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Summertime brings to mind bright tropical colors, palm trees, and green fronds.
Tropical dreams flourish in the warm weather, and it can be surprising how appealing they are any time of year.
It can alleviate the gloom of fall and winter, offering a cheerful and warm tropical bedroom, kitchen, or living room.
The bright yellows and cool blues, accented by big bold colors and lush greens, can help you to close your eyes and envision you are sitting on a beach in a tropical island paradise. Here are some great tropical bedroom ideas.
Colors
Image source: Circa Interiors
Tropical colors schemes are bright and lively. The tropical interior paint colors pop out at you, in the same way brightly feathered parrots do. Remember, a little will go a long way.
Opt for a small bit of bright tropical color that is based on your furniture and other décor. You might not want to paint an entire wall in it. You want bright points of intensity to accent the entire space. Make that brilliant burst of color count, doling it judiciously.
Patterns
Image source: Kreitinger Design
Utilize lovely prints of tropical flowers and leaves. You can use pillows, prints, or even a bit of wallpaper for a nice accent. These patterns really capture the tropical feel, especially when the weather outside is anything but tropical.
Don’t get scared of showing off these tropical patterns. There’s a real fear that using them will turn the space into a giant ugly Hawaiian shirt. Mix and match them judiciously with solid colors.
Mix up the colors of the patterns running through the whole rainbow for full effect (as fits your space and furnishings). If you’d rather not be so bold with colored pattern’s look for patterns in more neutral fabrics.
Nice, carefully chosen patterns help capture a warm tropical feel. Use them to help complete your tropical space.
Form
Image source: LAURA MILLER Interior Design
Organic forms are perfect for tropical décor. Think of utilizing furniture that reminds people of natural island forms: couches with the curves of mountains or table legs that resemble rain drops.
Winding strips of metal can call to mind rivers or even waterfalls. Little sculptural touches can be the perfect finishing touches.
Add a small abstract sculpture of a natural form or two for a good finishing touch to your space. Try not to be too literal or over the top. A subtle accent can make your space feel fully thought out and creative.
Decorating with a Tropical style
Bedroom
Image source: Weber Design Group, Inc.
Tropical bedroom decoration is a wide range of design choices that go beyond just palm trees and pictures of ocean sunsets. The overall feel should be one of comfort, ease, and homey hospitality.
You can go in a lot of different directions with tropical bedroom décor, including nautical, surfer, Palm Beach swank, Bali exotic, or a British Colonial style, among many others.
What you want to is utilize a cheerful range of colors, including tropical paint colors for interior rooms. Try greens, yellows, blues, and salmon pinks. Weathered furniture helps solidify the tropical look.
Some nice accents you can use are ceiling fans, gauze curtains, floral prints, and lightweight fabrics. Not everything needs to be done in vivid colors; in fact, it’s a lot better to use calmer neutral colors with bright colors for a nice popping accent. Keep it airily comfortable and you can’t go wrong.
Kitchen
Image source: Henredon & Schoener
Like the bedrooms, tropical kitchen designs are airy and comfortable, though you can generally go a lot wilder with bright colors. A tropical kitchen is a great place for tropical plants and flowers. You’re looking for a relaxed and refreshing vibe to the space.
Adding color is the most important thing when creating a tropical themed kitchen. Start out with base colors of white or creams to soothe the eye, then begin adding ion vibrant blues, greens, yellows, and orange for eye-catching accents.
Beadboard walls make for a neat accent on the walls to make the room feel like it belongs in a seaside cottage.
The backsplash is a great way to make your kitchen tropical. Put in tropical themed mosaics, with motifs such as palm trees, island flowers, or sea life, especially if they’re done in a bold and vivid color scheme.
Even simple, bright, and bold kitchen tiles , done up in turquoise, blue, and green, can make the area into a lively tropical space.
Go for subtle, calming lighting. Low-profile track lighting works very well for your main lighting, with pleasant accent lighting coming from tropical-themed pendants or rope lights.
The furniture in a tropical kitchen is usually hardwood, occasionally exotic kinds like teak or ebony. Wood tends to look more natural, so that the whole look is more natural overall.
Add in seaside items to complete the look. Your curtains and linens can feature colorful sea life for a proper beachside feel. Seashells make for nice centerpieces and accents. Maritime artwork looks great with the theme.
Use Your Experiences
Image source: Karen Grace Interiors
If you’ve been on a tropical island vacation, use that as you decorate. Bring the feel and life you saw and felt into your home. Use your photos and brochures to inspire you.
Enjoy Tropical Flexibility
Image source: Carrie Nicholson, RB, BIC, HL1 Director
Don’t be afraid to be causal—or formal. Tropical décor can be either easily. Use ideas from different styles as you see fit. You can even put them together in the same room without anything seeming too out of place.
Be Open to Softness
Image source: Jere Bradwell
The bold colors aren’t your only option. Soft, light colors can convey the tropics just as easily as brightly colored prints. Use muted greens, yellows, and blues.
Sage green, sky blue, and buttery yellow can liven up a space as easily as vibrant tangerine if used well. Pick a tone, with a big bright accent color, then add in lighter hues and shades.
A Subtler Option
Image source: Fine Design Interiors, Inc.
If you’d enjoy having both the tropical style and a more formal feel, consider the British Colonial style. It comes from heydays of the British Empire. Think of the colonies of the West Indies in the Caribbean.
This style combines traditional styles with exotic materials. It uses the motifs of the tropical nations colonized by Britain and is a great choice for retaining a bit of formality while utilizing tropical flair.
Contemporary Tropical Style
Image source: Alair Homes Sanibel
Contemporary tropical rooms are dominated by bright and cheery colors. It doesn’t have to be kitsch. Traditional furniture combined with vibrant walls and vibrant floral patterns becomes something from an island cottage. It feels fresh and fun, not silly and dated.
Conclusion
Image source: John David Edison Interior Design Inc.
A tropical design offers a lot of fun options for your spaces. There’s a lot of flexibility in the style, both bold and subtle, refined and wild. Use out tips to create a tropical space that can help you feel warm and content even on the coldest day.