The Joy of Polka Dots in Your Home
Polka dots are playful. They're fun. They bring a sense of joy into your home. Think of a polka-dotted summer dress on a woman and you probably think of having a terrific carefree time. But how do you go about bringing polka dots into your home design without the space becoming too childish?
One option is to confine your polka dot decorating to kids' rooms. Babies' rooms are a particularly great place for colorful polka dots. They brighten up the room and bring in beautiful patterns and simple joy.
However, adults can have polka dots in their rooms as well. This can be done through limiting the scope of the polka-dotted space (with a terrific example being to confine the polka dots to a single item like a shower curtain). It can also be done by altering the polka dots in a non-traditional way to create more of a graphic design style that appeals to adult eyes.
Playing around with polka dots in your home requires you to be a little bit different and daring. Are you brave enough to try it out? And how has it worked out for you so far?
One option is to confine your polka dot decorating to kids' rooms. Babies' rooms are a particularly great place for colorful polka dots. They brighten up the room and bring in beautiful patterns and simple joy.
However, adults can have polka dots in their rooms as well. This can be done through limiting the scope of the polka-dotted space (with a terrific example being to confine the polka dots to a single item like a shower curtain). It can also be done by altering the polka dots in a non-traditional way to create more of a graphic design style that appeals to adult eyes.
Playing around with polka dots in your home requires you to be a little bit different and daring. Are you brave enough to try it out? And how has it worked out for you so far?
The baby's room is the ideal place to start out with polka dot play. Here we can see a glimpse of colorful polka dots painted on to the wall of the room. They're simple. They're spaced out. And they're pretty in color without being too bold. This is a great example of the pretty playfulness of the polka dots.
If you're not quite daring enough to paint the baby's room with polka dots then you might want to start out by hanging up a piece of polka dot art in the room. Use colors that compliment the space and soothe the baby.
Shower curtains are a popular item for adults who want to play around with polka dots. This one has huge bold polka dots that bring color and a sense of play into the bathroom. Can't you just see someone joyfully peeking a head out from behind that polka-dotted curtain?
If the big polka dots are too much for your tastes then you could try to find a shower curtain with small polka dots. This lets you dip your toe into the world of polka dot fun without getting too immersed in the boldness this type of design can uncover.
Adults can also find creative ways to use polka dots in home design with a style that is a bit more toned-down. Here we see a series of black polka dots that make a statement without taking anything away from the rest of the room. The symmetrical pattern and singular color here bring a small sense of fun into the room while allowing the space to remain chic.
Many people are afraid to put polka dots on the walls because it can seem like "too much". The trick is to put the polka dots in a small space and to use elements of graphic design to create an interesting pattern. The red polka dots shaped into circles here are a great example of this.
Here's a bolder example of polka dots used to create a design on the wall. The dots here aren't entirely round and they are small in shape. Both of these factors tone down the polka dot attitude and yet let that playfulness emerge on the wall.
What if you do want to cover an entire wall with polka dots? Your best bet is to choose a fun pattern that loosely hints at polka dots but isn't quite so solid in color. These round colored dots in mostly neutral tones are a lot easier on the eyes than say a series of big red polka dots on a white background would be.
This is another example of the play on polka dots on a wall. Varying the size, shape and color of the polka dots creates an interesting texture for the eyes. This is definitely a fun room but it's not excessively demanding on the eyes. With neutral furniture, this room could be fun but grown-up.
Adults may also look for pieces with patterns that barely hint at polka dots but do have some element of that in them. I think that this rug is a great sample of something like that. It's got polka-dot flavor and fun.