the room. I knew that there was much more coming, but I can see why friends and neighbors (and even some of you guys) couldn’t see through to my final vision. The graphic pattern hadn’t been toned down yet.
As I went through the process of accessorizing, the room gradually came into focus. Softening the hard lines of the pattern with fabric curtain panels certainly helped. A tall headboard and family photo gallery changed the look of the wall above the bed from the look in the previous photo to the look it has today.
Letting the boldness of a room take a backseat isn’t a specialized talent. Instead, it’s just one of those learned skills that I’m positive anyone could pull off. The key is to treat graphic wall patterns and bold wall colors just like they are a regular, single colored wall. Accessorize them in the same way you would any other wall. Hang curtains to soften the lines. Use different textures throughout the room, so you don’t have an entire room of hard, sharp feeling surfaces.
Look at the impact that just hanging a curtain makes on a striped wall. Here is my ongoing playroom project (I’m so close to being finished!) before I hung the curtain rod.
And here it is now, with the only difference being the curtain rod hung and a set of Ikea Ritva curtains flanking the window.
Just that little bit of neutral fabric does a lot to make the stripes in the room take on a less harsh vibe. It hides the end points of the stripes as they hit the window, so the room doesn’t look quite so broken up. In my opinion, this has the same effect as wearing a nude colored shoe, but instead of making your legs look longer, it makes the wall look wider.
I will eventually hang something on the walls on either side of the window in the playroom, too. That will further help the stripes to take a backseat to the rest of the room, like they did on this wall in my bedroom.
Bold colors and graphic patterns don’t have to completely overwhelm a room. Try to work them into a space so that they don’t become the room. It may feel scary before you get to the accessorizing point, but it does eventually all come together.
What’s your take on bold walls? Have you given much thought to accessorizing them so that set the mood without being the only thing you see in a room?
Great post and good point about how to tone down bold patterns. I love it, as usual ;-D.
Thanks, girl!
Awesome post! I am itching to try some stripes in our family room. My husband gives me ‘that’ look when I mention it, but I think I’ve convinced him to give it a try. This post is quite helpful and I can’t wait to try some stripes on our wall! I’ll likely come back here and reread your tips on toning it down.
Great! Let me know if you run into any dilemmas…husband or otherwise. 🙂
I like bold pretty much everywhere so I go w the bold walls, bold furniture, etc…guest are probably overwhelmed by all of it but it makes me happy! So I don’t mind if people leave here w a headache.
Ha! Girl, I love you.
Great post, Lindsay. Bold patterns and colors add so much when they are done right. You offer some great tips to ensure the graphic elements don’t take over. Thanks!
Thank you, Suzi!
It’s a very artistic process you have. I admire how much you trust your own vision; I think that is what makes you able to stick with your vision until the end when everyone can agree. It’s like when I’m painting; having people critique my work in-process can be great (Oh, I love this painting) or awkward (People have admitted afterwards that they were worried about what I was doing with their commission) but as the artist (or in your case, decorator) you really know when your vision is complete. It’s that inner knowing that makes a huge difference. 😀 your house is amazing!
You are so right! It’s sometimes hard putting my incomplete rooms online, because no one else knows where it’s going. It always works out, but I think sometimes people think I’m crazy before I get there.
On January 1st, 2000 my mom and I decided we wanted to paint a room in the house. We went to the store and came back with Sunflower Yellow paint to add to the already Cobalt Blue dining room wall. We hand-painted yellow plaid stripes with small rollers. I wish I had a photo to share. It was magical and we loved it for years!
(Painting became a New Year’s Day tradition!)
Thanks to your post I’m excited to start another bold graphic project!
Oh, I love that, Emily! I bet that was a cool wall.