Think Pink for Your Next Interior Design Project

Pink Paint Can Elevate a Mood, Add Depth, and Create Visual Interest

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Here’s the best news we’ve heard in a while: Pink is back, and in a beautifully soft and muted way. Pink has often been associated with nurseries and feminine spaces alike, but not anymore. Pink is trending in the best way with beautiful undertones and soft edges, elevating basic spaces such as living rooms and kitchens to chic and inviting spaces. It injects warmth and life into most rooms, creating a feeling of comfort and ease. It plays well with natural light and can look like several beautiful shades throughout the day as the sun washes the room with warmth. Choosing the right shade of pink can be tricky, however. So, let’s review some of the tips and tricks to ensure you get the stunning outcome you are searching for.

Choosing the Right Shade of Pink

Pink is so easy to get wrong, and this is why many people shy away from it in spaces that get a lot of use, such as living rooms and primary bedrooms. Let’s say you’re being brave and are ready to give it a shot. You pull out your paint deck, or are standing at the paint store, totally overwhelmed. The biggest mistake I see people make is that they flip to the pink section of the paint deck, or gravitate to the pink chips at the hardware store.

Avoid these sections as best you can, because these colors are often far too pigmented. When you put them on the wall, there’s this immediate “What am I even doing?” feeling, and that’s hard to recover from. Here’s the secret: Head to the white section of your color deck. That’s right — if you are looking for something soft and understated, head straight for white. The whites in a color deck are rarely actually white. They all have undertones that read gray, blue, or, in this case, pink. Pick a few with pink or blush undertones, and grab some samples. Getting these samples up on your walls is also a huge part of this process. Pink interacts wildly with sunlight, and each color will look very different as the day progresses.

Here are some of my all-time favorites:

Clare Paint: Meet Cute is a little more on the pigmented side, which also makes it a great choice for making a bolder statement in the room.
Farrow and Ball: Tailor Tack is light and delicate, allowing you to create that whisper of pink feeling when you enter the room.
On the more traditional pink side, we have Benjamin Moore’s First Light. This color was their 2020 color of the year, and for good reason. It’s fairly versatile and can go with warm or cool depending on where you use it in your home.
Benjamin Moore’s Bashful is a versatile soft and warm off-white with a beautiful touch of pink.

Another tip: If you ever get a sample on the wall, and love the color, but it’s just a touch too dark or pigmented: take the sample back to the paint store and ask them to cut it with white. You can cut the color 25 percent, 50 percent, or 75 percent and see how those shades of your original color are looking in the space. I love doing this when I feel like I want the color on the walls to be just a little quieter than what’s on the original paint chip.

Final Thoughts

Pink is a powerful tool in the modern designer’s palette, and I love that it’s trending in a variety of amazing hues. When used thoughtfully, it can elevate a room’s mood, add depth, and create visual interest without overpowering the space. Whether you’re going for understated elegance or bold expression, pink paint offers endless possibilities. So, in your next design project, don’t shy away from pink. Embrace its versatility and let it redefine how you experience your favorite room.

Laura Gransberry is a Santa Barbara–based interior designer, specializing in helping clients find renovation-ready properties and transform them into magazine-quality homes. She can be reached at laura@lauragransberry.com, and on Instagram @lauragransberrydesign. Visit lauragransberry.com to learn more.