Colour me beautiful this Summer!

The summer holidays are fast approaching and with the warm, long, sunny days that we are now experiencing we no longer feel that we have to go abroad for a vacation. I often holiday in Cornwall and when the sun shines, the beaches light up and the sea is a stunning, teal blue and as clear and beautiful as any Caribbean resort. It is when I walk along the north Cornwall coast line that I feel inspired to bring in to my home the stunning colours that I see out on these walks, from the gorgeous sandy beaches to the rugged coastline there are many shades of yellow, blue, green and grey. These colours can be used in harmony to bring that coastal feeling home with you creating a light, trendy and uplifting feel to any room.

Here are some tips on selecting the right colours, shades and tones for your room:

Always start with a neutral colour, this will be a great starting point to add further colours to as you grow confident in your colour schemes.

Think about the use of the room, I often speak with clients who use a room for more than one activity
and today many people have open plan living where some functions cross over in a room. For example the kitchen breakfast room is often used to host a cosy dinner party too.

Take note of the amount of light that comes into the room and at what time of day you use the room. This will affect your colour choice of light, bright, dark or warmer shades.

Size matters too! Most people believe lighter colours work better in small spaces creating a feeling of space, where as in fact darker, bolder colours are more dramatic and make a room more inviting, and purposeful. Larger rooms look great in lighter shades, increase the brightness, the layout of furniture and cleverly placed accessories will help shape the room and and create a feeling of proportion.

I am always telling my clients to bare in mind the age of the property when choosing colour schemes and furniture etc. It is great following trends but sometimes working with tradition suited to your style and age of property only but enhances the features and character of your home. Remember to include the ceiling, doors, skirting and cornices of a room within your colour scheme to ensure you create the required look.

When decorating, carefully choose some favourite pieces in the home, a fireplace, a painting, a vase, a chair or rug and use this as a starting point to draw ideas for a colour scheme.

Paint samples are expensive but I always advise you test your chosen colours on the walls in your own home. Neutralise any existing colour on the wall first and paint a large area of the colour from the tester pot. Alternatively, paint a large sheet of cardboard and place it on the wall to check the colour, ideally move the painted card around the room at different times of the day. This is to check how the light may affect the colours true hue as this will differ from day to day with the weather and also morning to evening light.

It is really important to consider who is using a room on a day to day basis; earlier I mentioned the functionality of a room and this can change according to who lives in the house. If you have children especially young children or dogs consider a more durable, harder wearing paint that will be perfect for busy areas, like hallways and kitchens.

Finally choose a colour scheme you love, regardless of what is trending right now, decorating is expensive so you must love the end result and one that is true to your personality!

Happy painting!

GRx