How To Use Colour In Your Home
Choosing paint colours for your home is one of the main struggles my clients have when decorating their homes. They’re afraid to get it wrong and that they will be out of their comfort zone if they try something new. The result is choosing a bland, safe colour scheme or adding a feature wall to help make it more interesting which ends up looking out of place with the rest of the home.
I get it, when you are faced with so many paint colour choices, it’s difficult to choose. It’s all very well looking on Pinterest or instagram, but is it really you and will it look dated if you don’t paint your home regularly and follow trends?
First, don’t feel intimidated with current trends. Get comfortable with colours you are drawn to, this can be evident in the choice of clothes you wear or the colour car you drive (which doesn’t always work, I generally wear black all the time but I am drawn to the colour blue).
By choosing the colour you like or even love means you won’t tire of the colour easily, trends will come and go but you’re better to stick with the colour that you won’t get bored with easily.
If you aren’t ready for full on colour then take baby steps. I often find downstairs cloakrooms, bathrooms or dressing rooms are the areas that you can really let your creativity flow and try out a new colour. This will give you time to see if you really do like this colour and would be brave enough to try it in another room. It’s also a good way to take you out of your comfort zone when it comes to choosing paint colours.
Think About The Space
Now that you know what colours you like, take some time to think about the space you’re decorating. How do you use this room? This will give you an idea on the overall look you want to achieve whether it’s cosy and intimate or bright and airy. Maybe the living room needs to work as a home office or the kids use it for homework. This will let you know whether you want something light and bright or invigorating. Take into consideration the orientation of the room i.e. if the room is north or south facing, this will let you know how the light will affect the colour. It can be difficult to choose colour in a north facing room as the whitest white in the world won’t make much difference really, I prefer to use a rich saturated colour and go with the flow. Taking time to think out your space before paint will help you decide on colour.
Using Colour In Small Spaces
It's a common myth that you can’t use a dark colour in a small room. In fact a dark colour in a living room or bedroom can be perfect if used correctly. A dark colour will instantly relax you as the colour envelopes you as you start to unwind for the day.
Using a dark colour in a small space can actually make the room feel bigger especially if you paint the skirting in the same colour as the walls. This will push the boundaries of the walls as you don’t see where the wall starts and finishes with a white skirting board, therefore creating the illusion of space. Honestly, try it, it works.
Using an all-white or neutral colour scheme.
The trick to using an all- white scheme is to introduce texture to avoid a flat and uninteresting scheme. Try introducing contrast, dark and light tones that can also be used with materials leather and stone, wood and marble implement textured weaves. This is where your accessories can be introduced to great extent.
Using a dark colour in a small room or any room on all walls looks amazing. I would however suggest painting the skirting in the same colour or a tone lighter for a more cohesive look. Think also about the ceiling colour, a sympathetic paint colour against dark walls will look much better than a stark white.
Another way of using colour is by using a tone on tone or colour drenching, this is using the same colour but in different tones and creates the illusion of space and continuity.
Still unsure? Then maybe you want to stay neutral and use colour in your accessories, cushions, artwork et cetera. This means you can easily change them if you get bored or decide that's not your favourite colour after all!
I hope this helps but if you're still feeling overwhelmed then why not book a consultation.
