Guest Picks: 5 Paintings, 5 Pastel Palettes

I recently completed my basement renovation, turning a dark, dingy room into a bright and cheerful family room. I'm thrilled with the result and attribute the success to the pastel color palette I used. The bright yet soft colors really make the once-dark room feel open and bright.

Pastels can be a little hard to work with. You don't want the room to feel too seasonal for spring or too sweet in general. But I think pastel tones can be used in so many different ways, and the soft colors are just so pleasing to look at. One rule I abide by with pastels: Don't forget your neutrals! Pastel palettes need to be anchored, and khaki, brown, black, white etc. do the trick.

For my basement I started with a pastel piece of inspiration art (much like the ones below) to guide my color decisions. Because I liked the composition of the colors in the art piece, I thought that using those same tones for furniture and accessories would result in an equally good look — and it did! I thought it would be helpful to make this ideabook into an exercise in using art as a way to create pastel color palettes with some of my favorite pieces on the market. The artwork is all by Nevada artist Paige Smith-Wyatt, a new-to-me talent. — Daniela from Aesthetic Oiseau

'Backlit Mountains' Original Pastel Painting by Paige Smith-Wyatt - $150 Palette inspiration 1: This gorgeous painting by Smith-Wyatt reminds me of the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia. It has a striking combination of lavender and coral pinks with deeper neutral grays and browns.


Custom Camdyn Upholstered Armless Chair, Shantung Lilac - $499 I love seeing lavender as a color offering in the market these days. I think it is a neutral, and much like pink, it's a flattering tone that pairs well with so many other colors.


Safavieh Handmade Cambridge Wool Rug, Silver/Ivory - $203.99 This gray rug is a workhorse. The color and simple pattern make it usable in so many settings, so you can move it from room to room as your house evolves.


Prosperity Symbol Garden Stool, Pink - $420 The perfect shade of coral pink! I love this garden stool as an accent with the lavender chair to really capture the colors of the paintings.


'Transitional Sunset' Original Pastel Painting by Paige Smith-Wyatt - $150 Palette inspiration 2: In this painting, Smith-Wyatt focuses on a bright sky with tones of lavender and soft pinks. Again, the ground provides lovely khaki and green neutrals.


Custom Camdyn Upholstered Armless Chair, Shantung Woodrose - $499 This rose-pink chair is so very pretty. I would love to see it in a bedroom. With such a flattering color and an armless silhouette, it would be less imposing in a sleeping space.


Safavieh Handmade Cambridge Moroccan Wool Rug, Light Green - $176.99 I love this shade of soft celery green to pair with the cooler, brighter pastels of the painting.


Chinese Garden Stool, Lavender - $129 Again, lavender makes it to retail! I love it. This shade is so pretty, and I really adore how it pairs with the green rug. Lavender with soft shades of apple green has been one of my favorite color combinations for a while now.


'Heavy Sky' Original Pastel Painting by Paige Smith-Wyatt - $150 Palette inspiration 3: Pastels don't have to look like an Easter basket exploded in your living room. This moody pastel by Smith-Wyatt is seriously gorgeous with its grayish blues and hazy cast.


Custom Camdyn Upholstered Armless Chair, Shantung Silver - $499 Gray is sophisticated, especially when paired with more traditional pastel tones. It can work as a great anchor color to keep the palette from feeling too sweet.


Safavieh Handmade Cambridge Moroccan Wool Rug, Light Blue - $172.99 I love, love this shade of icy blue. I'd actually never thought to pair light blue and gray together before, but I'm absolutely loving how it looks!


Shanghai Dragon Stool - $305 The texture of this garden stool makes it special and definitely more unique than what you typically see out there. I love how its faded green tone combines with the rug and chair to really bring out the feeling of the painting.


'Desert Morning Up the Hill' Original Pastel Painting by Paige Smith-Wyatt - $100 Palette inspiration 4: I call this painting by Smith-Wyatt "Happy Road." Wouldn't you love to just meander on this path, taking in the gorgeous nature around you? Those purple mountains are so beautiful.


Custom Camdyn Upholstered Armless Chair, Velvet Pool - $499 I'm a sucker for velvet, and the watery blue of this chair really picks up the tones in the painting's sky. Can we talk about those turned legs too? Love that little detail.


Safavieh Handmade Cambridge Moroccan Wool Rug, Lavender - $528.99 I bought a similar rug in a square shape for my basement, and I love it. This one has great texture and an absolutely wonderful lavender color. It just strikes that perfect balance of happy and casual. It gets an A+ in my book.


Safavieh Furniture Everest Gardens Embossed Ceramic Garden Stool - $147 This great textured garden stool in a cheery shade of yellow-green will pick up the colors in the painting's ground.


'Desert Morning Light' Original Pastel Painting by Paige Smith-Wyatt - $100 Palette inspiration 5: Smith-Wyatt gives us a big, bright blue sky in this painting, with pink mountains and citrine grass. I think these paintings are a great way to embrace landscapes if you're more of an abstract lover (like I am). The colors and shapes really play a striking role in the composition.


Custom Camdyn Upholstered Armless Chair, Shantung Pearl - $499 As a person whose entire living room is full of white and ivory furniture, I can say that I love this color on upholstered pieces. In this case I think it brings out the brightness of the painting.


Safavieh Handmade Cambridge Wool Rug, Light Pink/Ivory - $324.99 This pink rug really draws out the dusty pink in the painting's hills. It's quite sophisticated, but the color and pattern could also be used in a more youthful environment, like a nursery.


Chinese Garden Stool, Light Blue - $129 Light pink and light blue are another favorite pastel combination of mine, and I love how this stool recalls the painting's big, beautiful sky.

Next: 5 Ways to Freshen With Pastels

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