“But I Just like neutral colours!” Does this sound familiar?

How can you use colour to the best effect in your home without it being scary or overpowering? At Bonnie Hame, we have the answers.

Perhaps you’ve just bought a brand new home with signature magnolia walls. Or you’re planning to redecorate a room having actually bought one of our lovely signature pieces of furniture. It caught your eye first and led you to have a think about a whole new look for your dining room lounge or bedroom.  Items such as our Harrison mid-century armchair, in dramatic black and white check with rich teal blue accents, can certainly inspire a colour scheme. Customers tell us this all the time (and we love hearing their feedback!). Our Sommer easy chair is in the softest sage green, which would pair well with pale pink. If you want to play with some jewel colours, go for the Hathaway coffee table set with emerald green and smoky grey accents.

Some people can be hesitant about using too much colour though and usually opt for a neutral palette. Whites, pale greys, taupes and other neutrals are truly timeless and can make a home look bigger, making the most of available light. But introducing splashes of colour can work really well too, creating something eye-catching and dramatic. We love colour at Bonnie Hame, so we say it’s time to conquer your fear and experiment!

As there are so many colour selections available it can be difficult to narrow down your options, but thinking about how you want a space to feel is a great place to start.

Here are a few simple tips from us on using colour in the home, which is one of the most personal and dramatic statements you can make.

Consider Tone

This refers to the lightness or darkness of a colour. Lighter tones are fresh and soothing, whilst darker tones create a more dramatic look, usually best suited to rooms such as bedrooms, home offices and dining rooms.

Warm or Cool

Colours are also divided into warm and cool, with warmer shades, such as red, yellow and orange, drawing the eye’s attention and creating strong focal points. Cooler shades can create a sense of more space, as they recede into the background more, so think pale greens and blues.

Whites and neutrals are popular in kitchens and living rooms, as they provide a timeless, clean background. In the kitchen, a light colour also looks pristine against gleaming stainless steel appliances for example. But it can be hard to maintain the spotless look without constant touch-ups, especially if you have young children or dogs. So, the odd splash of colour here and there can be practical as well as enable you to express your personality.

Here’s a quick rundown on a few other colours and what they can achieve:

Browns – good for creating a soothing and tranquil sanctuary. Think rich chocolate tones through to tan, toffee and taupe. Browns create a sense of decadence that suits both the classic and the contemporary look. Browns also pair well with metallics and timber, so can work really well in a living space.

Pinks & Purples – Introduce a feeling of luxury with these rich jewel tones. Warm, rich shades of pink and purple will make you feel energised and vibrant, whilst using them in a more muted way can be relaxing, as there is a huge spectrum of paler pinks and lilacs. Little wonder they work well in bedrooms. A deep rich purple can be a real statement in a special occasion room such as a dining room, for example.

Blues – Another soothing colour that will calm and relax when muted, although blues can also be really powerful with electric blue and azure blue bright lifting a wall, a headboard, or an alcove. Blues can cross into the grey spectrum with paler airy blue-greys. You’ll often find many shades of blue in five-star hotel bedrooms and showhomes, as it’s a colour that can be layered effectively, and can also work well with the multiple textures seen in luxury soft furnishings.

Our eye-catching Payton leisure chair comes in both pink and blue, so will go with either of these colourways. As we have said sometimes buying one item can inspire your decoration!

All in all, though, enjoy your home, and making it personal to you! If you haven’t the time or the budget to redecorate at the moment, our Bonnie Hame subscription boxes are ideal, giving you a fantastic, themed look based on each season! A splash of colour, and a splash of inspiration!

Have we whet your appetite? View our full range here (and remember, be brave!)