5 Creative Ways to Add Colour to Your Home

The colours in your house affect your family’s mood, the lighting plan and even how warm or cool space might feel. If you’re not keen on being adventurous with painting your walls, there are other ways to drench your home in colours other than by simply adding soft furnishings. Here are five creative ways to add more colour to your home and life.

1. Modern wallpaper trends are no longer the fussy, full-room affairs of past eras. Instead, use paper in unexpected places to define an area or add a surprising moment of drama. Think of applying it to European laundries, at the back of recessed shelving, walk-in wardrobes, closets and study nooks – anywhere that could use that extra “pop”. If you really adore a certain wallpaper, you could even use it on your bedroom ceiling to banish that plain builder’s white. Because you’re featuring such a small amount, you can afford to be bold with your colour, pattern and even texture choice here.

2. Indoor greenery has been a lasting trend in recent years. Go beyond green and consider houseplants that bloom. It’s a more economical and eco-friendly alternative to regular deliveries of fresh-cut flowers to your home. Flowering plants that are easy to grow in pots include African Violets, Begonias, flowering cacti, orchids and Bromeliads. Simply not feeling the florals? Try indoor plants with strikingly coloured foliage like Calathea, Colourful Aglaonema (it’s right there in the name) or Ti Plant.

3. Hanging artworks on your walls is an obvious way to add colour inside your home. But for something truly unique outside, you can hire local artists to paint an outdoor mural which will liven up your back fence or set the mood in your alfresco area. A quick and simple version of this is to paint your fence or a bare wall in your favourite hue – it will instantly transform your backyard into a more interesting space to hang out.

4. One way to add more colour to your living space is right under your nose: your floors. Sturdy floor paints can be applied to floorboards or polished concrete for a striking effect. Contemporary laminate overlays are another option for adding interest (they’ve advanced so far beyond your gran’s 80s kitchen) as are beautiful tiling designs if budget allows.

5. You might not want to veer from designing your kitchen in a classic black and white or neutral scheme. Instead, choose a colour-filled palette for everything else that you’ll add to it! Appliances from fridge to stove to a bench-top mixer and kitchenware like crockery and cutlery can all be co-ordinated these days. Plus, it can be a fun challenge to track down the perfect vintage mixing bowl or pair of oven mitts to match.