One of the most boring myths in decorating is that dark colours shrink a room.
People are traditionally frightened of small spaces and so tend to paint them white to create the illusion of space, but I have never quite understood what is wrong with a small room being a small room. I come at it from a different tack - I actually like to overload a small space. Choosing darker, moodier colours for walls and indeed ceilings, layering in pattern, joinery and lighting to give the room depth - this little space has something to say - there is more to it than meets the eye and all of this helps our small room pack a mighty punch. Deep, saturated colours blur the boundaries of a space. Corners disappear. Shadows become part of the design. Instead of being aware of where the room ends, you experience the atmosphere within it. A snug or library wrapped in the deepest blue or chocolatey brown feels infinitely more generous and interesting than a white box (white boxes are also beautiful but not on repeat!). | | Despite what they say, sometimes the greatest luxury isn't space.
Design advice has long revolved around compass points, such as a north-facing room should be warm or south-facing room can take cooler shades. While there is truth in understanding light, it shouldn't dictate every decision.
Instead, lean in to how you want the room to feel - apart from functionality, what is the essence of the room to be? What do you want to impart to guests when they walk into the room? Drama, glamour, simplicity and warmth are all key, but most importantly it must reflect you.
A cool blue bedroom flooded with morning sunshine can be wonderfully serene. A deep red dining room lit only by candlelight is magical. A buttery yellow kitchen on a grey winter's morning might offer exactly the optimism and uplift the house needs. And for me, pink is always a hero, an instant mood lifter - it is the hostess that makes you feel instantly at home. Light influences colour but it really doesn't have to control it. | | Perhaps the greatest misconception is that every room needs to flow by sharing the same neutral or a common tie.
Homes aren't hotels in the traditional sense (where every room is a template of the other) and should not feel as such. Although hotels are now evolving so much that the new wave of hotel interiors are eclectic, interesting and in some cases exactly what you want to create at home - where each room has its own personality while still feeling connected to the whole. How you use colour throughout a space is a bit like music. There should be moments of quiet, moments of drama, recurring notes and unexpected drums. One space should make the next feel even better. | | Also, it's really not just about walls!
Traditionally, colour was just for the four walls of a room with neutral skirting and cornice, white ceiling, plain joinery and dull doorways. But paint colour should travel - across skirting boards, architraves and doors, over cabinetry and bookshelves, onto radiators and furniture. When colour is allowed to move uninterrupted across architectural details, the room immediately feels more considered and more intentional.
The white ceiling has become such a default that we rarely question it. And, yes, we do love a white ceiling, but we also think about ways to add a little twist, sex appeal, glamour - super high gloss lacquered ceilings are incredible - they create a fabulous energising reflective surface, a gentle luminosity, light bounces and reflects the joy of the room below. | | People often tell us they love bright pink, deep reds or dramatic greens, only to point to a sample of pale cream because it feels like the safer option.
Safe rarely creates memorable. Unlike flooring, joinery or architecture, paint is wonderfully forgiving - it can always be changed. That freedom should encourage experimentation rather than caution. There are no hard and fast rules to colour, sometimes it's wonderful to take several tones of one colour to fill a room and sometimes it's ok to clash colour. What works is usually dictated by the room, the light and the people living there. Don't be afraid to have fun with it, a little bit of the unexpected disrupts a scheme and makes it interesting, that's the key to a really well thought out room. | | | |
