Wood is versatile, explore colourful styles . . .

COLOUR gives a lift to interiors and where there is wood there is opportunity to colour scheme. Painting wood furnishings can accentuate the design of every home and apartment, while it’s also very versatile, cheap and reinvigorating.

Chic furniture of various shades is suggestive of the French country farm house style, or even the rustic Long Island beach cabins where duck shell blues and creams are vibrant reminders of wood’s suitability to colour, particularly tables and chairs.

Traditionally, the Irish mindset when it comes to wood is to varnish it. There’s nothing wrong with this except over time this looks jaded and dull. We don’t recommend that you start painting a piece of antique furniture pink!

But the vast majority of people don’t have expensive antique furniture, which is why you can revitalise your interior space by taking a daring approach to the furniture at your disposal.

The trend of painting wood with bright colours has already started outdoors with more people now painting their garden sheds, fencing and walls in bright blues, powerful pinks and rustic reds. This is a far cry from the plain brown coloured wood paint once the norm of garden ware. If it works on the outside, it can work inside.

All you need do is carry out a little research. Google some French chateau style furniture and you’ll see loads of tables and chairs in beautiful colours.

Next step is to undercoat the furniture with a primer. This is important as most timbers will have been varnished so you need to prime the wood in order to paint over it (ask your paint supplier for advice about this task).

Then comes the best bit - picking out the colours that are guaranteed to add zest to your interior. Time to spruce up your furnishings for winter.