Do you have a passion for purple and you’re wondering how to use purple in home décor? Yes? You’re in the right place. Purple is a pretty popular color, but I bet you'd be shocked by the number of people who simply don't know how to use it.
Serendipitously, I found the painted rock below on my beach walk about an hour before writing this article! It perfectly captures purple’s greatest strength: the power of emotion.
Purple is a dominant interior design color that may not be for everyone. It is, however, an up and comer. The late musician Prince inspired Pantone to create the paint color “Love Symbol #2,” and paint trends for 2018 include deep purple hues, such as Benjamin Moore’s “Shadow” and Behr’s “Proper Purple.”
It’s not a surprise that purple is becoming more and more popular, as it's a color with multiple personalities. Purple home décor can help you develop the specific moods you wish to get across in your interior design.
The key to using purple in home décor, therefore, is being aware of how various shades of purple and various purple color combinations can work together to produce the styles you desire. Here are seven moods you can attempt to create using purple when you design your next room.
1. Playful and Fun Purple
Using bright colors in contrast with light neutrals is an effective way to invite fun into a room. Purple has a “pop factor” that makes for a bright contrast with other lively colors. Use light to medium purple shades and pair them with contrasting hues like yellow or shades of green to create a fun and exciting atmosphere in any room.
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2. Cheerful Purple
Similar to fun and playful but perhaps a bit more “grown-up,” a cheerful room is one that just simply makes you feel happy. This kind of mood is especially appropriate in beach, cottage, and other romantic or nostalgic interior design styles. A light purple background can be an ideal backdrop for a cheerful space.
Try a lighter purple hue combined with neutral white on your walls, and then add fabrics and textiles in deeper purple tones to get a downright jovial look.
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3. Romantic Purple
When you want a room to feel ready for love or get yourself in the mood, nothing beats a dark purple background for ambiance. Deep purple colors are both regal and elegant, and when they’re combined with creamy colors like eggshell or ecru, they feel sensual and sultry. This color scheme is perfect for any romantic bedroom or getaway.
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4. Sassy Purple
In the parts of your home you share with guests, rooms like kitchens and living rooms, a powerful interior design technique is to make your rooms show of your personality a tad. Are you bold and confident? Then a sassy, purple look is just for you. You can get that look by using cheeky, brazen purple in just enough quantity to stand out but not so much that it starts to become overwhelming, and, worse even, look tacky.
Try using deep purple as a wall accent color and combine it with an eye-catching accessory or detail, like perhaps a purple furniture piece or two.
Photo by Patryk Kosmider on Shutterstock
5. Deep Purple
Although purple can be playful and cheerful, it can also be quite serious when it has to. By softening your purples with neutral overtones, you can use purple to tell the world you’re focused and you mean business.
Purple living room walls blended with solid expanses of neutral colors embody compassion, passion, and sincerity.
Photo by Edvard Nalbantjan on Shutterstock
6. Relaxed Purple
If you want a room that soothes jangled nerves, your best bet is soft, light colors and equally soft fabrics. Even an elegant main living area can be infused with tranquility if you use this soft and light technique.
One of the best purple living room design ideas I’ve seen capitalizes on this pairing: flowing and inviting purple textiles to moderate the harsher lines of bookshelves and furniture. This way, you leave just enough room to showcase your purple personality.
Photo by Marko Poplasen on Shutterstock
7. Passionate Purple
If you appreciate deep emotions and you want your interior décor to reflect that burning passion, then purple definitely belongs in your color palette. Couple dark purple with black and use the colors as a stage for more striking details, like gold accessories to ignite mystery and drama into your home décor.
This is just a sampling and starting point to showcase the kind of personality purple has to offer your interior design. Depending on the shade and the amount of purple you use and where you choose to use it, purple can help you compose a space that will reflect any atmosphere you desire to have.
Remember, the key to using purple in home décor is being aware of how various shades of purple and various purple color combinations can work together to project whatever mood you might be feeling.
