Colour is a fundamental part of Interior Design and choosing the right ones is often a daunting and even frightening task.  Here KSD tries to give you some ideas as to various colours and what they might do, apart from looking good!

North facing rooms (in the northern hemisphere) need warmth - colours such as reds, terracottas, rusts, darkish peach and the ochre yellows - and you can go quite dark as well, as these rooms often tend to be dark anyway - this will give a comfortable, cosy feel and make you feel warm as you enter.

In South and West facing rooms you can be really daring as the sun (when we have it) appears to bleach out some of the colour so that it becomes much paler and, of course, these rooms are usually much lighter anyway.

Muted, soft blues, greens, often with a touch of grey tend to make a room very peaceful and calm.  It is often said that blue is a cold colour and then generally write blue off for a room - but that is totally dependant upon the tone of blue used - there are some very sharp, acid blues - almost the feeling of ice - these do make a room cold.  You just have to be very careful as to the blue, and sometimes green that is used. However both colours are terrific in a room if you get it right!

It is also often said that very, very pale colours make a room look larger - this is not so - in fact you see the walls much clearer and they then come ‘at you' much more whereas the darker shades fade away into the background.
 

Pinks and lilacs are tricky to use - they need to be soft and muted again - the acid pinks (rather like the icing on a cake) can cause a rather frenetic feeling, almost to the extent of making you dizzy or in a whirl - the opposite of calm and peaceful.
Yellows are generally easier/safer to use - there are acid yellows - avoid them but it is harder to get it wrong with yellow.
Grey can be cold - but there are some lovely hues.
Beige, taupe, brown - a relatively safe bet as they are generally warm colours and some can be extremely sophisticated and smart - but again avoid the pink and/or grey beiges!

We tend NEVER to use white - white is not a "true" colour and so very quickly becomes off-colour, fades and becomes dingy very quickly and it also shows the dirt and any damage almost instantly.  So why go down that route?  Rather make the woodwork set the walls off and blend with them.  Use a tone of cream which has some of the colour in the walls in it - this will not discolour as white does because it is already discoloured!

We think that colours should be used to enhance each other NOT vie against its neighbour.  Therefore for the main woodwork in a room i.e. Cornice, skirting, main doors and windows we use a very pale tone of the colour of the room - that is for example - if the room is a muted green we will use a green tone of cream which works with the walls but still frames the room, rather like a picture frame does to a picture.

Then paint out what we often call the secondary items which you do not wish to highlight such as radiators, cupboards you do not wish to be a feature, pipework Etc. Paint these items the same as the walls.  I can never understand the idea of painting radiators white so that they stand out from the walls - not  pretty items so why not lose them?

As to ceilings - if you have a cornice or coving - and this is painted to match the skirting forming the framework to the room then we suggest painting the ceiling a paler tone of the walls thus bringing the ceiling into the room and highlighting the cornice/coving.  If the ceiling is white (a non-colour we don't like) the ceiling becomes detached from the room as though it does not belong.  If you find this bothering then just use a much, much paler tone of the walls - I think you will find this brings the whole room together.

Where there is no coving or cornice we like to paint the ceiling and walls the same - again to bring the whole room together - quite apart from the practical side from a decorator's point of view - there are no straight lines in any building so achieving that visual straight line between wall and ceiling is almost an impossibility - this avoids that problem.

Have fun with colour and don't be afraid - it's use creates a great atmosphere.
 
Jane Dodson
KSD Design Company