HGTV's David Bromstad Wants You To Avoid This Color Mistake

One of the most important factors to consider when designing a space is color. Imagine, for a moment, that you have a completely blank room to style — what colors would you include? Perhaps you really love a certain shade, but your inclination is to only choose neutrals. Maybe you're afraid that you will get tired of looking at the bolder tone over time.

Unfortunately, this mindset can lead us to style rooms that lack character and depth because they lack color. According to TED, when we let the fear of choosing the wrong color keep us from adding vibrancy, it can cause our homes to appear boring. Therefore, adding color is important because it enlivens the home and excites us. 

 However, since many of us have been whitewashing our homes for years, we may not know how to use color correctly. Luckily, David Bromstad, host of multiple HGTV shows, including "Color Splash," has some advice about how to avoid making a critical color mistake that he sees all the time (via HGTV).

David Bromstad says that many people are too "matchy-matchy" with their color scheme, per HGTV. "They'll have red walls and then think they need a red comforter," he says. Just like a space that's too overwhelmingly neutral, using only one shade can also cause a room to lack dimension and interest.

Instead, Bromstad recommends pairing multiple colors together to create a color scheme. To do this, he "likes to pull from a piece of inspiration, such as a rug or pillow art or duvet cover." Furniture First provides some tips for pairing colors together. They say that any of the colors in an item can be used as the main color — it doesn't have to be the primary shade. For instance, while pink and blue are the main accents of the above rug, orange, red, and even purple shades could be used as the main tone in the room's design. Pulling multiple colors and using them for smaller accents will also make your space appear cohesive. Additionally, you don't need to get caught up in trying to find pieces that match your rug, pillow, or duvet perfectly — they only need to echo or closely resemble the shade.

When choosing furniture for a room, David Bromstad always recommends keeping big pieces, like couches, neutral, per HGTV. Then, bolder colors can be brought in with easy-to-replace elements like the wall color or smaller decor pieces. Sunshine Drapery agrees and says it's a great idea to make your biggest investments neutral and take more liberties with your less expensive items.

Bromstad also says it's a good idea to place bold and colorful artwork on neutral-colored walls because the neutrals make the piece stand out, per another interview with HGTV. However, to make the room appear cohesive, you can bring in colors from the artwork with smaller decorations. On the other hand, when going with an extra bold color on the walls, Bromstad says that he sometimes likes to amp up other smaller elements so that the walls appear tamer, and he does this by accenting with bold colors.