21 pastel colored home decorating ideas

This elegant living room is a master class in using pastel colors throughout the home without getting too sugary. A chalky lilac on walls and floors becomes less saccharine overall when mixed with light stone and prominent black accents. It’s decoration at its boldest, and we love it.

Pictured: Magnificent Saxony carpet at Carpetright

A mix of pale mint green, butter yellow and sky blue make this kitchen light and airy, grounded with darker colors in the tiled floor. Pastel colors work beautifully in rooms with lots of natural light, and we particularly like this mixed palette. Pale pink would work as the fourth shade here.

Pictured: Victorian floor tiles in Harrogate at Original Style

For those who like to wholeheartedly embrace a theme in their home, this is a fearless approach to using pastels. Made visually interesting with a variety of textures, shapes and layers on a calm pink background.

Styling by Hannah Deacon, photography by Tim Young

This colorful bedroom is further proof that pastels mix beautifully in design schemes. The novel use of a pale yellow hue on the ceiling is one of our favorite painting techniques – we would almost always choose light or pastel tones when painting a ceiling to add a nod to light and height.

Pictured: Quiet Moments Paint at Benjamin Moore

Pastels contemporary made in our own home beautiful Camberwell kitchen in Homebase. Unexpected black accents contrast beautifully with this modern pastel blue, while marble countertops and light wood floors soften an abundance of clean lines.

Pictured: House Beautiful Camberwell Kitchen in Homebase

The most peaceful corners of your home don’t always have to be soothing neutrals or soft whites. This sunny reading nook sends a warm welcome with buttery soft pastel yellows and lilacs – a brilliant backdrop for those sunflowers too to stand out.

Pictured: Pond chair in beige and Ingrid vase in camel, both from House Beautiful Marketplace

This pastel lilac makes a wonderful accent wall—especially with the exposed planks offsetting some of the chalkiness. The addition of a deep purple enhances the effect and creates something more mature overall.

Pictured: Lavender Mist Paint at Benjamin Moore

tranquility in a picture. This combination of pale pastel pink and ocean-inspired blue creates a wonderfully calming haven in the bedroom. We love the abundance of textures in soft throws, cushions and pads that add to the relaxing scheme.

Pictured: House Beautiful Ripple Pleated Blinds at Hillarys

This elegant corner debunks the common design myth that pastel colors can’t be sophisticated. The pastel blue and pink here elevate and brighten the otherwise traditional features – some interesting panelling, a densely patterned rug and a classic sideboard – to create a lighter and more modern scheme.

Pictured: Bluebird Blue Paint at the Paint & Paper Library

This is a great idea for smaller spaces that benefit from white walls to appear larger and more open. Incorporate pastels in your accessories, linens, blinds, and lighting, and have fun mixing shades – you don’t need to be careful when mixing pastels as the shared pale and white undertones happily blend together.

Pictured: House Beautiful Maisy Bed at Dreams

Annie Sloan uses tones of pastel pink and purple without being too sweet in this modern kitchen. The addition of wood and speckled ceramic is important in this scheme as they balance the delicate pastel tones and offer something more sophisticated. And if you look closely, the cute shelves are finished in graduated shades of pink – we love thoughtful details.

Pictured: Annie Sloan Antoinette Chalk Paint

Gallery walls can be connected in a variety of ways – for example, by showing similar art styles, mounting your art prints in frames of the same color, or using murals with similar undertones. Pastels all have light and white tones in common, so a collection of pastel wall art will always create a harmonious gallery wall.

Pictured: Pastel Paradise Wall Art at Desenio

If you’re hesitant to use pastel colors in your main living areas, try decorating a hallway, landing, or downstairs loo instead. Take inspiration from this bright hallway scheme and opt for a pastel wallpaper (we love the fresh, swirling green used here, try similar to Lust Home) or some cheerful accessories, like this pastel purple ottoman.

Styling by Hannah Deacon, photography by Tim Young

What a way to make a bed the focal point of your room. This DIY patchwork headboard is made from painted pastel colored canvases arranged into an eye-catching tonal element. For a double pastel hit, pair with patterned pastel bedding too.

Styling by Hannah Deacon, photography by Tim Young

Gray and white are always useful base colors to build upon, and if you can’t commit to a third color for your design, consider a range of pastels instead. This light and airy living room layers uplifting pastels to create a cheerful space.

Pictured: House Beautiful Claudette Sofa at DFS

Blue is one of the most effective colors in the bedroom to promote a good night’s sleep, and a pale pastel blue even more so. This loaf bedroom carefully layers pastel blue throws, pillows and cushions in ever-so-slightly different tones for a big impact.

Pictured: Hugger Bed at Loaf

Perhaps a lesser used color combination, but pastels always work with a monochrome mix of black, white and gray. We love the pastel yellow wall here that soaks up the natural light so beautifully, modernized with gray accessories and a contemporary black and white shade.

Shown: Ritta pendant lamp in the House Beautiful Marketplace

While pastel colors can be a very playful color scheme, they work equally well in more country-inspired and traditional settings – a case in point is Original Style’s pastel-green painted kitchen cabinets and wall tiles.

Pictured: Fleur pumice tiles at Original Style

If you like using brass or gold accents in your home (we love them), go for soft and chalky pastels rather than sunny and bright ones – the latter can be a bit overwhelming and make your metallic accents appear more yellowish. This combination in the Good Housekeeping GH 100 footstool by DFS goes perfectly with it.

In the picture: GH 100 footstool at DFS