Live on the bright side
Celebrate summer with brilliant, zingy shades for rooms. Gabrielle Fagan shows you how to colour with confidence
Colour’s cool for homes right now, and stamping your style on rooms with bright shades is an easy way to welcome summer.
“Bold is back! Colour accents should be surprising and tantalising this year,” says Nicky Pysden at DecorateNow, specialists in paint, wallpaper and decorating accessories.
“Use colour where you least expect it, to accentuate and highlight features in a room. This trend plays with shapes, light and shadow to create an interesting mix of shades.
“Colour’s coming from everywhere as the nation gets bold with teal, yellow, lime green and rosebud pink.”
If you’re used to a more neutral world and it all feels a bit scary, dip your toe into vivid decor by experimenting with what interior designers call ‘pops’ of colour.
That means picking shades you like – for inspiration, look at the clothes in your wardrobe as they’re likely to feature shades you’re naturally most attracted to – and decorating with them, or featuring them in accessories.
First check out your chosen colours on a paint chart. If you’re unsure, buy a sample pot, paint a piece of A4 paper and stick it on a wall to see that you’re comfortable with it over time and in different lights.
Think outside the box when it comes to decorating – you don’t have to opt for the inevitable ‘feature’ wall.
“Take inspiration from the catwalk. Colour-blocking is as big in fashion as it is in the home this year,” says Pysden. “If you opt for a limited palette, make sure at least one of those colours is turquoise, to add an air of electricity.”
Painting skirtings and doors in a new punchy shade, or even painting a ceiling (in a room with high ceilings this will make it feel lower and the room cosier), can be just as effective.
Alternatively, give a piece of furniture, mirror or picture frames a fast colour hit by spray-painting them.
If you’re really colour cautious, simply invest in a few new accessories. But be warned – the future’s orange, blue, green, pink and a whole host of other zingy shades besides, so ensure your home’s on-trend.
Follow the experts’ advice to affordable ways to use colour with confidence without turning your bank balance red…
ORANGE AID
Orange is a cheery colour and keys in well to a modern interior, or one focusing on turn-back-the-clock retro style.
Interior designer Abigail Ahern highlights burnt orange as her favourite shade.
“This season, stronger colours are taking centre stage and burnt orange is the star. One of the reasons I’m so obsessed with this hue is that it works in any interior, and works whether you hanker after a modern or a more bohemian interior,” she says.
“Also, this is a warm colour, which is welcoming and signifies tranquility. It will transition well into autumn as it’s synonymous with the latter half of the year. Use for upholstery, accessories or on a feature wall – it’s rich, elegant and adds that all-important ‘pop’ of colour.”
:: COLOUR SELECTION: Cuban Heat, from the Crown Feature Wall Matt Emulsion range, is around £10.98 for 1.25 litres, available from Homebase and B&Q. Alternatively, Charlotte’s Locks No. 268 from Farrow & Ball is £34.50 for 2.5 litres estate emulsion and £50 for 2.5 litres of full gloss.
:: COLOUR CAUTIOUS: Funky, orange accessories could transform a room. An Ice-Clock Wall Clock, available in a range of zingy shades including orange, is £39.95 from Watchshop.com. Shine a bright light with ‘shadelier-style’ Charleigh Pendant Orange lampshade with hanging orange crystal drops, £49, Pagazzi, and scatter a few Tangerine Fan Cushions, £28 each, HunkyDory Home. Follow the fruity theme with Citrus Slices Wall Stickers, £30, Red Candy.
PUNCHY PINK
Homes should be filled with colour, says Charlotte Hedeman Gueniau, author of Happy Home: Everyday Magic For A Colorful Life (Jacqui Small, £25), which is an inspiring guide to experimenting with colour and pattern.
“There’s usually some shade of pink involved in my top five colours. Sometimes a soft, romantic shade and at the moment a more hysterical, energetic fluorescent tone of neon,” she says.
“Coloured walls are one of my darlings. Just one wall can really make a huge difference in a room. I always say, ‘Just do it’ – don’t take it too seriously, because, with another tin of paint, you can change it quickly if you get sick of it all.”
:: COLOUR SELECTION: Be brave and choose Dulux Matt Emulsion Sexy Pink, £18.98 for 2.5 litres, B&Q, or achieve a more subtle effect with the topically named Middleton Pink No. 245, £34.50 for 2.5 litres of estate emulsion, Farrow & Ball.
:: COLOUR CAUTIOUS: Play it safe with a neutral backdrop of white walls and make a feature of pink furniture. Sofa Workshop’s Tomfoolery 2.5-seater sofa in Pure Cherry costs £2,199. Add a glossy pink Oken folding side table (the tray top can be lifted off), £35, Habitat.
Functional items needn’t blend into the background. Premier Housewares ABS 3-Tier Cabinet in Hot Pink, around £155.49, Amazon or Premier Housewares. Brighten a splashback or bathroom by painting existing tiles with Ronseal One Coat Tile Paint in Pink Fusion, £18.99 for 750ml, B&Q (available from September).
Beautiful fabrics dress a room and Clarke & Clarke’s new collection, Lombok, is Balinese-inspired and features pink and orange patterns on Ika and plain fabrics in Sunset, Spice and Sorbet pink colours. Fabrics from £17 a metre.
RAINBOW SHADES
If you can’t choose between your favourite colours, take inspiration from the rainbow and feature a razzle-dazzle mix of shades.
“Be bold, be bright, and don’t be afraid of colour because it’s essential for a happy home. Add zesty colour in bright textured cushions, and statement pieces of art,” says Hedeman Gueniau.
“Don’t be afraid to mix colours but very vivid shades can become overwhelming. Stick to one or two bright colours and add to them with softer shades.”
:: COLOUR CAUTIOUS: Jazz up a wall with train line-inspired Coloured Luggage Racks from London Transport Museum. They start from £150 for a small rack and its Coloured Trunks start from £62 each.
Just as bold is a deep red Retro Locker Side Table, £79.99, Store.
Quirky accessories add fun to a room, and a bowl which looks like a large splash of paint is a gem. A Menu Dropp bowl, in Spring Leaf, £29.95, Red Candy.
Even if there are no blue skies outside, you could lift your spirits with a brilliant blue Matador armchair by Conran, £895, Darlings of Chelsea.
Banish fussy window dressing and pick stunning Lime Green Louvered Shutters, from £320 per metre, Shutterly Fabulous.
COLOURFUL CORNER
A collection of spray-painted vases, jars or even old milk bottles can bring life to a dull corner.
Pick sunny shades, such as Orange Gloss, Pink Burst Gloss, Bright Red Gloss from the Plasti-Kote’s Twist & Spray colour range, £8.79 for a 400ml can.
The full range is available from Hobbycraft and Wilkinson stores as well as DIY stores. For inspiring project ideas and information visit www.plastikote.com and for stockists call 01223 836 400.
DYING FOR COLOUR
Give past-their-sell-by-date curtains and upholstery a new lease of life by dying them. Dylon’s shades include some summer-smart colours: Tropical Green, Sunflower Yellow, Bahama Blue, Flamingo Pink and Goldfish Orange.
Hand dyes, £3.11 and machine dyes, £6.06, from high street stores including John Lewis, Robert Dyas, Wilkinson and hardware stores nationwide.
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