Imagine, Build up a Picture in your Mind

The colours we use in our homes reflect our personalities. There will inevitably be a family of colours you will be drawn to; maybe in your clothing, or in treasured possessions, and then there will be those you just can’t stand.

What kind of Rooms are you drawn to?
Bright and airy, cosy or cluttered, rich with pattern, or soothing and neutral? Build up a picture in your mind. Visualise yourself feeling at home when you walk into every room of your house regardless of what anyone else thinks.

Have a Spring Clean and Create some Space

Paint Tests

Test paint on a piece of cardboard or a length of lining paper. This way the board or paper have the advantage of being moveable so you can pin or tape them to various parts of the wall. Plus you can test-paint a much larger area, which will give you a better idea of how the colour will appear in volume.

Lighting

Look at the colour in full natural light and at different times of the day - morning, noon and dusk. Then, since shadow can make some colours appear gloomy, move the sample to a dark corner of the room and repeat the experiment.

Check the colour in different types of artificial light, and also make sure your fabric swatches not only work well with your paint choice, but that they also retain their colour in different lights.

Click here to view Mirrors available in our online store

Paint One Room

If you cant afford it or just don’t feel like redecorating your entire house, start with your favourite room and give it a fresh new colour. Think about painting a feature wall for a bit of interest- maybe go for a colour you’ve always been afraid to use but you’re totally in love with.

For a Foolproof Lift

Paint the architraves, window frames and ceiling a crisp white. The room will instantly look bigger.

Pattern and Texture-Interest and a Luxurious, tactical feel to a room

A textured floor rug for example can provide insulation and demarcate an area as well. Pattern can have as much impact as colour on the proportions of space; and texture will really set the tone of an interior.

Buy Plain Canvases
Paint stripes or geometric shapes in your favourite colours. Give the kids the test pots of the colours you are using plus a few random complimentary colours and let them go wild on a canvas.

Its All Done With Mirrors
Mirrors make a space seem larger by doubling the effect. They can also reflect the outside in making a space seem more interesting.

Accessorise

Picture Frames- Should enhance and compliment the subject of the picture they surround.

China & Glass- Keep a common theme of colour or pattern in groupings of glass or china.

Click here to view Lightbulbs available in our online store

Cushions & Throws - The colours can either echo those already used on floor and wall coverings or they can be in contrasting highlight colours to make a statement.

Window Treatments- Select colours for curtains and window treatments either to match a colour in upholstery or wallpaper pattern featured in your room, or in a darker or lighter tone of the main wall colour.

Plants & Flowers- The colours can be used to add life to a room and to compliment a colour scheme. A row of vivid red cushions can be echoed by a vase of vermilion tulips, or the rich polished wood of a dining room table can be highlighted by the knotty wrinkled surface of walnuts in a platter. Pots of herbs can look great on a windowsill in a kitchen as well.

Create a Mood-Board

A moodboard is a visual story that is used to inspire a designer or to explain a certain concept. It should represent your research and taste, and it can be made up of anything your heart desires. Gather together colour swatches, samples, photos, pages torn from magazines, and any odds and ends that inspire you. A moodboard will crystallise your ideas and help you make the right purchasing decisions.

MOST IMPORTANTLY HAVE FUN AND DON’T BE AFRAID!!