LISA DAWSON
I’ve always been a fan of colour pop. I painted the kitchen walls lilac in our first house,
a bold move that didn’t quite work, mostly because the cupboards were a faux wood mint green. In my defence, there wasn’t much of a product selection to choose from when you bought a new-build back in the late nineties. These were the days when they still sucked you into the halfcarpeted kitchen-diner in the show houses (we picked beige; a decision that proved particularly unsavvy after a bottle of red was spilt within two weeks of moving in). I hadn’t had much experience of DIY stores, and trips to B&Q with its row after row of glorious paint colours left me both overexcited and overwhelmed. This was before Pinterest; the only magazine I bought was Take A Break and I hadn’t yet discovered the joys of interior decorating, being as when I wasn’t on the M4 to London, I was lying on the sofa watching Brian Dowling on Big Brother and eating takeaway food.
By the time we moved up the ladder, I’d discarded the comping mags in favour of interior volumes. Inspired by a huge, white doublefronted Brighton home that I saw in one, I whitewashed the walls of our newly purchased Victorian terrace and realised immediately that this was my comfort zone. The neutral was calming, the rooms felt more spacious, it just felt, well, right. Since then, I have been tempted, and four years ago I moved to the Dark Side and painted both my dining room and hallway in the Instagram favourite, Down Pipe. It didn’t last. It looked glorious on social media, great in the magazine homes, but not in mine. Much as I wanted to be that person, it wasn’t me. Out came the white paint and equilibrium was restored.
So why does the White Side work for me? And does it work for everyone? Let me explain. My natural propensity when styling my home is to collect, to curate, to basically throw as much colour as I want at the walls, floors and windows. This is my core style. I can move things about, swap furniture and accessories between rooms, add art with no hindrance as to colour scheme. And the only way that I can do this is with a neutral base. Of course, this rule doesn’t apply to everyone. You may favour a minimalist look where blocks of colour are a major part of decision making. Or you may be an out-and-out maximalist and revel in the contrast of the clash. Colour, like fashion or food, is completely down to personal style.
One of the most popular questions that I receive on my blog is about taking the colour plunge. Zebra-style stripes in countless marginally different tones of colour is a sight seen all over the UK as we struggle to work out which paint to use on the walls of our homes. I always recommend you go with your gut instinct. The reason people don’t is because they are worried about making the wrong choice. They don’t trust their gut or have the confidence to just go ahead. Don’t consult others – asking someone else to choose a colour for you will not resonate your core style. The answer here is always the same – it’s only paint. It can be changed. Go small to start with – try one wall and live with it for a few days to confirm your choice.
Your home has the power to make you happy, to bring light to your days and influence your mood. The key to picking colours is in your hands. Drilling down to your core style will help you make the right decision. Trust yourself and your home will reflect you. Just avoid the beige-carpeted kitchen-diner.
‘I whitewashed the walls of our Victorian terrace and realised that this was my comfort zone’