Sometimes it's hard to know how to bring colour into our homes, it's akin to myself beginning with a blank canvas for my paintings. As an artist I call it, "White Fright", you stare at a blank canvas and although you may have ideas or even planned it out fully in your head, its still kind of scary to put that first stroke of colour down. Today I want to help you get over the fright and illustrate how easy it is to bring colour into your home and being able to update your look easily without spending a lot of your hard earned money.
I believe that you should start with a neutral palette, a white/ivory leather, fabric or natural linen sofa for me is a safe way to go. Keep your wall colours light such as colours from the Resene "Whites and Neutrals" range. Strong colours such as blue/red/pink etc for a sofa or wall, can quickly become dated and remember when it comes to purchasing a sofa it is one of the most expensive furnishing items and you will be living with it for some years down the track and possibly it will move with you to your next home. Eeek! I hear some of my readers saying, but I have kids or I have a dog and so its impossible to have a light coloured sofa. There are ways and means around this, either don't let your dog go on the sofa (who's the boss), or put a nice throw over the area he/she is allowed to sit. When it comes to children then I wouldn't advise a white sofa, however, as the majority of my readers are empty nesters, then why not white and light and when grandchildren eventually arrive, plan for lots of throws.
For me a home is about accessorizing you can purchase the most expensive sofa, chairs and coffee table and place them in a living area and it may be functional but without accessorizing it will not have any life. You have to bring your room to life by layering pattern, texture and colour such as below and this need not be expensive. If you can sew a straight line, you can easily make your own cushions from short ends often available from designer fabric stores at reduced prices or buy from some of the fabulous small businesses on Etsy.
Illustrating ideas with images, in this first image a static white sofa has been brought alive with the addition of colour, texture and pattern. One thing I would like to mention at this stage is, DON'T buy a 3 piece suite, they are so old hat now and often the chairs are completely over sized. Put your money into a really good sofa and buy two good chairs that compliment, you won't regret it. and remember, "matchy, matchy" is out!
4
