Periwinkle is This Season’s Breakout Hue | How to Use It in Your Décor

Singapore | Veniz KWONG, List Sotheby’s International Realty

Color theory teaches us that colors can spark emotional responses, influencing how we feel and function in our surroundings. This means that color is vital for both our sense of style and our well-being.

Incorporating color trends into your home design can be more than a way to implement a chic update: it can also truly transform a space. At the forefront of design experts’ minds right now is periwinkle, a hue that is a striking mixture between lavender and blue. Evoking feelings of serenity, calmness, as well as sentimentality and romance, the pale indigo shade is definitely having a moment.

Here are a few ways to use the color in your own space.

A Fresh Coat of Paint

Rancho Santa Fe, California | Cathy Gilchrist-Colmar & Kathleen Gelcich, Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty

Elevate your living space to new heights of refinement with a coat of periwinkle paint. Used as either an accent hue or as a full, wall-to-wall wash of color, periwinkle is well-suited to living and dining spaces that need a bit of a refresh. Depending on the tone and saturation, periwinkle is a surprisingly versatile hue that plays well with others. It acts as an anchoring shade when paired with vivid colors like oranges or greens, emphasizing its more vibrant tendencies, but acts as a complementary neutral with other blues or whites. 

For cues on how to use this color in your own space, consider what it is about the shade that appeals to you most. If you tend towards bold design, choose a wall, cabinet, or surface to paint that will act as a focal point, and select décor that will highlight the shade’s vivacity. For a more subdued, romantic approach, select a paler shade of periwinkle and use it in conjunction with details like crisp white moldings.

Updated Flooring

Rhone-Alps, France | Pierre Laugier, Evian Immobilier Sotheby’s International Realty

A flooring update can hugely change the feeling of a space. Instead of opting for a white or clear stained wood, use a light shade of periwinkle that skews towards gray for an elegant hit of style. Source a periwinkle area rug for living spaces that need a touch of cool calmness: the shade will show wear less than white or cream, but serves a similar function by keeping the space light and open. Periwinkle carpeting, also in lighter hues that tend towards grey, is a smart way to anchor different design elements in a room, providing an understated and refined foundation to a space.

Focal-Point Artwork

Dallas, Texas | Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty

Draw out the more energetic qualities of periwinkle with pieces of artwork that incorporate the shade’s dynamism. Set against a more neutral room, hand-thrown ceramics in shades of blue-gray and abstract paintings that feature watery lavenders can act as design-forward focal points. Installing large scale artworks that prominently feature periwinkle is a modern way to bring color into your home without it dominating an entire design scheme. Since periwinkle resurged first in the fashion and beauty worlds, it only makes sense that it’s also been a source of inspiration for artists and makers alike. 

Decorative Accents

New York, New York | Ella Semyonova, Sotheby’s International Realty – East Side Manhattan Brokerage

From colored glass pendant lamps to throw pillows to soft billowing curtains, periwinkle is popping up all over designers’ mood boards and editorial spreads. The color’s chameleon-like ability to lend both a brightness and a coolness to a space, depending on how it’s used, makes it a perfect choice for decorative accents. Emphasize its more tranquil qualities by introducing periwinkle to the bathroom through towels, shower curtains, or a fresh coat of paint on cabinets. Energize a tired kitchen through periwinkle-upholstered bar stools or backsplash tiling, or sneak some color into your living space with periwinkle velvet throw cushions and twinkling glass candle holders. There is no limit to the ways in which periwinkle can enliven spaces through small touches and thoughtful accents.

Periwinkle is having a moment in design right now, but incorporating the shade into your interiors isn’t a passing fancy. The color, with its grounding, calming, and invigorating qualities, surpasses the fleetingness of color trends and deserves a permanent spot in your home.

Looking for more home design inspiration? Find out more about which interior style is right for you with our interactive quiz.