We spoke to Dulux Senior Colour & Design Manager Rebecca Thompson to find out what shades make the perfect love-nest.
5 Star Weddings: What colours would you recommend to newlyweds when creating the perfect bedroom ambience?
Dulux: Muted reds like Fire Cracker 4 and rich violets like Twilight Cinders 1 possess qualities which make surfaces appear closer – perfect for creating a snug, warm retreat. If red and purple-based tones aren’t your cup of tea as a couple, try using more gender neutral, fresh shades like Pale Citrus, a soft yellow or greens like Willow Tree with soothing, positive attributes to avoid that first martial disagreement.
5 Star Weddings: What do you find is the most common problem faced by new homeowners trying to redecorate?
Dulux: Putting your own stamp on the place is essential in making you feel comfortable and settled in your new home and it can be really tricky to know where to start when you have a blank canvas. I always suggest living in your space for a couple of weeks first to get used to how the light changes throughout the day and analyse how you are utilising different rooms, putting a neutral shade or white on your walls first allows you to observe this even better than you can build the colour up gradually to suit your new lifestyle.
5 Star Weddings: Can you use colour whilst also having a calm feeling home? What’s the key?
Dulux: Spaces designed for pure serenity are essential to escape the hustle and bustle of modern-day living. To create the perfect retreat for you and your partner choose a palette reminiscent of natural shades with grey undertones which have great subtlety. Soft putty neutrals like Rum Caramel 5 create the perfect comfort blanket for your walls but combine with delicate blues like Celestial Cloud 3 to create a look of relaxed sophistication. Muted greens inspired by aloe, cactus and herbs offer real tranquillity, ideal for rooms like bedrooms and bathrooms where relaxation is most desired. Alternatively, dried lavender and soft greys are un-demanding, easy to live with shades.
Dulux: Yellow has associations with joy and hope and made its comeback into interiors over the last two years as an important trend area. Instantly uplifting, yellows brighten up even the dullest of spaces. More delicate shades on broad walls create a welcoming effect whereas intense tones are perfect for smaller areas such as alcoves. If you are a little shy with colour try painting the inside of a quirky cupboard, so that each time you open the doors you get a lovely hit of sunshine.
Orange is embracing and inviting. Like red, it has a strength and offers stimulation but with more of a carefree spirit. It’s uplifting and warm tones create a playful palette. Orange represents change, from day to night displayed with beautiful sunsets and from summer to autumn with the baking sun to falling leaves. Orange can be used to create a warm and cosy atmosphere especially with burnt shades and lighter shades create a more delicate contrast, particularly for smaller spaces.
Red, pink and violet create a cosy, warm and welcoming environment. These tones are all very versatile and can move from being strong and bold to feminine and understated. Whether you want something young and fresh or sumptuously deep, bright pinks, rich berry reds or dusky violets, they all possess unique advancing qualities to transform the mood of any space.
Blues and greys are brilliantly flexible and work well in rooms where soothing relaxation is desired. Airy pale tones add a carefree touch or for a more dramatic feel, rich opulent blues or deep charcoals offer a refined edge. When applied to large areas, these deep tones are sometimes perceived as cold and distant, especially in hallways and corridors, so, it makes sense to restrict the size of the deep blue surface to a single wall or area.
Green is a relaxing, soothing colour, and even though natural surroundings probably have a big stake in this, it also works outside of nature. Green has captured our interest in these turbulent times, rising in popularity, as it has so many positive associations with nature, new life and relaxation. New dynamic spring greens lift our spirits and relax us at the same time. Fresh and natural, greens can be enlivening and dynamic or calm and nurturing.
Creams and Neutrals: More than just magnolia, there is a wealth of beautiful neutrals to choose from, that will create vastly different moods and tones in your home. Pales and soft off-whites create feelings of light, warmth and serenity but with character. Neutrals or off-whites can be used together to create a layered look that will add depth, dimension and interest. Understated neutrals especially allow for maximum combination possibilities with a wide variety of colours.
Dulux: We predict the robust red, Fire Cracker 4 to be the key colour for S/S 2012. This blushing, lively, juicy red provides an optimistic burst of colour needed to lift our spirits in these difficult financial times. We long for space with a feeling and the tones of delicate red/orange miraculously manage to be dynamic and soft at the same time.
Fire Cracker 4 has moved away from the fiery, intense reds we’ve seen in recent years to a toned down hue with a dusky veil. Create some exciting, unpredictable colour combinations by pairing the robust Fire Cracker 4 with mature pastels Burnt Autumn 4, Gooseberry Fool 6 or Caramel Sands 5.
This year the catwalk have been filled with luscious reds, from shades of flame to burgundy – as displayed by everyone from Valentino to Alexander Wang. It is the colour of confidence, passion and power which refuses to be ignored, whatever your shade. So as we throw off our winter greys, what better colour to warm our hearts and our homes for Spring/Summer.
5 Star Weddings: Is wallpaper worth the effort?
Grey Wall – Polished Pebble Feature wallpaper – Antoinette – Fuchsia White wall – Just Walnut Pink wall – Rock Candy 3
Dulux: If you don’t have the time to wallpaper throughout your room then why not try feature wallpaper for a contemporary and stylish look from Dulux that’s easier to achieve than ever. Using our colour and style knowledge, we’ve produced a range of beautiful, feature wallpapers each designed to coordinate perfectly with three Dulux paint colours. All our wallpapers have ‘Paste the Wall’ technology where you simply apply the paste straight on to the wall which makes the whole job faster, simpler and cleaner plus there are no pasting tables required!
5 Star Weddings: What’re your thoughts on painting the outside of a house in a more unusual colour?
Dulux: It has always been said that you should never judge a book by its cover but that’s not the case when it comes to your home. Ensuring the outside of your house appears at its best at all times is a sure-fire way to guarantee kerb appeal. Your front door definitely deserves some colour as one of the main features of your home’s façade, often the first thing people see when visiting. This central focal point can reflect aspects of your personality with traditionalists choosing black or blue, extroverts opting for red and minimalist going for white. These colours can also convey different moods – both deep and lipstick reds are great for attention-grabbing, racing and muted greens work beautifully alongside your external environment offering a calming appearance whilst rich and soft blues have classic characteristics.
For your exterior walls, nature really inspires the best schemes that won’t date. The soothing qualities of our natural world provide a release from the stress we encounter in our daily lives and muted greens, deep neutrals and grey-based blues blend beautifully with our surroundings. With this in mind, we are introducing 4 NEW colours into the Weathershield masonry range this year; Frosted Lake™, Green Ivy™, Spring Meadow™ and Intense Chestnut™ (available from February).
5 Star Weddings: Whose house style do you admire and why?
Dulux: Matthew Williamson has a great sense of interior style translating his beautiful prints from popular fashion pieces seamlessly into his at home lifestyle. Matthew’s use of colour could be too much for some but for me, it depicts his character proudly, the same way I like to decorate my home.
5 Star Weddings: How can Dulux help couples achieve the perfect colour themes throughout their home?
Dulux: Dulux.co.uk is packed with tips and ideas to help you find the perfect look for your home. We have dedicated areas to ‘colour help’ and ‘inspiration’ where you will find all the tools you need to create a colour scheme that’s right for you.
You can also download our FREE Dulux iPhone app, which allows you to create your own colour schemes on the go. If you see a colour you love when you are out and about, simply take a picture of it, then in seconds Dulux will find the paint colour closest to it and provide you with complimentary colour schemes.
If you’re looking for more one to one advice then find us on Facebook where our colour consultants are on hand with colour advice facebook.com/dulux
Dulux: Navy, teal/peacock, emerald and plum are beautiful jewel-like shades which create a soothing effect to calm your nerves on the day whilst still creating real opulence in wedding photos whether accented through flowers or used for bridesmaid dresses.
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