After a long summer of days out and time spent outdoors, each September I tend to turn my attention back indoors and start looking at new trends for the home. While it’s been around for a while now, the watercolour trend remains one of my favourites of recent years. We’ve been seeing painterly florals on wallpaper and artist-inspired patterns on soft furnishes emerging over the past few seasons and now I’m totally obsessed with all things watercolour.
When I watched The Sorry Girls DIY a watercolour apron and business cards, that’s when I couldn’t hold off any longer. With just a jar of water and a pan of school-grade watercolour paints, almost anything could be covered in washes of pastel colours and that made it an even more attractive trend for me; well, if I can do-it-myself and save some money, it’s a winner in my eyes.
Here are some of my favourite watercolour looks from my Pinterest boards. I love dark moody blues and blotchy inky tones, and I think that the watercolour effect softens it a little. A rather masculine bachelor-pad look becomes a unisex effect with just a hint of a feathered edge or faded hue.
I think that flowers, foliage, animals and birds look great when painted in watercolour. It lends a sense of movement and freedom to the images that you don’t get with printed media. Birds are definitely one of my favourite animals to include in home décor (I have little silver sparrows and a glass bird tealight holder that keep me company all day long) so images of common garden birds and delicate feathers are at the top of my framed art-work list. Plus, I think that bright watercolours can make a regular bird look really rather tropical, like in this painting (below.)
But one of my favourite ways to use watercolours is to frame them up as part of a gallery wall. I think that the watercolour technique makes this look like a traditional gallery, but when you look closely it’s been used to create modern effects. Here bright pops of colour have been merged together within the Rio skyline – what a fantastic reminder of the recent Olympic games. It’s easy to combine watercolour images together because they all have the effect in common, whether it’s a painting of bird feathers, as an inspirational poster or as the background for the world map.
Another weakness of mine is motivational quotes (I love Instagram for this very reason). I think that framing up a special phrase or some words to inspire you is a great way to decorate your office or bedroom to get help you start your day with a spring in your step. Watercolours provide a great background for pure white text, or even splashes of glinting gold look great against pastel hues.
What do you think of the watercolour trend? Would you be happy to hang some watercolour art in your home? I found all these gorgeous framed art posters at Posterlounge, so you can check out their collection of watercolours online for more inspiration. OR have you already invested in watercolour soft furnishings or wallpaper? Let me know by leaving me a comment below or let chat on twitter @Cassiefairy.
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