Get creative with a LICK OF PAINT

Six ways to add impact using a pot of paint and paintbrush

Scallop edge

Brighten a plain wall by using a scallop stencil. Simply paint the top of the wall, extending down further than the line you want your scallops to fall at. Then paint up towards the stencil in your base colour. Give it a twist Change the scale of the stencil – small scallops create a pretty country feel; oversized ones give a bolder, contemporary look.

Colour block

Highlight architectural details with colour blocking. Painting blocks so that they break into a fireplace, or continue over coving, gives a real designer paint effect. Choose three or four shades in striking contrasting colours for a bold statement.

Give it a twist Use large circular or arch shapes as an alternative to rectangles and squares.

Painted square

Love your framed print but feel it’s drowned out by the size of the wall you want to hang it on? Painting a square or rectangle behind it will enlarge the scale and give it impact. Give it a twist Paint in a frame rather than a single block of colour, by masking off an inch-wide framework design instead.

Striped panelling

Add interest to panelling with bold stripes. No need to splash out on expensive wallpaper when a couple of tester pots will give the same look. Paint the inside of the panelling white and then mask off areas to paint in the pink stripes. Give it a twist Try painting other designs such as polka dot or checks.

Reverse painted canvas

Create a piece of two-tone art using leftover paint from the walls. Simply paint two thirds one colour and one third the other, in the reverse to what you have on the wall. Hang so that the dividing lines line up. Give it a twist Make a bolder art statement using contrasting colours.

Headboard canvas

Enhance a bed with a painted canvas headboard. Choose four shades, painting the base with the palest tone. Then drip the other shades onto the canvas at intervals. Using a wooden paint-mixing stick (on its side) drag the paint down the canvas at an angle.

Give it a twist Use a wood veneered sheet of MDF for a more rustic feel.

Wall painted in Pleated absolute emulsion, £52 for 2.5ltr, Little Greene; and Hardwick White estate emulsion, £52 for 2.5ltr, Farrow & Ball. Large wall scallop stencil, £16.99, Ideal Stencils, Etsy. Isaac three-seater sofa in Alabaster brushed linen cotton, £1,725, Sofa.com. Plant pot, £19, Arket

Choose furniture and accessories that have bold and sculptural forms, so they sit comfortably with this eye-catching scheme Wall painted in Red Earth, Borrowed Light, Hague Blue, Lulworth Blue, Green Blue, all £52 for 2.5ltr (or use tester pots, £4.95 each) Farrow & Ball. Bulb candle holder, £44, Dowse Design. Tress Azure Blue velvet chair, £445, Oliver Bonas

Wall painted in Hardwick White, £52 for 2.5ltr estate emulsion, Farrow & Ball. Square painted in Potters Pink matt emulsion, £42 for 2.5ltr, Dulux Heritage (or £4 for a tester pot). Safe Journey print, £95 (unframed), Louise Body

Adding a small lip at dado height offers a surface for displaying sculptural vases Panelling painted in Waxed Khaki, Potters Pink and Light French Grey, all £42 for 2.5ltr, Dulux Heritage. James recycled pine dining table, £1,250, Graham & Green. Flat rattan dining chairs in Black, £325 each, Cox & Cox

Extend the wall paint onto the skirting, using an eggshell paint in the same colour for a more elevated effect Wall and canvas painted in James and Drizzle absolute emulsion, £52 for 2.5ltr, Little Greene. Box canvas 100x100cm, £24, Hobbycraft. Wycombe armchair, £695, Neptune. Orta cone table lamp, £109, Lights & Lamps. Twisted seagrass tray, £65, Also Home

Wall painted in Soba pure flat emulsion, £54 for 2.5ltr, Paint & Paper Library. Canvas painted in Bo Peep, Gingham, Dorothy, Polka Dot, Toy Soldier, all Earthborn. Wicker headboard, from £199, Dunelm. LED plug-in wall light, £60, John Lewis & Partners