INSULATION PAINTS & FINISHES
How to commit to your home’s colour palette with confidence
It’s important to have that answer firmly in your head before you start scrolling through swatches. How do you want the room to feel most of the time? Sure, you can liven up a calming palette and vice versa, but there should be a fundamental feel to the space that your palette can help you to create.
One of the most creative things you can do in your home is to add colour. Better still, it’s also one of the most cost-effective updates in the world of home improvements. A lick of paint will transform a space, reset the mood and express your personality all without blowing your budget. How do you decide on a colour scheme though? How do you make a final selection out of those dozens of swatches you’ve been staring at for hours on end? How do you pick a palette that you can be confident is 100% right before cracking open the paint tin and reaching for a roller? Over to Lick’s resident Lead Colour Specialist, Tash Bradley, and her paint-picking advice.
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efore you dive into the kaleidoscope of colour options out there, it’s important to first get into the right mindset. Choosing paint colours for your home can feel overwhelming, but flip that thought on its head and try to focus instead on how transformative a handful of these will be on how you’ll feel in your space. And remember, above all else that paint isn’t permanent. If you’re drawn to lots of different colours, it’s important not to forget that in however many years’ time, you can redecorate and get creative I-B U I L D/ F E B/21
2. At what time of day will I spend most time in that living space?
Is this mainly an evening room when you’re going to want to just hunker down? Or, if it’s a bedroom. Ask yourself if it matters more to you that your colour scheme is dark and zen to help you drift off? Or airy and calming to put a spring in your step early in the morning?
all over again. With these 10 considerations, you can dip your toe into colour, safe in the knowledge that your palette is going to be one that you’ve picked thoughtfully and thoroughly.
3. Which direction does my room face?
1. What vibe do I want this room to have?
This question comes down to the all-important natural light so that you can understand which undertones you need to look out for (and avoid) in your paint choices. The more that you can work with your room’s natural light, the better the colours will suit the space. “A south-facing room will receive warmer light, and a north-facing room
Colour sets the tone of a room more so than any other element in the space. You may have a sitting room with a bar trolley and atmospheric lighting that suggests it’s designed to bring people together. Paint it in vibrant hues, and it will feel much more upbeat than it would if it were in whisper-soft neutrals.
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will see cooler light and is typically darker. Westfacing rooms tend to be better with cooler tones to balance out the warm light, whereas easterly rooms are the opposite and suit warmer colours,” explains Tash. “By paying attention to the finer details like this, you’ll know if a warm white will thrive in your room or if a grey-based white is better. Similarly, if you’re torn between two greens, knowing more about their undertones and your room’s natural light can make that decision for you.”
4. How do my fixed elements fit in?
Paint palettes should always be sympathetic to what else is in the room. Identify your fixed elements in your space, such as floorboards, tiles or a kitchen’s countertop and think about what relationship you want those to have with your colour scheme. Take a marble work surface, for example. Do you want to match and emphasise its cool undertone through your paint choice? Or do you want to contrast it with something warmer? For balance, you can pick out a complementary undertone, and your room will feel in natural harmony.
