There are three situations in which you can decorate with pink to your heart’s content: (1) in a little girl or even young woman’s bedroom. After all, it may be the only time in life you can sleep in a totally pink bedroom. (2) You live in Palm Beach, or some other brilliantly sunny hot climate where clear deep pink looks fabulous, and women love to wear Lily Pulitzer or Pucci. (3) Valentine’s Day. Just go for it – pink sweater, pink flowers, pink linens, you get the idea.
Any other time, pink requires restraint. Either in the quantity of pink or the tone. Limiting pink to accents like fresh flowers, artwork, or a pillow, or a detail in a rug or curtain is perfectly wonderful and an easy low commitment way to test pink – just not everywhere all over the room. Getting the tone right is harder. You are looking for sophisticated shades of pink. Girly is not the adjective you want. Nor “twee” as the English say, which means excessively dainty yucky sweet.
So, what is a sophisticated shade of pink? Generally, any color that is a little difficult to describe is more sophisticated. Consider “pink that’s almost beige”, “deep earthy pink”, “pink that is almost dusty cocoa plum brown”, or pink with a lot of grey undertones (like mauve). Pinks like these are almost neutral, and easy to mix with deep colors and modern prints and designs (not florals) to avoid “sweet”. Try mixing with black, brown, or navy. Just keep your pinks either warm or cool in tone, depending on the look you are after. Then go for it!
