Decorating in Pink

Pink is a fantastic ally in home decor. Mix a touch of pink into your white paint, and your walls will have a barely perceptible rosy tint to them, while still seeming to be white. The advantage of this, is that light will reflect off of the walls with a slightly more beautiful hue than it would if your walls were painted absolute white, or white with a bluish tint. White walls can look down right gloomy if the underlying tint not suited to the light, or lack there of, in the room. Pink undertones make the room feel like a more romantic and optimistic place, on a subconscious level, as if you were viewing the world through rose colored glasses.

Beyond hiding pink in places you don't consciously notice it, you can play with pink accents in your decor theme. Pink accents are especially auspicious in your romance and relationship zone, according to Feng Shui. Adding pink to your bedroom may help to usher in the right energy to revitalize your love life. You can do this in a variety of ways, including: by adding pink flowers, either potted, silk, printed on fabric, or in a picture on the wall; by placing cotton eyelet throw pillows with pink ribbon laced through the borders, on your bed; by winding green silk vines spiraled around the posts on your bed, and along the cross beams of a canopy, with pink silk flowers at intervals of about every foot or so along the "vine"; by hanging sheer pink drapes or a pink lampshade that will color the room's light a gorgeous hue; by using a pink fabric, or a fabric with a pink accented motif to upholster a chair or ottoman (the Chinese influenced rococo period and the retro version of it, provide pretty prints with pink floral motifs on a sky blue back ground); and by placing a pink object opposite your bed where you would see it when lying down. Photos and paintings of sunsets and sunrises often have lots of pink in them, so they make good bedroom decor.

If you are looking for a less dainty decor theme, but want to use pink to help your relationship chi, consider sticking to the barely tinted wall paint, rosy sheer curtains or rose colored lamp shade, and a photo of the sky turned pink at twilight. You can also add an Oriental style carpet with rose colored accents in the motif. These decor items are subtle and generally carry no judgement about gender roles in any culture.

Rose pink looks great with sage green, white, cream, and sky blue. Touches of yellow and orange can also blend well with a pink decor, as those colors are often combined in sunsets, and we are predisposed to enjoy that sight.

If you are decorating a baby's or child's room, remember that using too much cotton candy pink or hot pink can be overwhelming and tiring. A whole wall in Pepto-Bismo pink is nauseating no matter what your gender. If your sheets are pink, make sure that there are more earth-toned elements in the room to balance out the large pink surface area. Mixing different pinks together looks wonderful in a patch work quilt, and even better on a natural stained wood bed.

Wall to wall Barbi doll pink carpeting is not recommended. Your room decor will look better if you stick to a small area rug, or a carpet that is a dusty rose color.

In home decor, the difference between overly sweet gender stereotyping and good taste, tends to lie in the shade of pink chosen, and the size of the surface area covered, as well as the colors and textures chosen to compliment the pink.