With a high proportion of white mixed with a small amount of colorful pigments, pastel colors provide a range of pale, subdued tones. Related to soothing and calming environments, these colors have a timeless quality and can be seen throughout different architectural styles, such as rococo, art déco or the mid-century modern years. Applied in exteriors, interiors, or both, pastel tones make rooms feel more light, airy and spacious.
From subtle accents to taking the spotlight in a project’s overall strategy, pastel colors are a versatile alternative that can be used in multiple ways and varying degrees. Following Ricardo Bofill’s color proposals, Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s interiors and Michael Graves’ buildings, contemporary architecture plays with soft colors for aesthetic and functional purposes, as well as providing a sensory experience. Analyzing different examples of their application in architecture and design, we showcase how four prevailing colors –mint green, pale pink, lemon yellow and light blue– are currently taking the stage.
Monochromatic pastel shades
Using color strategies focused on one pastel hue, monochrome interiors seek to provide integrity throughout the design while gently expressing the personality of a space. From a completely dominant role to delicately emphasizing certain elements, this strategy enables a wide range of creative possibilities. Because the composition of pastel colors is mostly white, their presence in interior design can create a soothing background that allows other elements, materials and textures to stand out. Alternatively, when incorporating various shades and finishes of a single color, the space can be imbued with a sense of depth, as its lighter and darker variations interact with each other. Throughout different building uses and typologies, monochromatic pastel shades are present in both new builds and renovation projects for residential, office and commercial use.
Residential
Mint green space-optimizing covers
Color as the guideline for interior aesthetics
Offices
Painting ceiling, walls and medicine shelves
Using light blue to emphasize elements
Commercial
Playing with soft shades of pink
Using color to enhance the building’s identity
Mixing and matching colors
Besides monochromatic strategies, there are several approaches to combining pastel colors in interior design, such as complementary for creating contrast, analogous for a cohesive and harmonious effect and a triadic color scheme selection for dynamic spaces. Since these colors tend to have lighter shades, they can be easily combined with each other, despite there being some common pairings in pastel tone use. While enhancing the functionality of a space, experimenting with color combinations –with a previous consideration of dimensions, natural light and materiality of the space– has a powerful effect on the overall atmosphere created. These combinations follow both simple aesthetics or seek specific functions, such as creating a calm and warm home for a beloved dog’s health.
Residential
Pastel color-blocking
Soothing atmosphere for a dog house
Commercial
Pastel shades for a sweet touch
Soft hues for a seamless flow between spaces
Combining materials, textures and finishes
Beyond paints for floors, walls and ceilings, pastel colors are also naturally –or artificially– present in diverse construction materials. Enhancing the richness of interior design, combining materials in pastel hues provides different textures –adding depth and visual interest–, as well as creating contrast for highlighting certain elements. Although contemporary pastel interiors prevail with soft, glossy and rustics textures, these can be combined with natural materials (wood, stone, leather), textured fabrics (wool, linen, velvet), decorative surfaces (wallpaper, tiles) and rough exposed surfaces. Strengthening the building’s character, these dynamic interactions create counterpoints, balance and play with different scales.
Commercial
Bricks, tiles and ceramics
Mixing old and new materials
Residential
Incorporating exposed structural materials with contemporary finishes
Blending wood, ceramic tiles and pastel hues for surface textures
Patterned tiles for walls and floors
For over thousands of years –dating back to ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians, Persians and Romans– ceramic tiles have been used as an element of interior design. With modern advances that have made them more functional and accessible to a wider audience, these tiles have established a presence inside residential and commercial spaces. With a wide range of styles, colors and pattern possibilities that add character to a space, today tiles are known for being a versatile element for both functional and aesthetic purposes. Whether squared, rectangular or hexagonal, choosing pastel tones for repeating tiles allows these patterns to create an architectural language while not fully invading a space. Besides using them to differentiate areas, pastel pattern tiles are also a strategy for giving a gentle continuity to the overall project.
Residential
Restored ceramic vaults
A subtle hint of light blue
Commercial
Tiles featuring different colors and layouts
Lemon yellow rhombus floor
Incorporating pastel tones into the urban fabric
As pastel colors can be found in different materials and textures, there are multiple ways in which they can be applied in building exteriors. Just like Notting Hill’s famous color palette, integrating pastel colors as part of the urban fabric allows the integration of a functional and aesthetic appeal. While evoking calmness and tranquility through a soft and cohesive urban environment, these light colors are ideal for temperature regulation inside the building. By adding a small amount of color pigments into paints or construction materials, such as concrete, one can create pastel shades with different textures to create a unique personality for the building. Pastel tones can cover the entire facade or, combined with other materials, can create dynamic and contrasting exterior layouts.
Residential
Combining green with copper
Corrugated sheets in light blue
Institutional
A high school in pale pink
Coloring a geometric volume
