Tiffany Duggan of Studio Duggan and Trove on the hues she’s inspired by

STUDIO DUGGAN AND TROVE FOUNDER TIFFANY DUGGAN TALKS INSPIRING HUES AND NOT STICKING TO THE RULES

There’s no one-size-fits-all way to choose the right colour for a room – but there are some simple steps that’ll narrow down your options. First, focus on what it’ll be used for, how often it’ll be used and by whom. Then think about the room’s size and height and what features you want to focus on or fade out. I don’t usually like bright, primary, uncomplicated colours. I much prefer colours that are hard to describe.

Intense shades are great for creating

atmosphere so they’re ideal for rooms that won’t be in constant use. They also work well in transitional spaces such as hallways. I chose

Basalt by Little Greene for my hall, for example. It’s a blue-black that creates a dramatic entrance.

I recently decorated a living room for clients who wanted a cocooning space.

I went bold with Farrow & Ball’s Brinjal, a deep aubergine colour, taking it across the woodwork, skirting and the walls all the way up to the picture rail. I then used a muted red called Rouge II from Paint & Paper Library on the ceiling to soften it.

The rooms leading off my hall are all

painted in light, bright colours so they feel wonderfully spacious when you emerge from the darkness of the hall. My kitchen, for example, is an almost-white, pale grey from Little Greene called Ceviche. I’ve also recently painted my double reception room in light, spring-like shades. The woodwork, walls and picture rail are painted in Jonquil – a peachy soft pink – by Edward Bulmer and the ceiling is off-white.

When it comes to accent colours and

creating contrast in neutral spaces, I’m very into green at the moment. Favourites from Farrow & Ball include Calke Green and Lichen . I’m also using quite a bit of Farrow & Ball’s Red Earth, a warm terracotta colour.

There’s an old rule that says you should start with the darkest colour on your skirtings,

go slightly lighter on the walls and lighter still on the ceiling. The rule still works – but you don’t have to be tied to it. If you want your space to feel a bit cosier for example, it’s fine to go for one shade everywhere. This approach also creates a contemporary feel.

You can make a room with a low ceiling feel larger by using the same colour on

the walls and ceiling. This blurs the line between where the wall ends and the ceiling begins, making the space feel bigger. For rooms of standard height, I love a glossy ceiling set against matt walls. This not only looks glamorous and dramatic but also helps bounce light around the room, making it feel bigger. Remember that paints with even the slightest sheen will highlight all the imperfections, so make sure your ceiling is in excellent condition if you want to use gloss.

Most of our clients like Paint & Paper

Library’s Architectural range because the colours are created using different strengths of the same pigment and then numbered I, II, III, IV or V according to tonal weight – useful if you don’t feel confident choosing which colours go with which.