Mellow blends of bright colors tempered by white, pastels are the diplomats of decorating. Harmonizing well with both lighter and darker hues, they bring balance to colors from both ends of the spectrum.

Pastel walls can pick up on the colors of prominent accessories, helping them to blend in without competing with them, as deeper, bolder colors tend to do.

They can make rooms decorated with formal furniture feel more welcoming, gently energize neutral furnishings, and be the unobtrusive glue for a successful, eclectic look.

Pastel schemes are an excellent choice if you need to tie together a variety of textures and patterns, as well as colors.

They bring to mind the nuances of nature, and so work particularly well with furnishings that also speak of nature – flowered fabrics, wicker chairs, and natural sea grass rugs.

In the greener shades, pastels can help to connect the indoors with the garden, helping the eye to flow uninterruptedly from inside to outside.

Pastels will lend a casual flair and friendly look to almost anything they touch, simply because they offer some of the characteristics of bright colors, without insisting on their full impact.

By day, they hint color without dominating. At night, they tend to look paler and more subdued.

A pastel scheme keeps rooms cool-looking but never cold, fosters a sense of tranquility, and being light, can be used to expand the sense of space.

You can use pastels very effectively to subtly highlight architectural features, such as door and window trim and wall paneling. They can also be employed to camouflage things like pipes and radiators.

While pastels can be made paler or bolder very easily, pastel schemes do tend to look best if all the colors have the same tonal value

Restful, heartwarming and relaxed, pastel schemes are easy to work with, easy on the eye, and a positive pleasure to live with.