When you think of pastels, do you picture cutesie pale pinks and dusty bébé blues ? Or maybe you just think pale, pasty and – we dare – dull?

Well, we reckon it's time to have a rethink. Our range of pastel colours are anything but shy. Highly pigmented and quirky (just order a swatch of Granny Chic and you'll see what we mean 😍) they pack a punch way beyond their delicate reputation. 

But how to use them in your home? Read on for some suggestions on how to use pastels to create interiors every bit as classy as those dark, moody tones so many of us love right now. It's all about how you use them. 

TL;DR? Choose your perfect pastels now.

1 KEEP IT SUBTLE

OK, so you don't have to go all out when you're choosing the best pastel pink paint or the perfect sage green paint. Instead of slapping it all over the entire room, think about a subtle approach where you use a pastel shade maybe just above the dado rail or only on the ceiling. Then you can combine it with a classic neutral for the rest of the room. You'll get a pop of airy fluff without feeling like you live in a dolls house.

There's a great example of this approach on @thenorthernhome_'s instagram in which she created a gorgeous neutral nursery for her friend's baby. Sarah built her own half-height MDF panelling which she then painted in our pale green pastel Home Grown in an eggshell finish (for wood). She finished off the oh-so-stylish look by painting the rest of the  walls with our greige off-white Mindful matt emulsion.

Best looking nursery scheme we've seen in a while 😍

Beautifully tonal nursery by @thenorthernhome_ proving pastels don't need to feel twee

2 COMBINE PASTELS WITH BRIGHTS

Pastel paint colours can provide the perfect backdrop for bolder accents too. Take @alexincolour's dining room, where she used our medium grubby green Home Grown as the perfect base for her poppy artworks and bold velvet chairs.  

This colourful space by @alexincolour uses pastels as a neutral base

You could follow her lead by using a pastel like as our pinky beige Pudding as a neutral, and then add colour and character with plenty of bold, bright cushions, lamps and rugs. Easy.

3 PLAY WITH COLOUR BLOCKING 

If you're feeling particularly creative, embrace the trend for colour blocking and play with colour and scale. That means shapes and height.

Why not be bold and go all knickerbocker glory like colourful blogger @lindsey_isla? She created a jaw-dropper in her hallway with a range of joyous Neapolitan shades and shapes 🌈

Identify areas of the space, and paint them in different complimentary colours like @lindsey_isla

4 CREATE PASTEL ACCENTS

You might think that accent colours have to be big and bold. But you can also create an amazing impact with pastel shades. Use them to frame the room by painting just the skirtings, coving and architraves in a grubby pink shade like Ciao, Sofia or a light dusty teal like Hamilton. 

Why not take inspiration from Instagram's @Oxfordone and her amazing scallop-edged dressing room ceiling? The way she's taken the paint up and over the door onto the ceiling creates a cocooning feel which is delicate and impactful all at the same. We like, a lot.

Subtle but impactful, using pastels on the ceiling and woodwork by @oxfordone

You can also use pastel accents in your accessories to bring a some stylish calm into a space. Introducing fluffy cushions in powder pink or a set of books in the palest of blues is a great way of bringing pastels into your scheme. 

5 TAKE PASTELS AL FRESCO

Pastels are the perfect route to take outdoors, looking even more dusty in the summer sun. Why not go all Notting Hill and embrace some killer ice cream shades for the outside of your house? Sima, a peachy terracotta, would be perfect, or pale raspberry Ciao Sofia or pistachio green Home Grown.

To really max up that kerb appeal, remember to contrast the colour of your masonry paint with that of your front door or other accents. A pastel wall in Granny Chic combined with the strong dirty mustard of Moritz really does it for us, but you need to find your perfect combo 👌

Check out COAT's pastel range and start your journey towards a pale (but ever so classy and un-dull) home.