Pastels are everywhere but do they feel fresh or a bit sluggish to you? I must admit, all of that sugary softness can feel totally boring (Easter needs revamped!) so why don't we turn up the heat and make pastels ZING. What I'm about to show you (brace  yourself) is a very hot 'n spicy palette for Spring on the runway so why not try it at home by mixing pastels with spicy red, 80s neons, warm cooper or gold tones, maybe a shot of black, deep violet, emerald or navy. I'm tellin' ya people, we can take pastels from Oy vey to Oh yay in mere seconds - take a look...

This is a very lively mix - a real party girl combo using sugar sweet pastels and punctuating them with clever color accents that are bold and risky. While pastels can feel really granny and dated (or seasonal), you can easily perk them up with my favorite metal of the moment - copper!

If you're a bit bored with neon pink, opt for neon orange because that looks quite gorgeous when placed in a pastel playground.

I even love spicy reds - they can energize a pastel palette taking them from Easter egg hunts and tea parties to grown up girl Glamorama cha-cha! Want to get a little edgy with pastels? Grab a little black or navy and dot it around the space.

Cushions by Martinich&Carran

How are you using pastels at the moment? Here are some visuals to give you some ideas that I love...

I have to add that Lucy over at the Design Files is such an inspiration to me. This Australian blogger has such a gorgeous design blog about Aussie design and recently had a beautiful open house event where she turned an empty rented home into a living blog OPEN HOUSE showroom for a weekend. I really love Lucy's photography, blog and now her open house events - I'm tempted to fly down to Australia to attend the next one later this year - it's my big dream ! Anyway, Lucy loves color and knows how to mix pastels with more vibrant hues so I selected several photos above from her open house party to inspire you to be a bit more daring when you decorate. To see more about the Design Files Open House, please visit Vimeo and watch this stunning video. Lucy, you rock with color and design!

(images: ferm living, revolver, design files)