My Colour Rules
1. Only your opinion matters.
One thing I hear so often either spoken out loud or implied is the concern that other people won’t like it. My answer always is who cares! (definitely harder to hear if you are a people pleaser)Ask yourself why does their opinion matter?
Like our parents used to say to us, “if everyone liked the same thing the world would be boring”. My motto is, if you like it, put it in your home. We have literally no control over what other people think of us and nor, should we. If it brings you joy, do it!
Of course, this is a little trickier if the other people who don’t like it also live in your home with you! To this end, I would just like to quote Banksy and say “it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission”.
Whether you own or rent, share or cohabit the space you live in is your space and it should reflect you and your personality.
2. Don’t rule out one colour because you don’t like one shade of it.
We are often binary in our thinking e.g. “I like pink but hate red” I would argue that this is actually not an entirely accurate statement. It would be more accurate for me to say there are some shades of red I do not like and I prefer to only use it in small quantities and with a certain finish. I believe we cut ourselves off from accessing so many beautiful colours by thinking in this binary way and I like to challenge my clients by encouraging them to not discount whole colour families without considering their impact within a wider scheme.
3. When considering colour you must also think about light.
The quality and quantity of natural light has a profound effect on how we perceive the colour used. You will often see on Farrow and Ball website customers commenting on how much the paint colour changes throughout the course of a day. How you see the colour will depend on the orientation of your room, the light levels i.e. whether it is sunny or cloudy and also how close the colour is to the light source. The same colour will be perceived differently if it 10cm away from a window than if it is 3 meters from one. In addition, some shades, especially ones that contain a lot of pigmentation such as greeny blues or aubergines will shift in appearance more throughout the day.
All 3 rooms all painted in Farrow & Ball Hague Blue illustrating how different light levels affect how the colour is seen.
4. Consider scale and volume when choosing your colours
Ok, so maybe you don’t want to paint a whole room red but that doesn’t mean you cannot use it within your scheme. Perhaps you just use a pop of it instead? All the interiors below use red and green but using the colours in different quantities, volumes and scale drastically changes the overall look of the space.
There is a well-known rule in the interior world known as the 60 – 30 – 10 rule. It’s a classic rule that can help you create a colour palette for a space. It states that 60% of a room should be a dominant colour, 30% a secondary colour and the last 10% an accent. It is a good rule, but we all know, rules are made to be broken!
Rooms decorated in varying amounts of red and green illustrating how different quantities and shades of a colour dramatically alter how a scheme looks.
5. The meaning of colour and your colour personality
Before making colour choices within your home it is worth considering what colours you are instinctively drawn to because there will be a reason for this and it is usually that you already like those colours! That is a great starting point for a scheme.
If you are stuck as to which colours can be used together or aren’t sure whether you can trust your instincts, consulting a colour wheel can guide you towards making the right choices.
Colour Wheels can be purchased for c£3 online.
Another good tip is to look at your wardrobe, this can give you many clues as to what colours you already like and that could be used as a starting point for your home colour choices.
Image showing my winter wardrobe and the rainbow of colours I enjoy wearing.
If you are still feeling a bit stuck I would suggest finding a colour personality test either online or Karen Haller has one in her The Little Book of Colour publication which will tell you whether you are a Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter colour personality which will point you towards colours that suit your personality. In case you are interested mine is Spring with touches of Autumn .
'The best colour in the whole world is the one that looks good on you”.
- Coco Channel
Colour really is to be celebrated and not feared. There isn’t really a right or wrong, only opinion. My intention is to inspire you to embrace colour within your home because it really will bring you joy. If you are still scared, give me a call and I can hold your hand whilst we figure it out together!
Until next time,
Becky x