Selecting decor that will move with the times

Jo-Lee from Manly West asks:

I would like to be able to change the look of my home without repainting and completely refurbishing with each new trend. What colours should I use in my home so that my décor is neutral and flexible but not boring?

Jane says:

Creating a base home design that can be updated and added to as the trends and seasons change is an excellent plan. Using a neutral base for your wall colour and major furnishings enables you to change the look of your room with accessories and splashes of colours that can be changed as often as you like without breaking your budget. Neutral doesn’t have to mean that you are limited to creams and beiges. Create a flexible base of colour in your home, and add accent colour through pillows, accessories and linens. I hope you enjoy choosing a modern colour scheme from one of these choices that are neutral but far from boring.

Cool Greys

There are a few tricks to working with greys to get the sophisticated, neutral look that you are going for. Opt for lighting from lamps and windows, as overhead lighting alone will make your grey look shadowy.

Cool greys have a blue or greenish tint. These are the greys that you are most likely to pick out of the hundreds of paint chips available and say, “This looks like grey to me.” Cool colours tend to expand a room, making the space seem larger than it truly is. These tones work best in rooms with plenty of direct sunlight and can create a dramatic and sophisticated look.

Warm Greys

Warm greys have a yellow, red, or brown undertone. These hues will not appear as grey to you when comparing colour samples, but create a warm and inviting room when put on the walls of your room. Warm greys can appear almost brown until they are combined with other colours, giving you a nice alternative to beige that is modern and creates an intimate atmosphere.

Warm Greys can easily be combined with white or black for a sophisticated look, or with pops of orange or red for a cosy gathering place.

Whites

A monochromatic white colour scheme can be more attractive than you think. There are actually hundreds of shades of white paint available, giving you plenty of options for a bright white, warm white, or a combination that creates a flexible base for any colour that you would like to add through accessories, fabrics, and furniture.

All white rooms have an attractive appearance of cleanliness and purity. Warm whites combined with dark wood floors creates a warm, romantic feeling for a room, while combining a bright white with blues and yellows is perfect in a sunny waterfront home. Distressed white wood can give your home a rustic style that doesn’t have to be dark and buried in browns.

If all this sounds like another language to you, a Brisbane interior designer will be able to come to your property and point you in the right direction to creating the home design you’re aiming for.

Jane Eyles-Bennett is a Brisbane Interior Designer and the founder of Hotspace Consultants. She has over 20 years interior design experience and her business has helped over 500 home owners and property investors in the past 7 years alone.