How to decorate with terracotta

For a long time, bland white interiors have been the pinnacle of style. While an all-white interior is the perfect base on which to build your interior style, it’s also hard to keep clean and can come across feeling ‘cold’ or ‘soulless’.

Luckily, winter 2019 has seen rich, saturated colours come back into fashion. Warm tones, jewel colours and other equally bold colour palettes are now taking centre stage. One particular colour that seems to have gained popularity on social media is terracotta.

Terracotta is a rich, warm and tactile orange colour that is surprisingly versatile. It works well in homes with bohemian, coastal or even minimal style. Take inspiration from these beautiful Pinterest posts, and heed our decorating advice for working with this eye-catching hue.

Fully commit to terracotta

Paint the walls with terracotta, lay terracotta-coloured rugs on the floor and put your indoor plants into terracotta pots.

Try terracotta tiles

Terracotta tiles on the kitchen bench, kitchen island, bathroom floor or walls make for an interior that feels tactile and exotic.

Start small

Start small by changing up your homewares. A rug, throw blanket and cushions are all you need to introduce a little terracotta to your home.

Go tonal

Combine complementary shades of terracotta, dusty pink and muted reds together for a room that packs a punch of colour.

Make a statement

Choose one piece of large furniture you want to make a statement with, and have it upholstered in terracotta-coloured velvet.

In the bedroom

Nothing looks quite as snug as terracotta linen.

Style tips

Terracotta plays well with muted shades of white, cream, pink, red, mustard, green and cerulean blue.
Pair terracotta-toned textiles with timber furniture or woven homewares, such as woven rugs, baskets, bowls and timber side tables.
Green, leafy indoor foliage plants look a million bucks in a terracotta pot.
When it comes to terracotta-coloured bedding, furniture, homewares and tiles, try to maximise texture. That is, objects that look touchable.

The top 2 terracotta trends

#1 Pairing terracotta-coloured furniture and textiles with a white room, woven rugs and indoor plants.

#2 A fully-tonal immersion of terracotta, with rooms saturated in tones of terracotta, pinks and reds.

You might also like:

How to decorate a room with green

8 pictures that prove pastel pink works in any room of the house

The best interior colours for winter 2019

*Header image via Dulux by Bree Leech and Mike Baker Photography

Laura Barry

Laura Barry is a writer, bookworm and interior design enthusiast with a love for reporting on all things homes, travel and lifestyle. When not tapping away at her keyboard, Laura can be found making endless cups of tea or perusing the shelves of Sydney’s many bookstores.