Colourfy Your Home!

The colours you choose can be the make or break of your home décor. They can lift and brighten a room or make it gloomy and dull.

Selecting the right palette is often the job of an interior designer, but if you’re plunging into your own home makeover, it’s well worthwhile taking the time to collect swatches, use apps, consider the lighting and think about existing colours, such as dominant furniture.

A fresh coat of paint can also be an investment, so take a moment to browse our blog for our advice on getting it right first time.

Lighting

Depending on its use, location and wiring, your room’s lighting will vary greatly. If natural light pours in through wide windows to an open living area, use off-white tones edging towards yellow, orange or pink. This will reflect and enhance the natural glow, bathing your room in sunlight.

If your room is more sedate with carefully-planned spotlighting, darker, earthy tones will complement the selective pools of light, creating a more cosy, cocooning ambience.

Furnishings

Repainting doesn’t mean remodelling, so it’s likely that your furnishings, flooring and even your artwork will likely remain. Use this as your first point of inspiration, drawing on the existing colours to unify the room completely. There maybe subtle tones in your couch upholstery, you may wish to use complimentary colours to offset your window hangings or pick out a vibrant element of your art to create a dynamic feature wall.

The Room

A kitchen is very different to a nursery, so select your tones according to the room’s use. While white is more challenging to keep clean, it provides a simple, brightening backdrop for the clutter of your kitchen. This same colour would cause a living room to become cold and impersonal, so opt for a gentle beige or peach, with maybe a bold feature wall if your room is large and spacious.

Nurseries need to be light, but little bub won’t fall asleep if she’s dazzled by light. Choose a soothing, neutral tone, such as a gentle grey-beige, taupe or ivory. For your own bedroom, you may want a richer, more romantic theme, so think about your favourite colours, then tone them down into pastels or dark, rich hues.

With each room, think of the emotion you want it to inspire and match a colour to that mood.

App It

They say there’s an app for everything these days and, sure enough, there are plenty for colourfying your home. Paint My Place allows you to take a snap of your room, then change the colour scheme any way you want, so you can see what your room will look like without a single drip of paint hitting the walls.

You can select from hundreds of brand paint colours, change it as many times as you like and view real images of your room in full colour.

Download now on Apple or Android

Get Inspired

Whether it’s cutting up magazines or working on a Pinterest board, collect together a wide range of images that inspire you – even if they don’t relate to your room or home.

This will help you to visualise outside of your current colours and think outside the box. Think about how you can interpret your favourite styling into your own home, toning down colours or using concepts in your own, unique way.

Collecting a wide range of ideas together is an excellent way to find what works for you, as well as eliminate any styles that simply won’t match your home décor.

Go with the Flow

If your house has an existing theme, you may wish to create some stark contrast and have a completely unique room, but for the most part, creating a natural flow throughout your home is a better way to go.

There may be a strong colour scheme that runs from room to room already, so think about maintaining that balance. Perhaps there is a distinctive colour outside the window, though make sure you’re basing your decision on perennials and not a plant that only blooms for one week a year!

The property as a whole can also give you the basis for your palette. Traditional buildings radiate when using slightly stronger pastels that reflect natural materials and surroundings, whereas modern designs with clean lines, open-plan areas and large windows are better suited to off-whites or bright, dynamic splashes.

Whatever room you are painting or colour scheme you choose, by following these tips, you can save time, money and open up a world of inspiration to create something truly unique.