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Quick colour guide: Which ones work best in each room?

February 14, 2020 Leave a Comment

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The following is an extract from Theย Little Book of Colourย by Karen Haller, published by Penguin Books.

When we understand that every colour can be used to create a positive emotional response, it becomes a powerful tool to affect our wellbeing; it has a transformative effect on how we feel, think and behave. Following is a quick reference guide as to how to use colour in different rooms.

Red
Image: Shutterstock

RED
Some popular names:
ย Rust, russet, cherry, strawberry, maroon, watermelon, pillar-box, burgundy, fire-engine
Positive effects using the right tone for you:ย Feelings of physical energy, excitement, strength and courage
Adverse effects using the wrong tone or too much:ย Can feel overheated and aggressive, can lead to feelings of impatience or being emotionally overwhelmed

Ideal area in the home

  • Bedroom โ€“ passion (lust)
  • Dining room โ€“ can stimulate conversation (though too much red can turn a discussion from friendly to heated)

Best avoided

  • Any room that feels hot, like a kitchen, or receives full direct sunlight
  • Study, meditation room, as can overexcite
Image: Philipp Shurev/Shutterstock
Image: Philipp Shurev/Shutterstock

PINK
Some popular names:
ย Pastel pink, nude, shell, rose, dusty pink, blush, fuchsia, magenta
Positive effects using the right tone for you:ย Feelings of maternal love. Nurturing, compassionate
Adverse effects using the wrong tone or too much:ย Can feel emotionally fragile, emasculating, physically draining

Ideal area in the home

  • Nursery โ€“ eases tension, soothing

  • Bedroom โ€“ can help with grief or loneliness

Best avoided:ย Avoid soft pink in a home gym, as itโ€™s physically soothing

Image: Shutterstock
Image: Shutterstock

YELLOW
Some popular names:ย 
Daffodil, buttermilk, magnolia, saffron, lemon, sunflower, mustard, fluorescent yellow
Positive effects using the right tone for you:ย Feelings of happiness, optimism and confidence
Adverse effects using the wrong tone or too much:ย Can feel overstimulating, can lead to irritability and feelings of anxiousness

Ideal area in the home

  • Hallways โ€“ these are usually dark without much, if any, natural light.
  • Breakfast areas โ€“ great if you wish to create a sunny, happy way to start the day
  • Brightens a dark space
  • Can create a sense of light, warmth and a friendly welcome

Best avoided

  • Bedroom โ€“ over time, a yellow bedroom is likely to mean waking up irritable and annoyed
  • Babies are very sensitive to colour frequencies, so avoid using cream, which also contains yellow
  • Spaces that already feel overheated

ORANGE
Some popular names:
ย Terracotta, amber, peach, apricot, burnt orange, salmon, pumpkin, Persian orange

Positive effects using the right tone for you:

  • Feelings of fun, playfulness and joy
  • Supports feelings of physical comfort, security and warmth
  • Stimulates appetite
  • Feelings of sensuality and passion

Adverse effects of using the wrong tone or too much

  • Can feel too playful and over-stimulating
  • Too frivolous

Ideal area in the home

  • Kitchen, dining room โ€“ encourages socialising and stimulates appetite
  • Bedroom โ€“ look for soft peach and apricot tones

Best avoided:ย Study, meditation room โ€“ as orange can be playful and fun, you may find it difficult to concentrate

Image: Ayman Alakhras, iStock/Getty Images
Image: Ayman Alakhras, iStock/Getty Images

BLUE
Some popular names:
ย Sky blue, duck egg, periwinkle, navy, royal blue, turquoise, petrol, teal, powder blue, midnight blue

Positive effects using the right tone for you

  • Light blue creates feelings of calm and serenity
  • Can aid in reducing mental stress and relieving tension
  • Dark blue aids focus and concentration

Adverse effects using the wrong tone or too much:ย Can feel depressed, withdrawn, cold

Ideal area in the home

  • Bedroom โ€“ light blue helps to relax the body and prepares us for sleep
  • Study โ€“ light blue for creative, โ€˜blue skyโ€™ thinking, dark blue for focus and concentration
  • Bathrooms โ€“ turquoise for morning energising and waking up the body and mind

Best avoided

  • Kitchen and dining areas โ€“ as blue can aid in suppressing the appetite
  • Spaces that already feel cold
Image: Jonny Valiant
Image: Jonny Valiant

GREEN
Some popular names:
ย Apple, mint, forest, bottle, sage, jade, moss, pea green, pine, chartreuse, seafoam, pistachio, aqua, emerald, khaki, olive

Positive effects using the right tone for you

  • Creates feelings of harmony, peace, reassurance
  • Restorative, restful and tranquil
  • Lighter greens can be refreshing
  • Can help us to feel connected to nature

Adverse effects using the wrong tone or too much:ย Feelings of stagnation and lack of motivation

Ideal area in the home

  • Bedroom, study, home office, living room
  • A psychological primary colour โ€“ restorative and rejuvenating for the holistic whole

Best avoided:ย Using lime green in the bedroom โ€“ the yellow in this overstimulates the nervous system

Image: Nicholas Bjorn, product designer, NICHBA DENMARK
Image: Nicholas Bjorn, product designer, NICHBA DENMARK

BLACK
Some popular names:
ย Onyx, jet
Positive effects using the right tone for you:ย Sophistication, glamour, aspirational, protected
Adverse effects using the wrong tone or too much:ย Oppressive, cold, menacing, straining, intimidating

Ideal area in the home

  • Recommended for use only by those who have black in their tonal colour family
  • More supportive dark colours are dark browns, purples or blues

Best avoided:ย A room that already feels cold, small or with little light, as it will make the space feel smaller and possibly claustrophobic

WHITE
Some popular names:
ย Ivory, oyster, pale cream, pure white, Brilliant White
Positive effects using the right tone for you:ย Clarity, purity, cleanliness, simplicity, sophistication, efficiency
Adverse effects using the wrong tone or too much:ย Isolation, sterility, coldness, unfriendliness, elitism
Ideal area in the home:ย Kitchen, bathroom (accent colour) โ€“ creates feeling of cleanliness
Best avoided:ย If white makes you feel very cold, then avoid using as the main colour. It can also feel sterile and isolating

Download the first chapter or purchase The Little Book of Colour

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Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into tiled steps ๐Ÿค•

Oh what a night. Thankfully Hornsby Hospital were as amazing as always and we avoided stitches. All taped and glued  back together and now to keep him calm for the next few days (๐Ÿคช) and watch for signs of concussion. 

Bravest little patient ever. Yes I've had a ๐Ÿท

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The new @studio.xox ONLY sells Australian brands. Like @nood_co coloured basins, lead-free eco brass from @faucetstrommen and @lindseywherrett's  ceramic basins made by hand in Tassie.

And as for their Sydney showroom (they also sell online): WOW.

See and read more on the blog now via link in bio.

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I'm THRILLED to be an ambassador for the brand new I'm THRILLED to be an ambassador for the brand new @madeinaustshow in Sydney this August.

๐Ÿฆ˜๐ŸจForget every tacky association you ever had about touristy Australian made and prepare to see a showcase of the best of home, lifestyle, fashion and beauty made right here. If the pandemic has made you appreciate buying local even more, this is for you.

It's the first business to business trade event connecting retailers with Australian made products to champion our local makers๐Ÿ™

Apply to exhibit or find out more at their website, via their bio, now!

Are YOU buying more Australian made post covid?

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Do I recommend a timber vanity top? A big fat NOP Do I recommend a timber vanity top?

A big fat NOPE! ๐Ÿ’ง 

Which is why we have recently covered ours with a Caesarstone top (thanks to @justinplace_sydney for the advice and supply) and the sweet RELIEF of not having to worry about this high traffic area anymore, I'm telling you!๐Ÿค—

Doesn't matter what they tell you or how many times it's sealed, I'm not sure it's a great idea in a room which is so, well, wet!

I love having the warmth of timber in the bathroom and it's a beautiful piece, but timber on the top? Never again.

Ours probably lasted a year (if that) before it started to go downhill (and we want a good decade out of a bathroom, right?!). 2.5 years on, everything else in this bathroom looks virtually brand new and the water marked vanity top was really letting the side down and making me sad!

But I'm so pleased with this solution, I have to say! Took the plumber less than an hour to remove the sink, install the top and connect the sink back up. We didn't need to move the tap and it isn't too close to the basin.

The kids are allowed to brush their teeth and wash their hands (liquid soap ๐Ÿฅด) in here again and I can leave my hair straightener on there with gay abandon ๐Ÿ˜†

The reflective surface (which I can clean with whatever I like!๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿป) brightens the room up too!

Next week I'll tell you what I really think of my brass tile trim too ๐Ÿ˜‰

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Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than F Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than French onion?

I think not!

Grab the recipe on the blog this morning via link in bio.
Get to know me! I haven't done one of these in YE Get to know me!

I haven't done one of these in YEARS so there's possibly thousands of you who don't know my back story. Here's a few things you may not know about me!

โœ”๏ธ I'm English ๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ and I moved here (just for one year) back in 2008๐Ÿ˜† 

โœ”๏ธ I can't end the day without a bath, even if I get home really late or on a really hot day. It's a mental health thing and my happy place. ๐Ÿ› 

โœ”๏ธ Before becoming a blogger and running my own small business, I was a journalist from the age of 18. My favourite news gathering times were as a newspaper crime reporter (bit different to interiors!) ๐Ÿ““ 

โœ”๏ธ I once worked at New Scotland Yard in London ๐Ÿš” 

โœ”๏ธI had an interview at Oxford (didn't get in!) but chose not to go to uni at all after being offered a job on the local paper #universityoflife ๐Ÿ˜

โœ”๏ธ My mum died when I was 3, I have an excellent dad and one sister (younger) in the UK โค๏ธ ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง 

โœ”๏ธ At school, my favourite subject was French ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท and I was head girl ๐Ÿค“๐Ÿค“

โœ”๏ธ I'm addicted to โ˜•๏ธ , long hot baths and๐Ÿ’„ (been wearing it since I was about 14!)

โœ”๏ธ I'm not a phonecall person and will never ever pick up an unknown number. Ever. They can leave a message ๐Ÿ˜

โœ”๏ธ My favourite cuisine is Japanese ๐Ÿฃ ๐Ÿœ and Damian and I honeymooned in Tokyo and Venice 

โœ”๏ธ I have zero design qualifications. I just started blogging about my passion, which is trying to persuade everyone to #heartyourhome That was 11 years ago...

โœ”๏ธ My favourite tipple is a good GnT or๐Ÿท 

โœ”๏ธ Cheesy as it sounds, ๐Ÿ’โ€โ™€๏ธbeing a mum is my absolute biggest joy in life ๐Ÿง’๐Ÿ‘ฆ

โœ”๏ธ I will never give up my old school paper diary! Has to be A5 and week to view ๐Ÿ“– 

โœ”๏ธ My official surname isn't Bishop. I kept my maiden name for work after I got married but changed it for everything else. Often confuse myself!

โœ”๏ธ I didn't get my Ps until I was 37 and I'm still a terrible parker ๐Ÿ˜ฏ ๐Ÿ…ฟ๏ธ

Hope you feel like you know me a bit better ๐Ÿ˜˜

๐Ÿ“ธ @vanlowvanlow
Blue, green or lilac? ๐ŸŽจ @nood_co coloured con Blue, green or lilac? ๐ŸŽจ 

@nood_co coloured concrete basins is a great Aussie business success story. Although co founder Matt Di Costa first found fame as one half of Matt and Kim on The Block, he hasn't relied on this to build his brand.

โ€œWe are very honoured to have been a part ofย The Block, and all they have done for us. I am, however, a believer in letting the product take centre stage,โ€ he says.

Read our interview with Matt via link in bio now.

๐Ÿ™Share your favourite colour basin in the comments!

#colouredconcrete #noodco #colouredbasin #blockheads #the block #bathroomtrends2022

Pic 1 by @naibudesign_ and 2 by @twostyleinteriors
I'd love to see more colour in Aussie interiors! I'd love to see more colour in Aussie  interiors! ๐ŸŽจ 

At the end of the day though, it's a matter of personal taste. I love pops of colour but it's not for everyone. 

We couldn't resist featuring this Canadian house tour today. The amazing Kelly Green  hutch (swipe) was an upcycled $200 find ๐Ÿค—

Head over to the blog via link in bio to see the rest including one of the best playrooms we've seen in ages!

Project by @in.house.design
๐Ÿ“ธ @philcrozier
Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis o Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis on light and nature.

That was the brief for the conversion of a corner shop and a warehouse bakery into a luxury family home in Sydney's Newtown. And how about the library?!

Take the tour of this very special @annacarindesign project on the blog now, via link in bio.

Pic: @justinalexanderphoto
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Amy Collins Walker

About Amy Collins Walker

Amy is our regular feature writer, an experienced journalist and interior stylist living in Perth, Western Australia. Find out more about her styling work at http://www.amycollinswalker.com/

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