True colours Pack a punch, from pretty pastels to 2021’s ‘it’ shades

Keen to embark on a major revamp or want to breathe new life into your rooms? Enjoy browsing these pages...

2021-02-04 -

Selecting a colour scheme is so exhilarating – gathering paint and fabric swatches, playing with patterns, assessing what to do where... it’s enough to send shivers of delight down your spine, imagining the possibilities. But, understandably, for some it can be a daunting experience. The ideas that follow show you how to add colour, be it just a smidge or in a big way, to pull your look together successfully.

1 TREND WATCH

Fancy a modern take on your kitchen reno? Let Pantone’s Colours of the Year, Ultimate Grey and Illuminating (bright yellow), inspire you. As fortune favours the brave, opt for a lively aesthetic, combining splashes of vivid yellow cabinetry or appliances with calming neutral grey units and floor tiles to dilute its vibrancy.

2 GREY LUXE

There are more ways than the obvious to allow grey into your home. This outstanding marble-effect feature mural is perhaps the most luxurious of all. White Marble mural, wallsauce.com/au.

3 HELLO THERE

Let the sunshine in with a yellow door that offers the warmest of welcomes. Instantly memorable as an exterior colour, it’s inside that you really reap the rewards. Such a happy colour, it’s bound to put a smile on your face. Bright citrus is fun, golden yellows will energise the room and buery hues are simply delicious and ideal for the colour cautious.

4 LUSTROUS CHARACTER

Mustards offer a sophisticated solution when teamed with grey, black or earthy accents. Here, the fearless use of this saturated colour enhances the room’s elegant period lines, while white on architectural trims keeps the look crisp. Like the gloss walls? Try Andrew Martin Japan lacquered wallpaper in Provencal. For stockists, visit uniquefabrics.com.

5 GOOD CHEER

Yellow is such a positive, optimistic colour – and that’s exactly what we all need right now. So if you have grey walls and furniture, weave warmth into your living areas with hints of primrose-yellow in an armchair, geometric-print cushions and rugs, and accessories.

6 OPEN AND AIRY

Lend a tropical feel to your classic white living room by teaming a dark brown ra an sofa with monochromatic palm-leaf cushions, set against plain ochre linen. Dark floorboards and leafy plants complete the look. Unless you’re lucky enough to have dark floorboards, hire a professional to do the job, or book a DIY class on how to sand, seal and stain your timber floor.

7 STREAMLINE YOUR SPACES

Necessity is the mother of invention and nothing could be more true here, where mismatched furniture looks as if it was thoughtfully curated. The secret? Limiting the pale e to spice shades – cinnamon and nutmeg for starters – to create a harmonious backdrop for disparate pieces.

8 DREAM OF FARAWAY LANDS

Our wings may have been clipped when it comes to exotic travel, but a panoramic wallpaper of luxuriant foliage will transport you instantly. It may set you back a bit but is less expensive than a trip overseas. Against its grey backdrop, an earthy ochre bedhead and ginger cushion fabric sing. Tana Grisaille panel Ananbo, etoffe.com. Print cushion, Summer Palace in Desert, domestictextile.com.au.

9 GATHERING SPACES

Warm up white rooms with terraco a and they’re instantly inviting. Unsurprisingly, it’s where people will want to gather. Dulux Gold Pheasant (bricks), Treeless (rangehood) and Snowy Mountains Half (walls), dulux.com.au.

10 STANDOUT KITCHEN

Keen for something different for your kitchen design? Think blush pink. It’s divine teamed with brass handles and marble benchtops. If you have a flair for the dramatic, partner the blush units with charcoal cabinetry but swap out the marble bench for dark stone. PS, this wallpaper is specifically for splashbacks but any will work as long as it’s protected under glass or acrylic. Kitchenwalls Flower & Marble wallpaper, limelace.co.uk.

11 FAIL-SAFE DUO

Mellow and muted, a combo of blush pink and grey suits most styles, but especially Scandi and modern country looks.

12 DIVIDE AND CONQUER

Are you a commitment-phobe when it comes to colour? Here’s a colour-blocking bedroom idea that eases you in gently, the effect modern and surprisingly chic. For a grown-up look, use a delicate blush with underlying tones of beige. Something of a traditionalist? Apply paint to chair-rail height; otherwise, take the colour halfway up the wall. Stick to white for the top.

13 BOLD STROKES

This room will embolden you to free your inner colourist. It’s a masterclass in how to combine bold decorating trends, unusual colour pairings and eclectic pieces. The two key elements that define the space are the green handwoven wallhanging and the salmon pink wall. The low wall shelf is deliberately lowkey, blending in with the wall so the unique collectibles are the focus of a ention. The almost-all-black rug serves to ground the scheme.

14 SERENE GREEN

When you can’t help but feel your bedroom is a li le dull, it’s time to bring a casual, nature-inspired freshness to your personal space. Use multiple shades of green – from teal to lime or grass – and add a dash of turquoise or sky blue for good measure. Your sleeping space will feel like summer all year round. Notice there’s not a feature wall in sight – upholstery did the trick here!

15 IN TRANSIT

Hallways can be bland places, but these high-traffic areas deserve recognition for transporting you from room to room. Lavish a ention on them, choosing a muted grey-green that has presence without screaming for a ention yet is not so light it appears insipid.

16 AWAKEN REFRESHED

Do away with your customary bedhead in favour of a wallpaper-covered panel featuring dragonflies among verdant green foliage. So realistic is the original artwork, you can almost hear the leaves rustling. Pick a shade from the wallpaper for your bedding. Ressource Forestine Collection LIBELLULE (Dragonfly) LB01, ressource-peintures.com.

17 KITCHEN LOVE

Embarking on a kitchen makeover? In pursuit of something different? Mid-tone, nature-inspired mallard green with its touch of black should top your cabinetry wish-list. This colour suits a stainless steel splashback, blonde wood and white benchtop. Go handleless for a sleek look where colour is the true hero of the room.

18 COASTAL AMBITION

Crisp and refreshing, decorating with pastel blues – from sky to duck egg with its hint of green – is like taking a refreshing dip in the ocean. They have the ability to work as a calming neutral and an irresistible accent – two for the price of one! This classic Hamptons home pairs traditional white panelling to chair-rail height with duck egg woven grasscloth above. Grounding the scheme are divine wide-plank dark floorboards, but walnut or espresso furniture is another option.

19 CARIBBEAN CALLING

Inspired by vibrant skies and ocean waves, the appeal of intense watery shades is hard to deny. No need to go overboard, simply lay rugs that are an amalgam of cobalt, royal blue, turquoise and/or aquamarine and furnish with a matching two-tone sofa. Against a white background with stained timber shuers, they’ll evoke the feel of a much-desired tropical getaway.

20 MAKE AN ENTRANCE

Start as you mean to go on with a navy console table that sets the tone of your scheme. Mischa console table, $169.95, mocka.com.au.

21 OUT AND OUT COOL

Rich pa ern and texture are key to an appealing scheme, providing layers of interest that invite closer inspection. Embroidered linen, velvet, sisal, furniture and decorative objects, all drawn from a pale e of blues, unite for a harmonious whole. PS, marbled wallpaper makes a pre y backdrop for collected pieces. Designers Guild Delahaye in Zinc wallpaper, radfordfurnishings.com.au.