“How to be Bolder in your Interiors without the Fear Factor – Step 1; Introducing Colour”
People often look at my designs in their initial stages and gasp with abject horror – matte black walls & black gloss woodwork, bright blue & pink birdcage wallpapers, rich chocolate brown ceilings & flying monkeys, oversized gold beetles as door ornaments, canary yellow sofas & orange velvet chairs….sounds divine right? Or, you may be thinking Yikes, she’s mental & retreat back into the comforting arms of soft grey & mushroom. Well, I’m here to tell you that being bolder in your interiors and taking the plunge not to follow the crowd can truly change your life.
Hold on a sec, you say, I BLOODY LOVE greys and neutrals, minimalism is my bag man and that’s cool, but for those of you who have even an inkling to step away from this vibe and really express yours and your family’s personalities within your homes, read on my darlings, read on…
Making bold colour choices in your home can truly change your life. Fact. I genuinely believe that every single room in your home should put a smile on your face when you walk in & introducing colour is one of the first ways you can do this. Calm down, I’m not saying go out now & paint your kitchen yellow (although it is one half of the Pantone Colour(s) of the year, so you’d be bang on trend there sugar!). If you’re apprehensive about bringing the rainbow fairy in to your home, try adding an accent colour throughout a room or a couple of rooms in art work, accessories or pieces of furniture and see how it feels after a while. The iconic Interior Designer, Kelly Wearstler https://www.kellywearstler.com/ advocates having a look through your wardrobe to see which colours keep making an appearance in your favourite pieces of clobber & start there. However, if you’re nervous of adding a bit of the bright side to your home, you’re unlikely to be the dude with the shocking pink coat fetish, so I would suggest looking at your summer attire & pick something from that selection – this will also give your mood a quick buzz with memories of sunny days & sangria – see, I told you colour is the way to a happier brighter life, who gets motivated or giggles at those grey, pasty old days? Another tip would be to look at your accessories; jewellery, scarves, ties, hats….even if there’s just a tinge of amethyst, a suggestion of sapphire or a little hint of emerald, go with it, these gems are your friends & are clearly just waiting for you to bring their sparkle in to your home!
The other great thing with entering in to the colour lovers gang is that if you’re starting with a neutral canvas, quite literally, ANYTHING GOES! What a place to be at right? The colour wheel is your oyster, (but no oyster beige please) & by starting small, you really can build up and up from there. Try things out, start small so you don’t get overwhelmed & build on what you find you really love. A really great way to add bold colours & subsequent depth to spaces if you’re just taking the first few tentative steps, can be achieved through framed prints. We really are spoilt for choice these days with the plethora of online companies with my faves being Fy, https://www.iamfy.co/ Desenio, https://desenio.co.uk/ & Ink & Drop https://inkanddrop.com/ and trust me, you can change up the entire mood of a room just by whacking up something bright & interesting on to your walls. You can search their catalogues by colour, making it even easier to source something that will make you grin like the proverbial Cheshire moggy each time you see it. The price points for these works of art – because that’s what they are – are incredible value which is also great, if you fancy a change up in colour scheme further down the road. A return ticket to magnolia & blush will no longer be valid at this stage in your journey.
Indeed, my bold & beautiful friends, it’s been mooted (pardon the tenuous pun) in the higher echelons of the Interior Design world that Mr Grey has had his day and is now becoming an accent colour, clearing the yellow brick road for his more playful & mood enhancing companions….so why not take the plunge now, get ahead of the players & the game, be bolder & bring out your vibrant side? Find the colour that works for you, that brings you complete joy. From a little cobalt blue accessory you’ll be admiring your wallpapered ceiling while reclining on your scarlet chaise in no time! I promise you, you won’t regret it & being more unique, more you, less everyone else in your home décor will really light the way to you being like this in every aspect of your life. New Year, New You, cliché central but I really can’t stress enough how much joy colour can bring and we all need more of that these days.
I hope this little blog has given you a bit more courage to introduce some colour in to your life but if you’re still feeling a little unsure of precisely where to start, please do not hesitate to get in touch as I can offer you a colour consultation or any other Interior Design related conflab starting at £100. I’ll make sure you don’t make any rash decisions that would end up costing you extra dosh to rectify further down the line – sometimes we all just need a little encouragement, validation & enthusiasm to get us exactly where we need to be. Give me a bell or drop me an email, I’d truly love to help.
PS; Apologies for the Wizard of Oz & other old school kids films metaphors / references that have been a recurrent theme, not quite sure where they’ve actually sprung from although I do look like an Oompa Loompa when applying foundation now due to lack of any REAL TAN & I must also find those ruby slippers for my kitchen party later ;)
Kate x