Blush Pink Living Room Decor: Trying Out a New Decor Style

In this post: Thinking of trying out a new interior design style? Check out these ideas I used to test drive a new look with blush pink living room decor.⇒

Did I ever tell you about the time I lost my mind and bought a turquoise armoire?

Not a pale dusty greyed-over blue, mind you. No, this was straight out of the crayon box full-on bright turquoise.

And did I mention the Aztec motifs it had painted in bright coral? Apparently this was part of my Southwestern phase. Well, more accurately, it was the entirety of my ‘blink-and-you-missed-it’ Southwestern phase.

It was a very expensive mistake I lived with for a long time. At first I tried to decorate with it. And then I tried to decorate around it. Later, I tried to ignore it, which was rather impossible when you’re talking about a huge turquoise armoire. Ultimately, I painted it and eventually relegated it to the basement.

What on earth was I thinking?

How to Try Out a New Home Decor Style

In case it’s not obvious, this is not the way to try out a new home decor style.

But what happens when you discover a style that completely romances you? Do you stay away because it’s a passing trend? Or do you indulge your infatuation for the sake of having fun? 

I say indulge away, but do it on a smaller scale. Much like with fashion, the best way to enjoy trends, or design styles that you’re experimenting with, is to find inexpensive options and go deep on decorative accessories.

Start with a Neutral Foundation

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of French Country style, and I love to use white and neutrals to play off my antique pieces.

My rooms tend to be built around white and greige, with chippy gilding and vintage silver used as “accent colors”. I wouldn’t call my style formal or rigid, but I do lean toward tailored, albeit relaxed elegance.

That said, no matter how well defined my decor style is, I also enjoy playing with other design styles, ranging from cottage farmhouse through rustic industrial and stretching all the way to modern glam.

With a foundation of neutral furniture, both in color and with clean simple styling, all that’s needed to change the personality is to address the character of the room’s accessories.

Select a Style to Experiment With

I love to flirt with color, particularly feminine colors, and most notably pink. And while a color doesn’t preclude maintaining a vintage French style, in the living room I’m sharing today, I went decidedly off my usual script.

I was feeling a bit playful and decided to try something new. It’s less vintage than usual, more colorful for sure, and perhaps even a bit glam. I added a refreshing spark to my living room with very simple items.

The best part of adding personality with home accessories is that you can change a room’s look in no time. The key is to subdue your foundational pieces and let the accents do the heavy lifting.

Following are several categories you can concentrate on when looking to try out a new decor style without a major commitment, whether it be French, industrial, farmhouse or glam, or any other attitude or concept, for that matter.

Color

One of the first things you notice when you walk into a room is the color that’s surrounding you. It might be soothing shades like tonal beiges or peaceful greens and blues. But color can also create drama with vibrant pops of color, or can be moody with deep dark hues.

Yet color can also be associated with specific design styles, as blue and greens tend communicate coastal style.

In my case, as I mentioned above, I went with blush and rose pink with glimmery accents of gold, which I often associate with glam.

But I’m not talking about painting the walls or buying a sofa in the selected color.

Pillows and Throws

Easily the fastest way to infuse a room with a new look, adding tossed pillows and throw blankets can introduce color, pattern and texture into a space.

For my blush pink living room I decided to play up the subtle pinks that were already there with a mix of pillows that mirror the dusty pink from the painting over the sofa.

A jaunty buffalo check plays off the mauve slub end pillows, which in turn flank the cream button pillow.

Unabashedly feminine, pink room decor doesn’t have to be sugary sweet. A ruffled throw blanket with a whisper of blush color drapes seductively over a side chair in the adjacent corner.

Flowers & Branches

Flowers, branches and plants can also bring character to a room. Much like the textiles, they bring color into a space, but they also can have a personality that works better with some styles than others.

For a modern space, I like all white flowers, particularly potted orchids. For a boho space I’d forego all flowering plants and stay strictly with greenery and bare branches. For a cottage look I like baby’s breath or a bouquet of mixed wildflowers.

And for my glam space? It doesn’t get much easier than looking for pink flowers! I used a fresh arrangement on the coffee table and faux branches around the room, particularly two types of cherry blossoms.

Decorative Objects

After textiles and florals, the next thing to address is accessorizing with decorative objects. This is where your selections may seem a bit more subtle at first, but in reality they can be quite defining.

For my glam room, for instance, I put away most of my French antiques and instead displayed items with more polish. Where I usually have distressed and timeworn, I went with chic and glossy, with glimmer provided by metals, specifically gold.

A pierced ginger jar instead of a rustic urn. A lacquer tray instead of an aged wooden one. A pair of sleek crystal cube vases instead of antiqued olive jugs. New instead of ancient.

One of the things that makes trying a new style successful, or at least that makes it easier, is if you find the commonalities between the styles and play to them. Had I decided to go industrial instead of glam, I could have found vintage industrial pieces that would still work with my French foundational furniture. Even super sleek modern could be highlighted with an antique or two.

Additional Ideas

Pulling in one quirky decorative piece that’s purely for fun gives a room real personality. I used the gold and white ceramic pineapple as such a piece, placing it under the cloche for an extra note of drama. It serves no functional purpose yet anchors the room firmly in the glam style I was toying with, and feels downright modern as a foil to my vintage pieces.

Picture frames, too, can add a defining tone to a room, from buttoned-up and traditional, to playful and flirty. Likewise the photos or art you put in them. They are easy to change and can make a significant difference.

For my glammed up pink space I selected pretty metallic frames and the golds pair nicely with the pink room decor. I love to mix metals in all of my spaces, and here you will find a liberal blend of coppers and golds. Family photos bring personalization to your home, and the frames they sit in should be equally well-chosen.

On the coffee table, I used a warm copper tray, corralling an assortment of items that hint at entertaining in style. The white marble coasters have a lovely glam vibe, as do the gold honeycomb stemless goblets that are resting nearby.

And when it comes to setting a mood, nothing comes close to candlelight and the selection here includes a mercury glass candle and a gold trimmed frosted glass piece, the very picture of glam.

Candle holders come in a wide array of styles and can add atmosphere to your room within the design style of your choice.

As long as your furniture pieces are neutral and classic, there’s quite a lot you can easily change to make things look remarkably different.

And adding bits of pink and gold for a glam decor effect is a whole lot smarter than spending thousands of dollars on a turquoise armoire that you can’t stand looking at after a mere few weeks!

Please be sure to visit all of the other posts for today’s “20 Minute Decorating”:

Shabbyfufu | Unique Ways to Display Flowers

Thistlewood Farms | Decorate with Things You Already Have

French Country Cottage | 5 Easy Room Updates in 5 Minutes

On Sutton Place | Sunflower Season: An Easy Arrangement

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