It’s no secret that colour is something a lot of people are nervous to implement in their homes, especially with one of 2024’s interior design trends being bold colours it can seem daunting, whether it’s just being unsure of what colours go together, or just unsure where to begin. My hope is that this blogpost serves as as a guide to getting you more comfortable and confident when choosing colours for your walls, we will explore five essential tips to help you choose the perfect wall colour for your space.

1.Consider the Lighting: First things first is light, without light we can’t see colour, so lighting is the most important factor when choosing what colour you will put on your walls, more especially the direction of natural light plays a crucial role in this. So the first thing to find out is what direction your room is exposed to, the sun rises in the east so east-facing rooms generally receive warm morning light whereas west facing rooms tend to receive warm evening light. North-facing rooms tend to have no direct sunlight making them darker and south facing rooms have a lot of natural light. Understanding this first will set you on the right path to understand how different colours will work in your space.

2. Functionality Matters: Secondly I would suggest that before you pick up paint swatches or samples, figure out what the function of the room is, different colours evoke various emotions and energies. For example if you want to create a home office where you can concentrate then a darker shade of blue is a great option , on the other hand a living room can benefit from neutral tones to promote relaxation. By being clear on the the function of that room you’re one step ahead of picking the right colour for your room.

3. Warm vs Cool : Now that you’ve identified the first two things, you can start looking at your paint colours, for example if you’ve identified that you have a north facing room then colours with warm undertones e.g so warm yellows, or pinks will help you to create a welcoming atmosphere. On the other hand if you would like to embrace the coolness in a north facing room you can go for colours with blue undertones. Similarly cool colours in a south facing room will balance the natural light coming in, e.g. greens, purples and blues.

4. Explore Colour Schemes: The next tip would be to have a look at you colour wheel this will help you in picking a colour scheme whether that’s a monochromatic scheme (same colour but different tones and textures), harmonious or sometimes called analogous (colours next to each other) or complementary (opposite colour). This is the fun stage where you can experiment with samples and visualise how the colours work together to find the combination that resonates with your personality and style.

5. Test Before Committing: Now you’ve done your research it’s, it’s time for the fun stuff! time to get your shortlisted paint samples, get as many as you need and test it on a small section of your wall, and remember our first point about lighting, lighting conditions can vary throughout the day, so you will be able to see how the colour you’ve chosen looks in different lights and how it also works with your existing furnishings.

I hope you have found this post helpful and is one you come back to when you’re feeling a little unsure of how to pick the right colour for your walls. See you in the next post.

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