HOW TO DESIGN YOUR SPACE AROUND THE ITEMS YOU LOVE MOST

Do you get stuck in your direction of how you are going to tackle re-furnishing a room? Do you feel like looking for anything new is a right pain because there are nice pieces available, nice colours- but are they really you?

Some people make the mistake of going out and purchasing a new sofa because it’s on sale. It’s in a green-ish leather, but close enough to grey so it should be blend in with other pieces in the room, right? Well, maybe no. My advice is to forget the sales [just for now] and start with a colour plan derived from something you truly love. Once you’ve nailed what the right colour is for the new sofa, you are armed to go shopping!

You know you love turquoise, but what colours work with that? You love wearing the colour, but you normally pair it with white trousers. There isn’t more thought needed than that when you are using it to dress, but you’ll need to delve a little deeper if you want to use your favourite colour with other complimentary ones in your interiors. Turquoise with white is too limited for an entire colour scheme, if you get my drift.

Look at your jewellery box. Have you got a necklace that has the turquoise as well as other tones? We need three. If you have an item you love that has three colours showcased within it then I can help you nail it for an interior colour scheme.

Idea 1: The pink, grey and silver necklace.

This is a great one to inspire you. This necklace literally could provide anyone with a whole colour scheme for a room or home. There are so many undertones happening here that I know exactly how to choose a wall colour, main colours [for furniture] as well as accent colours [cushion, throws etc]. Let’s begin!

Image: Pinterest

Paint colour

Generally, we don’t want to go too dark with the paint colour, so we will avoid the darker grey for the walls. We definitely don’t want dusty pink walls [unless we are doing a young, feminine bedroom] so I’ll choose a light grey instead. I can even see a hint of green in one of the grey beads, so I will choose ‘Old stone Wall’ by Porters Paints, which has a green undertone. My paint swatch looks good next to the necklace, so I know this will work in a whole room, or house, depending on your preference. 

Sofa colour

Practicality wins over all, so we will choose the charcoal grey for the sofa. This will forgive spills if I have kids around or you have a messy partner. Or you just spill things like I do! Scotch guarding [ask your furniture manufacturer about adding this] will help with liquids as they should bead and be easy to clean up quickly.

Accent colours

Here we get to use the pink, but I want to make sure it’s done tastefully. I’ll choose a dusty pink and I’ll use it sparingly. I’ll pick some great art that has all of the colours I am after. You could start with the art [rather than the jewellery] and achieve the same colour direction, but I’ll save that example for my free PDF which you will be able to download shortly here on the site.

If I was doing a small home or apartment, I’d probably stick with this colour palette and run it through the entire home. If I’m redoing a kitchen or installing one as part of a new build, I could choose all the finishes from this necklace. I can use silver or gold for my metallics, grey for my cabinets and a stone for my tops that has hints of all colours in it [see Caesarstone’s ‘Bianco Drift’ for example]. You could also choose a wooden top, like the inspirational kitchen image below.

Kitchen: Howden’s

So we are able to take a colour palette from an item we love. We covered paint colour, furnishings and even how to extend that to a kitchen. See my project image below for what your sitting room may look like if you had followed this approach, using the necklace as your muse.

Designer: Adam Scougall Photographer: Yie Sandison

Idea 2: The Blue & White fountain pen

The second scenario is that you have something unique like this blue & white fountain pen with the wood detail. The wood compliments the bright blue and white so well I could even be inspired to choose new wood flooring from the wood tone in the pen! We also see how well gold tones work within this scheme based on the metallic detail in the pen below. 

Image: Pinterest

Paint colour

There are plenty of ways we can go with this little piece of inspiration. I love the rustic feel of the wood so I’ll choose a wallpaper that takes its cue from the wood. I might add a new ‘barky’ wallpaper to a section of wall in the living room. Have a look at the apartment I designed a few years ago below. You can see how the wood tone is developed and extended into the barky wallpaper finish. Also new floorboards were laid so an organised feel is achieved. We re-painted the TV unit white it as it was previously a very orange looking wood tone. The plain walls were updated from an antique cream colour to ‘Vivid White’ [Dulux]. One side of the entire apartment was finished in the striped blue & white wallpaper that elongates the room, whilst tying in with a new striped rug. Coastal chic!

Sofa colour

We have existing sofas in a light taupe, but I added in a blue armless sofa to add character and break up the space. White piping gives a fresh, coastal feel. Take a look at the kitchen dining area where we extended the wood panelling up the wall here.

Accent colours

We kept it clean. More blue & whites, some linen taupe to give some warmth as well as accents of gold in the candle holders. There is a real feeling of synergy and consistency in this room, and although we didn’t base it on the fountain pen I’ve given you as an example, you can see how you could develop a scheme from an item you truly love.

So, there we have it! Two examples of how you could literally pull an entire homes colour palette from a single item you really love!

Designer: Adam Scougall Photographer: Yie Sandison

Recap!

Paint- the lightest colour that is appropriate for all people inhabiting it.  

Furniture-Use the darkest colour as a general rule. Sofas need to be durable, so the darker, most appropriate colour would be the safest choice here.

Accents- This is where you use the colour that is less ideal for mass consumption in the smaller details.

Have fun creating your own inspiring room scheme from a favourite piece, if you can. Let me know how it went will you?

AS