How to Colour Your Home Happy
My recent travels south to showcase at the London 100% Design ended with an extra bonus when I was kindly invited by Red Magazine to their ‘How to Live Smarter’ afternoon as part of Smart Woman Week. Dedicated to sharing hints and advice on how to lead a smarter, healthier lifestyle, I joined a crowd of fellow ladies all eager to pick up tips on creating wellbeing in your home.
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colour your home happy with red magazine smart woman week
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So I left hubby Richard to explore, (who later found himself stumbling upon Kensington Palace Gardens, gazing in awe at the mansion houses, otherwise known as billionaire row!!!) I headed for One Belgravia on Grosvenor Place. And what a venue, complete with it’s exquisite interiors, tall ceilings with beautiful detailed cornices, floral arrangements and furnishings. I was very taken with the details!
Mairi Helena colour your home happy with red magazine smart woman week
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Fuelled by a healthy food buffet inspired by the mornings talk by chef Madeliene Shaw, I was set for the afternoon ahead.
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Mairi Helena colour your home happy with red magazine smart woman week
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Being the interior colour fanatic that I am, I was particularly driven by Joa Studholme’s talk ‘How to Colour Your Home Happy’, Joa is
International Colour Consultant and it was fascinating to hear her opinions and expertise on how colour can affect the mood and feel of your home.
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Mairi Helena colour your home happy with red magazine smart woman week
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I jotted down a few of her tips from her talk to share with you all.
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Choosing colours for your walls
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Take time to consider the both how the
LIGHT
moves around the room and how this would affect your colour choice, as well as the
ARCHITECTURE
within it.
Ultimately,
YOUR OWN
STYLE
comes in to it too and it’s important to choose colours that you are comfortable with.......
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bedroom paint colour ideas
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***TOP TIPS***
With small, dark rooms, have the confidence to paint it dark to create a jewel like, cosy quality.
If you have a west facing room, then use light colours to help the light dance around the room.
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Creating Light and Space in Your Home
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Contrary to the traditional approach of painting the walls darker than a typical white skirting boards, consider light walls and dark wood work! This helps to make the room feel bigger and have a bold, design edge! Darker woodwork also works well when using bold wallpapers.
Alternatively, if you’re feeling bold then use one colour on the walls; stretch it up to the ceiling and extend it to include the skirting boards. This gives strength and calmness to the space and helps to make the room feel bigger.
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interior design styles edinburgh bedroom
Above:
where I had the amazing opportunity to photograph her colourful interiors earlier this year. Notice how she's painted her skirting boards the same colour as the wall!
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Another striking method of creating light and space in your home is to paint the porch and entrance to your home in dark colours, creating a sense of mystery…open the front door into a contrasting lighter hallway will immediately help to open up the space.
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Linking the interiors and exteriors
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Paint the window the same colours as the walls, helping the room to flow with the outdoors….very clever!
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Creating Accents in the
Room
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Paint the stair case dark for example, or
consider putting a darker accent colour at the back of a book case or have a dark island sitting in a light airy kitchen. This helps to draw the eye and create a design statement!
bedroom luxury interiors
Above: Bold orange accents in
showroom by The Interior Collection
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Consider your ceiling as your 5th wall!
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Another tip which goes against the traditional approach is to consider an alternative colour to the standard ‘white’ for the ceilings. Contrary to popular belief, painting the ceiling a ‘sympathetic’ colour to the walls helps the ceiling to bleed into the walls, creating less of a contrast and encouraging the walls to look higher and overall creating the impression of the room being lighter.
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Introducing Colour & Pattern
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If you’re scared of colour or pattern then start off applying a bolder paint colour choice to a small room or spare room…consider wallpapering the inside of a wardrobe for example or drinks cupboard.
I can certainly help you out if you’re looking for bright wallpapers!
abstract art wall scottish design
Above:
Mairi Helena Harris Green Thistle feature Wallpaper
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And there we have it! A list of top tips for consideration when choosing colours for your home.
PAY ATTENTION TO DESIGN, consider your space, think about the light and don’t be scared of colour.
Thank you to Joa Studholme and Red Magazine for inviting me along. I’m itching to get on with our kitchen renovations now and making more bold room colour choices. I am very much in agreement that you can ‘colour your home happy’.
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