Don’t be afraid of that purple sofa, bright red ottoman, or velvet blue chair. Embrace them and make a statement in your home. There are a few ways to make even the most eye-catching pieces work with your overall design scheme.
1. If it’s Supposed to Stand Out, Let it: If you're trying to let one piece be a statement, keep other things smaller or less ornate. You can't fill a room with statement pieces of furniture or it will feel overwhelming. Balance your oversized canvas on the wall with smaller, sleeker tables, or let your bright blue carpet stand out against a white floor.
2. Play with Opposites: Let’s say you have a weathered, antique, dark, wood dresser in your bedroom passed down from your grandmother. How do you help it make a statement? By playing with opposites in the rest of the room. Use newer pieces around the antique to let it shine. Pair that dresser with a more modern bedroom set or stay in the same design period, but use lighter wood in other ways to let the dark, distressed dresser stand out.
3. Use the Color Wheel: You may not have seen a color wheel since grade school, but there is a reason you learned the basics. If you have a piece of furniture that is bold and bright, use complementing colors on the wheel to augment the piece.
4. Don’t Get Match-Happy: You don’t have to match accent pieces to the statement piece. In fact, it’s better if you don’t even try. When adding color to a room, it's good to pick it up in three different accent areas. You don't have to use that much color to make it feel like there is color in the room. When you start using a lot of different colors, it can be hard to make it all work without looking too busy.
5. Patterns Can Play Together: If your statement piece has a pattern on it, don't be afraid to combine it with other patterned accents. Patterns do not have to match to complement each other. Just remember to play with the scale of the pattern. For example, if your chair is a bold stripe, pair it with a smaller print on another piece or even on an accent pillow.
When you fall in love with a bold piece of furniture, take a step back and look at the bigger picture. After taking in the room, make sure your statement piece actually stands out. At the end of the day it's your own personal style that matters.
