How to Use Modern Colors for Sophisticated, Calming Decor
Score a modern, sophisticated, and calming look at home with inspiration from these tranquil color schemes.
The monochromatic, or one-color, palette is the easiest modern color scheme for creating a clean-looking and calming environment. White is the most used hue for this decorating scheme, but it can be any color—gray, tan, blue, or red. The trick is to pick one shade you can live with in large doses, day in and day out. Then, choose paint, flooring, and furnishings within that color band. The shades can vary as much as you like, from pale to dark.
For interest, work in various textures and surfaces, such as slick, glossy woodwork, nubby carpeting, and rough linen upholstery. Any deviation from this modern color palette makes a powerful statement. In the case of this dining area, a large painting commands attention within the nougat-white space. You could achieve the same sense of drama with a bright accent pillow or a boldly painted piece of furniture. Keep the look updated by maintaining clean lines and simplicity.
Related: 19 Dining Room Decorating Ideas for a Tasteful Gathering Space
Earth Tone Modern Colors
Most modern color schemes mix hues. Earth tones offer a subtle, organic backdrop that suits the goal of sophistication in a room. These hues have brown, gray, or black undertones derived from the outdoors. Natural elements, such as stained wood furniture, fiber rugs, woven baskets, and artful pottery, are at home with these modern colors. In this living room, a sofa with charcoal upholstery melds easily with the espresso-stained kitchen peninsula, a sisal rug, and chairs the color of newly grown tree leaves.
Bright Modern Colors
Another melting pot palette for modern decorating comes from international influences and typically includes bright hues. These lively spaces feature modern colors that may be inspired by a Chinese silk tapestry, a Moroccan lantern, or an Afghan rug. The result is saturated tones with depth and intensity.
A worldly palette can exist in any decorating style, but in modern interiors, the rich colors are paired with minimalist collections, spare architecture, and clean-lined furnishings designed to highlight objects. In this living room, salmon-pink pillows are balanced by deep cerulean in the vases, silk chair cushion, and upholstery. One more dash of equal-value color comes in the curry orange throw draped over the chair.
Related: 25 Bright, Bold Colors That Go with Orange
Modern Colors Meet Vintage
Often, a contemporary interior looks to the past. The vintage furnishings, collectibles, or accessories from another era spark the modern color palette for the space. Every period in time has distinctive hues, which you can replicate accurately or update with newer, more contemporary tints. For example, you may collect Victorian glassware—do your kitchen in the same jewel-tone ambers, purples, and greens. Mid-century lamps with happy yellow bases in this living room enliven a palette that combines period leather and wood tones with velvet upholstery in a timeless peacock blue.
Modern Colors in Artwork
Sometimes, artwork serves as a jumping-off point for a modern color palette. The inspiration for this small, comfortable living room comes from the poster-size photograph over the sofa. The bright orange paint on the bicycles spurred pillow choices and two leather-covered storage cubes in the same punchy color. A striped rug incorporates the orange and the photo's sky blue and sandy tan hues. Neutral slipcovers and upholstery recede into the background, so the art—and the accents it inspired—can take center stage.
Color Schemes for Every Room
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