THROW SOME SHADES

Splash colour around tired spaces for a quick decor pick-me-up

Colour can do wonders for refreshing and overhauling your interiors without having to do a full-on renovation. How much you commit to colour and whether it’s a lovely trench-coat tan or head-turning claret is up to you.

When it comes to colour, some say there are no rules and to be brave. Try these guidelines, then when you’re fully conversant, you can throw them out and make it up as you go along!

SMALL BEGINNINGS

If your safety zone is walls and walls of parchment, an oatmeal sofa and pale gauze coloured curtains, you don’t have to become a colour zealot in one hit. “Start small and work your way up to larger areas,” says Resene marketing manager Karen Warman. She suggests adding some colour with small items such as photo frames, a painted plant pot or a bold cushion – “features that are quick and easy to change if you decide you don’t like them”. The cushion is, of course, a time-honoured way of changing up an interior without making a major commitment on your part.

GROW YOUR OWN

As well as adding colour through art, textiles and glass, interior designer Janice Kumar-Ward of JKW Interior Architecture & Design in Auckland also uses flowers. “Plant your colours in flowers. I have peach and pale yellow daffodils out at the moment, magnolias are a punchy moment in time, and lime green and white viburnums always arrive by my birthday.” It’s your call whether you cut them for inside or leave them to create an indoor-outdoor colour flow.

PRACTISING AVOIDANCE