Dulux’s colour forecast for 2020 showcases the latest colour palettes to hit the interior world this year – and quite a few tricky paint colours have made their way in! Warmer whites and tonal blues are both featured heavily as hot trends in the world market, whilst grey shades still prove popular amongst Australians.
Henley Design’s colour and design consultant Heidi Schwieters, shares her tips for using these sometimes tricky colours:
White noise
Regardless of what is currently trending, whites are always a leader in interior design. White shades are a perfect backdrop colour to highlight contemporary finishes. They can be used to showcase bold feature pieces of artworks, rugs or cushions. This can then be incorporated with colourful accents or used with a subtle contrast of furnishings that layer similar tones or materials such as linen, woven fabrics or raw timbers.
Current trends of white with a warmer tone are seeing a rise, giving a feeling of warmth and comfort from the uncertainly of the outside world. To complement these warmer whites, is an increased use of grounding shades like coffee, stone, dark tans and soft burgundies. These colours give us a warm, inviting naturalness with a feeling of comfort and richness in earthy accents.
Singing the blues
Surprisingly, bolder and soft blues tones have made a revival. Tonal blue colours with accenting rich terracotta shades and subterranean greens, mixed with eclectic vintage, retro inspired pieces and luxe materials such as terrazzo, create a feeling of comfort in the familiarity of homeliness. It also enables us to showcase a break from the norm, inspiring rejuvenation and creativity.
Making it grey
Although greys are still present in colour selections, the trend is steering away from the colder tones of the past, and becoming warmer, much like the trend of whites.
Use greys with textured feature pieces of pine, rattan, wool and handcrafted raw timber furniture, to incorporate neutral tones of beige and blush highlights.
More than meets the eye
What denotes a trickier colour can be the undertones of the shade, so it is very important to observe colour samples in natural lighting.
Colours reflect warmer and cooler undertones and mixing these can be complicated to achieve. Usually it is best to keep one dominant and accent where needed, with paint features or furnishing pieces to cool down or warm up the interior space. Alternatively, keeping consistent with shades all from the warmer or cooler family will avoid issues of the selections not gelling.
Look around you
Any aspect of the home can be worked to showcase these trickier paint colours. Like with any colour scheme, it just requires an awareness of the surrounding environment, whether it’s the quality of light or a consciousness to visualise what mood is required. If ever in doubt, patch tests are always imperative to view shades in your home space.
Keeping it simple
These sometimes more difficult paint colours are on trend with a focus on warmth. Creating schemes that emphasise comfort whilst focusing on raw beauty and the grounding natural colours of the environment, are becoming the priority.
-Heidi Schwieters is a colour and design consultant from Henley, one of Australia’s leading homebuilders with over 30 years of experience in the building industry.
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Whether you have carpet, timber or laminate floors, rugs in the home have so many practical benefits. Aside from framing and anchoring a space, rugs add warmth, a layer of style and are a fabulous finishing touch.
But as with many things, the sheer amount of choice can be overwhelming. From choosing a texture, weave, colour or size, how do you decide which rug is the perfect choice for your space? And once you’ve chosen it, how do go about placing it in the room?
We caught up with Henley colour design consultant Abby O’Connor who took us through how to choose the perfect rug, what styles are currently trending and how to avoid choosing the wrong rug for your home and lifestyle.
A rug helps to zone the lounge room in Henley’s Sahara display home
Which size and shape is right for your space? Before you measure what rug size you should purchase, position your furniture so you know where each piece will be placed. “Decide whether your furniture will sit on the rug, off the rug or half on/half off the rug and always leave 45cm between the rug and the wall. We want the room to be cosy, not claustrophobic,” says Abby who explains that there are different things to consider, depending on the room in which the rug is placed.
The lounge room There are three ways to place a rug in a lounge room and with no ‘right’ answer it comes down to personal preference. Firstly, while a little controversial, you can choose to have all of your furniture legs off the rug. “This was a popular style in the 90’s but is making a comeback as it works really well in small spaces such as apartment living,” says Abby.
All of the furniture legs are off the rug in this lounge room. Image: Early Settler
For those on the fence, having your furniture legs half on and half off is a great solution. “This is the most popular option that we see and it suits all spaces as well as usually being quite cost-effective,” says Abby. Given you don’t have to go down the custom route (because any size should work), this option is arguably the most forgiving and it’s easier on the hip pocket too.
All legs on the rug is also permissible, though bear in mind that you are paying for all that metreage that remains unseen. “This style is stunning! But it is only suited to spaces that have a vast amount of space to be able to take such a large rug. It’s really great for large open plan living or when there is minimal furniture in a room,” says Abby.
A burnt orange rug features in Henley’s ‘Marlo’ display home
The bedroom Like the lounge room, you have three options when it comes to rug placement in the bedroom. “Firstly, you can go for 1/3 of the bed on the rug where the rug only goes under the very end of the bed,” says Abby.
The next option is to put your rug under 1/3 to 2/3 of the bed. “This is the most popular option as you can see more detail of the rug and it’s a cost-effective alternative as you can purchase a slightly smaller rug,” says Abby.
The rug stops halfway up the bed in this child’s bedroom. Image: Early Settler
For larger bedrooms you can choose to put the whole bed on the rug. “With this option the bedside tables and bed are all on the rug with a significant amount overhanging so you can still see the pattern and detail of the rug underneath. Much like the lounge, this style requires a vast amount of open space and doesn’t work for a small area,” says Abby.
A rug can really soften a bedroom. Image: Oh Happy Home
The dining room “There is only one option when it comes to a dining table rug and that is having all chairs still on the rug when they are pushed out for someone to get out of their seat, otherwise you will struggle to see the rug,” says Abby though she’s not a fan of the look for practical reasons.
“Although rugs obviously add texture, warmth and pattern to a space, this is not a style I recommend to clients especially if they have young children as the rug does become dirty very quickly from dropped food or spilt drinks. If you do opt to do so, try to purchase an indoor/outdoor style rug which will be easier to clean,” says Abby.
Rugs can work under a dining table but beware the crumbs! Image: Early Settler
Rug trends “Both plain and patterned are on trend this winter. For patterned, I have found Moroccan style rugs in bright bold colors to still be very popular, especially for those wanting to add some colour into their living room whilst keeping the furniture very neutral,” says Abby.
But while patterned rugs are on trend, neutral plain ones always remain popular. “Neutral is still the most common trend and the one you will gain the most longevity out of. Thick looped rugs are very on trend and a raised pattern in the same material is also popular,” says Abby.
“Turkish, Moroccan and kilim rugs are definitely trending too. It’s hard to open a magazine without seeing a textured heirloom rug plus jute and wool rugs are still proving popular as they suit most interiors. Animal hides are making a strong resurgence as well as replica vintage rugs reworked with fading,” says Abby.
“However, my most favourite rug trend this season would have to be ‘double rugging,’ why settle for one when you can have two?! Or why settle for one large rug when all you really wanted was an animal hide but your space was too large. This creates so much unexpected drama and interest,” says Abby.
‘Double rugging’ features in this lounge room. Image: Early Settler
And while trends are worth considering, Abby thinks that other factors are more important in the first instance. “Keep in mind that you must first and foremost always work with your space before what’s on trend and remember that smaller patterns and light colours are always going to make a space feel larger,” says Abby.
To rug or not to rug? When assessing whether a room really needs a rug there are three key things to consider. “If you feel a room needs anchoring, if furniture feels like it’s floating in a room with no purpose, or the room feels cold, then a rug is a must,” says Abby.
And Abby encourages you to think outside the box when it comes to the way in which you use rugs. “A rug doesn’t have to be used on a floor! There are so many ways of using a rug – get creative. Why not use an animal hide instead of a traditional throw on your bed or chair? There is also nothing wrong with framing or hanging a rug on a wall as an alternative to traditional artwork. I have even seen bedheads upholstered into bedheads. Create the unexpected,” says Abby.
What to avoid Abby says that the biggest mistake she sees is when people have a rug purely for the sake of it and they don’t really ‘love’ it – she says it’s worth waiting until you find one that you adore.
“Not considering your lifestyle when selecting a rug is also a big mistake. For example, don’t invest in a large loop rug when you have pets or children that will pull at the fibers. Also, choosing a light coloured rug when you know it will be put in a high traffic area is also best avoided.”
Introducing white to your interior walls creates an immediate ambience of sophistication, freshness and timeless style. However, as any former home renovator knows, the choices of shades of white are endless and to make matters more complicated, often the shade of white selected can appear to look different when painted on the wall itself.
For guidance on nailing the white wall, we chatted to Henley Design’s Colour and Design Consultant Heidi Schwieters on how to select the right shade for your home.
Keep it cool
Cool whites, which are perfect for more contemporary and open plan settings, have a hint of grey, blue, blue-pink, green or even black undertones.
“When neutralising bright light, cool whites can work extremely well in rooms that have big windows and receive a lot of sun coming through,” says Heidi. “Timber and concrete floors are well suited to cool whites and can create the feeling of more energy within the room.”
Consider: Dulux Vivid White TM, Dulux White on White, Dulux Lexicon Quarter and Dulux Lexicon.
Warm whites
With yellow, brown or red undertones, warm whites are used to inject a cosy feel in a room and complement furniture and fixtures which have warmer hues including timbers.
“Warm whites tend to suit more traditional homes and are perfect for smaller rooms with less natural light such as bedrooms,” says Heidi. “Avoid cooler whites in these smaller rooms as it tends to make the room feel a little cold.”
Consider: Dulux Natural White, Dulux Snowy Mountains, Dulux Whisper White and Dulux Grand Piano Quarter.
Getting the lowdown on the undertone
The undertone is the subtle colour appearing through the main mass colour. It can often be quite distinguishable, however in whites, the undertone is often subtle. Sometimes until it is paired with other colours or in certain lighting, it is not apparent.
The undertone is how we separate cool or warm colour tones and is the secret to creating an effective and harmonious colour scheme. Comparing whites with other whites is the easiest way to distinguish undertones.
Test out a patch
Heidi’s top tip for determining your preference of cool white or warm whites is to trial a test patch on a decent part of the wall or to paint a narrowed down selection of chosen paint colours on a piece of board to compare whites. Give it time to dry well before you decide and ensure you have done two good coats. You will find the shade of white appears to change depending on the time of day, the amount of natural light coming in and with surrounding colour such as floors, furniture and accessories.
The expert team at Henley Design can guide you through the array of white hues on offer for your interior walls. Head on over to the Henley Design page for more inspiration and to make an appointment with the Henley Design interior experts.
The face of your home, the façade, is generated by a mix of colours, materials and textures and sets the scene for your interior selections to follow. But nailing the perfect entrance is a hard act to pull off – particularly when you’re building a brand new home. With so many design choices to make, the decision can become quite overwhelming.
To help guide your decision-making process, we chatted to Henley Design colour consultant Cassandra Lynch about her favourite contemporary facades and her tips on how to create a beautiful street presence.
Be on the lookout for your favourite façade features
When you’re driving down a street and you’re looking for an address, you might just miss the finer details of what makes the home beautiful from the outside. To create your ideal facade, it’s important to find the right balance of style and impact.
“Be on the lookout for images online or get inspiration from classic drive-bys and start handpicking the looks you love so you have some insights into your style before you’re making selections,” says Cassandra. “Pay attention to the materials used, bricks, render, timber or steel, and also take into account the texture of the materials, and colours.”
When it comes to colour, less is more
Selecting the perfect colour scheme is often a balancing act, and with facades, the formula can be a matter of less is best according to Cassandra.
“Grey, black, brick and Colorbond cladding are some of the most popular façade inclusions, as well as James Hardie fibre cement sheets, with texture and timber also featuring as highlights,” she adds.
“Monochromatic colour schemes using a combination of dark grey bricks and contrasting white/light grey renders and matt finish Colorbond roof in either Monument or Surfmist and Aluminum black windows are the colour combinations which people are currently loving,” says Cassandra.
“On the opposite end, we also have the neutral colour scheme which is becoming increasingly popular,” says Cassandra. “Consider using much lighter creamier/beige bricks and complementing them with white and grey renders and light natural stained timber accents.”
Cassandra’s top tips in façade selection
Choose a façade to complement the area your house is being built. For example, choose a neutral coastal façade if building near the beach. Utilising cement cladding over natural timbers if you live near the coast is a great idea as the salty sea air will ruin any timber and will be a pain to maintain in the longterm.
Take inspiration from your design style. If you are drawn to more traditional or Victorian style furniture with antique furniture, perhaps go for a more traditional façade with decorative mouldings. If you love modern architecture, straight lines and monochromatic colours, choose a modern façade.
If building in a new estate, always check the developers design guidelines before falling in love with any specific colours or finishes.
The expert team at Henley Design can guide you through the array of exterior choices. Henley also has a handy visualiser tool to help make the selection process easier. Head on over to the Henley Design page for more inspiration and to make an appointment with the Henley Design experts.
