| Lounge Layers With winter well on its way, it’s time to embrace the festive season in the living room, creating a space that’s perfect for family fun and long snoozes on the sofa.
A palette of earthy colours is the ideal choice, balancing freshness with depth and suiting the movement towards grounded, nature-inspired hues. Aim for a relaxed twist with walls painted in a warm, sandy hue containing just a touch of brown undertone and then layer with accessories and furniture in rich velvets, picking out burnt oranges and forest greens. The key is to mix natural elements, such as a wooden floor, with plenty of texture. Artfully managing to be both muted and bright, this flawless colour combination provides the perfect backdrop for December’s festivities - especially, of course, the tree itself. | | | DIY Decks Get the whole family involved in channelling their artistic skills by crafting pieces that add joy, personality and a contemporary flourish to your Christmas decorations. Baubles bedecked with hand painted squiggles recall the freedom of Modernist art, making them great fun to both create and marvel at over the holiday season. Choose leftover paint colours that dial up the existing tones of your Christmas colour scheme, including forest green, deep burgundy and cinnamon for that truly spicy festive feel. | | | Dining Drama As the dining room is so important over the Christmas season, decide on the look you want well ahead of time. Impactful and dramatic, embracing an on-trend dark colour is a great direction to take - and will outlive Christmas, giving you a useable, statement space long into 2026. At its darkest, blue is a sophisticated, luxurious and clever choice - the cool tones fostering a tranquil, harmonious atmosphere well suited to relaxation and focused interactions. Plus, it also teams beautifully with bright accessories and metallic accents making it great for dressing up on special occasions. | | | Hospitality Haven Ideally, guest rooms should reflect both your own tastes as well as provide a beautiful, relaxing space for visitors.
Sometimes the gentlest of pairings speaks volumes, creating a scheme that feels serene, intentional and quietly confident. This is a look that works especially well with warm-toned neutrals, from sands, shells and clays to muddy pinks. Team with layered accessories for the ultimate calming guest room.
Alternatively, a dark hue creates a cosy, intimate environment that naturally signals to the brain that it’s time to rest, thus enhancing sleep. Accent with statement accessories for a chic, hotel-feel finish, including layers and textures and an abundance of good lighting. | | | Cheerful Corner
Before the Christmas season gets into full swing, consider designating a space as a home bar for the festivities - it makes socialising a lot easier if there’s no need to keep leaving the party. If you’re upcycling a piece of furniture for the job such as a cabinet, or even if you already have an existing home bar, a fresh coat of paint will work wonders, especially if you choose a paint with a high sheen - perfect for the reflections from the glasses, bottles and twinkling fairy lights.
If you’re unsure about sheens, don’t worry. In a nutshell, sheen is a description of the shininess of the paint when its dry and is a measure of how much light is reflected from the surface. We offer six sheen levels for interior paints with the least sheen at the lower end being flat and matte finishes, ranging through the medium scale to the upper end, where gloss and high gloss reflect the most. | | | Cocktail Hour
No space for a home bar? No worries. A simple, carefully curated tray of bottles, glasses and ice will work wonders set against the most striking of walls. Opt for a colour which resonates with the season and looks exquisite behind the coppery metallics of the cocktail hour accessories - a dark, moody green was made for the job. Now all that remains is to enjoy the season. | | | |
