12 Designer-Approved Ways to Decorate With Mauve

Swap a Neutral for Mauve

Have exposed beams or simple accents you want to accentuate? Instead of painting your trim or beams white or gray, consider opting for something a little bolder like mauve. Exposed ceiling beams are a great way to bring visual interest into any space, especially a living room or a kitchen.

Embrace the Romance

If you want to add a delicate hint of romance to your space but you're sick of pink, consider mauve. "Mauve is a beautiful, sophisticated, and delicate color with the right amount of richness," Louis Duncan-He, the Principal Designer and Creative Director of Louis Duncan-He Designs, says.

He recommends working it into rooms that skew a little more traditional, but maintain a modern vibe with "cleaner lines and fresh elements that are still timeless, like marble and stone."

Perfect for Kids' Rooms

We love mauve as a fun alternative to blue or pink in a child's or teenager's room. Designer Kate Davidson of Kate + Co Design Inc. suggests pairing mauve with bright purples and pinks to "evoke an upbeat springtime vibe to any bedroom space."

Pair it With Gold Details

Mauve is a very strong color, which makes it a perfect hue to pair with bolder accents such as brass or gold. To keep it from feeling childlike, pair it with strong accents.

"Mauve can go from chic to overly sweet real quick, so it’s best when used with sophisticated elements in a room, subtle linen, and unlacquered brass, for example," designer Christina Kim says.

Create a Tranquil Office Space

A mauve with stronger blue undertones like this one works wonderfully in a chic office space. The soft color palette helps evoke a sense of calm and will help you ease into that stressful 3:00 meeting with the boss.

Use it Alongside Cool Colors

Wondering how best to use mauve? Designer Cristina La Porta suggests keeping it to cool tones if you want to create a subtle look that still offers a load of color.

"Mauve is a graduation that derives from purple, and being a cold color it can therefore be combined with other cold colors, such as shades of gray, green, or blue," she says.

Add Mauve Details In the Bedroom

One of the best rooms to use mauve? In the bedroom, says Kim.

"Mauve is great in primary bedrooms where you want to keep things feeling tranquil and chic," she explains. Mauve is a great alternative to blue or gray in the bedroom to give off a depth of color that still feels neutral and welcoming.

Pair it With Marble

Because marble is already a very traditional and chic material to decorate, it makes sense that pairing it with mauve utterly elevates the whole look. Mauve works so well in a bathroom, but when it's paired with a marble that features gray or even purple veins, it creates a 5-star hotel look and feel.

Weave it In Through Accents

You don't have to go all-out mauve to add a touch of chic color to your space. Instead, look for wallpaper patterns that feature small bits of mauve or fold in accent pieces such as a lamp, throw pillow, or piece of art that offers a touch of the color.

We love experimenting with unusual colors like mauve in lesser-used rooms like a walk-in closet or a den to see how you feel about it before introducing it to more highly trafficked spaces.

Pair it With Black and White

According to Kim, mauve works with many color palettes, but black and white is a great option.

"Mauve is so much fun to decorate with because it always feels unexpected and chic in a space," she says. "Use it as a pop with neutrals, a black and white palette, or with other flat pastels like powder blue."

Keep it Simple

Here, a simple mauve accent pillow elevates this neutral bedroom and gives it just enough color to feel fresh and unexpected. This is a great way to level out a Scandinavian-inspired living room or dining room as well in a way that won't take away from the overall subtle look of the room.

Add Depth to Any Space

"Mauve is a beautiful, sophisticated, delicate color with the right amount of richness," Duncan-He says. If you have a room that doesn't feel quite "finished," mauve can be a great choice. It adds a lot of depth to any room, and because it's such an unexpected color, it feels very intentional.