How to add colour in your home with paint, when you want to keep it classic too (& stick to your budget)

How do you add a shot of colour to an interior scheme? Most of my clients prefer a neutral, classic style. However. It can become a bit same-same unless the textures, tones and natural materials are highly curated to deliver visual interest. It’s great to have the ability to add an injection of colour to a scheme; focussing on reflecting an owner’s personality and taste. So. How do you add colour to a room?

Add a feature wall paint

Adding colour to a room is easy. If you’re handy with a brush, a painted feature wall may be the way to go. If you’re not confident enough to paint an entire room, or on a budget, it’s perfectly OK to just paint one wall. The image above is from my bedroom, and I’ve just painted the wall behind the bed. Bear in mind that when I buy new bedlinen, I always take this colour into consideration, and prefer to go with natural linens, faux fur textures and greys. It was painted 17 years ago, and is due for a change, just because I want something different now. The bedside table is from GlobeWest and the throw is from Adairs.

Experiment with Artisan paints

An alternative is to experiment with artisan wall paints, if you want to introduce texture as well as colour stick to a budget. Artisan wall paints are a great way of amping up the mood & feel of a space. Many of the colours are more muted, however the choice of textures is enticing, with that lovely touch of the handmade. If you’re keen on Australian made paints, there are a few to choose from, including Porters Paints (and excitingly, I noticed last week that they are now more readily available at Bunnings), Haymes Paint (great for the budget conscious) and Murobond. I’m thinking of painting my bedroom wall in Haymes “Matte Polish”, in either Stony Road, Pink Drift or Soft Silver (below). If you engage a designer, they can provide larger A4 or A5 samples of artisan paint colours to select from, before narrowing down your selection by trialing with a sample pot.

Paint the front door

Don’t forget the front door; it’s the main portal to your home and the physical transition from the outside world into your domain. This is the point that you welcome friends and family to your home. I’ve been reading Amanda Talbot’s book “Happy”, and in it she states:

….if you’ve ever forgotten your purpose when walking from one room to another…Research says that walking through doorways resets emotions and causes us to forget things…when you walk through your front door, you can leave the world behind.”

Amanda Talbot’s book “Happy”

Painting our front door is on my to-do list for staying at home during lock down.

Add a touch of paint

Add paint to the inside of an alcove or bookshelf. Here we had an old vertical gas wall heater that died a few years ago; we’ve changed over to a split system now which is more visually appealing. Recently I had the heater removed and a builder boxed out the hole to create an alcove which I’ve painted in Dulux Prestige Blue. I’ve then added the pin-fixed vic ash shelves; the end result is a perfect space for displaying small collectables.

Whether you are budget driven or just want to experiment with colour, these are just a few ways you can add a bit of colour into your home and create a big change without painting an entire room.

For more related advise, refer to my Post “What Colours should I use in my Workspace”

Alright. Back to work!

OX,

Lisa

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