Paint is a huge part of any interior design and it can be daunting choosing the right colours for your home. No matter if you are investing in a professional to paint your home or committing many hours of your own time, making the right choice is critical to achieving the best result possible.
I recently comments on an article in Domain focused on choosing the right white for your home. Of course light, bright whites are still the most popular colours to opt for, however even this can be a minefield of possibilities, and some of which just won’t work in your space due to natural light, architecture, style and scale. For more on choosing the right white read the article here.
I want to focus on how you can bring colour into your home. Wouldn’t it be great to feel brave with colour and move away from light neutrals everywhere? Below are my top 5 tips for incorporating colour into your design to achieve a unique results that truly reflects your style.
1. Installing a chair rail around the room and then painting a richer darker colour below the rail allows you to bring in that hit of colour without making your space feel smaller overwhelming. As a general rule keep darker colours to the bottom half of the room and use lighter colours at the top so that your ceilings don’t feel too low.
Paint a darker colour below your picture rail for impact. (image source: Sarah Richardson blog)
2. If you are blessed with ornate, high ceilings then you can break this rule and bring the colours from your palette onto the ceiling to highlight this detail. This works well when mixed with bright white so you colour pops.
Pick out decorative features by using colour (image source; SmartSpace Interiors)
3. Don’t be afraid to use darker colours, especially black on one or two walls. Black can help to make the wall feel like it’s receding, therefore opening up the space. I love using black in powder rooms and dining rooms.
Black wall in dining room can make the space feel bigger Image source; Pinterest)
4. If you do want to paint a feature colour across a larger space then choose 2 or 3 walls not just one. We’ve moved away from pulling out single walls as a feature. As we often live in open plan spaces it works well to carve out your rooms within this space by using colour. So wrap your chosen colour around the room for impact but also to define your functional areas.
Wrap your colour around the space to carve out a functional area. (Image source; Pinterest)
5. Finally unless you are preparing your house for sale, or looking to rent it don’t hold back. Paint can be changed so easily if needed so there’s no need to be conservative with your palette, let your personality shine through!!!
Be bold with colour (Image source: Pinterest)