Every year, Pantone releases its color report for the spring. Fashion designers lend their expert opinions to compile this palette.  Their report for 2012 was full of fresh, bright colors and is truly inspiring – whether you’re making clothes or putting together your home, color palettes like this can give your thinking a spark. These shades can be incorporated throughout your entire house, in a number of subtle, or even obvious, ways. Here are some of my favorite ways to use these colors…

This piece is very versatile – for seating or with a tray on it as a side table. This is just one of those colors that can really work in many styles of homes, whether you’re going for a more sophisticated and neutral look, or playing around with spring-inspired colors.

This project, above, is one where I used a accent color, Cockatoo, to tie the room together. Rugs, pillows, and accessories allow you to add that pop of color to a room,without breaking the bank. These things are easy to swap out if you decide your room needs a revamp next season or year.

This lamp/lampshade has just the right amount of color.  For those who are a bit cautious to introduce such a bright, bold color into their home, try incorporating smaller accent pieces – they don’t have to necessarily be all one color, in this case the silver base of the lamp makes the bright Cabaret-colored lamp shade a bit more understated. Be careful, though, not to make the accent color look too intentional.

There’s no reason you can’t have more than one pop of the same color in a room, more than one accent color gives the room depth, too many, however can make the accents ineffective. The way that the inside of this cabinet is painted the same color as the chairs really ties the entire room together, but it doesn’t need to be so obvious. The project above isn’t mine, but it successfully shows how to use accent pieces and accessories to tie key colors together. This is a great technique to use if you have one odd-ball thing in the room that you are trying to make look intentional.

This fun shag rug would be perfect for a kids’ room or could even be used under the desk. These can be thrown down on hard wood floors or used on top of carpet, just to dress up the room a bit.

With all of this thinking of bold colors, it’s easy to forget about the more neutral shades. This project is a perfect example of how to make neutral tones interesting. By painting the walls in Driftwood it makes the room look very elegant and sophisticated and enhances the way that the lighting is used here. Also, notice how great the accent pillows look!