Colour schemes for an eco interior

Colour in the home can be applied in a number of ways, almost like layers, onto walls, fabrics, furniture and floors, so fear not that your home will end up a bland white space, its just a question of how you want to introduce it.
Obviously different rooms have different uses so whilst one might be energetic (such as kitchens or studies), another may be relaxing (bathrooms), calming (lounges), or romantic (well bed rooms of course!). By understanding what each room needs, there are a variety of ways that colour can be used to help create the right mood.

• Pure brilliant white will give your home a fresh bright, minimal feel - if used with the right accents (smaller bursts of colour) white can be made to feel soft and romantic or even bold and retro. But beware, that white can be left feeling stark and bare, with grubby marks showing up at their worst. Worst of all for me is the harsh way that white reflects light at night from unshielded bulbs, leading to a feeling of snow blindness when lights are turned on. So if you’re going to do white, make sure all light bulbs shine more softly through shades or bounce off surfaces without being seen directly, cutting down on painful glare.
• For a contemporary graphic approach combine white walls and surfaces with blocks of vibrant colour to add impact and focus to spaces. This will create a strong energetic and urban feel to spaces, which has associations with the colour schemes of the early modernists such as Le Corbusier.

• Taking Inspiration from nature seems obvious for Eco Chic. So go for naturally muted shades of colour- think of the colour of sun bleached drift wood, the silver white of birch trees, the colour of soft moss or dry clay. These softly muted shades show up colour wonderfully, and can provide a perfect canvas for your life, making pictures, objects and other pieces come to life. Add to this with small bursts of colour by using stencils, soft furnishings or other pieces that will off set the background adding a splash of vibrancy and energy.

• Combine lighter colours with wallpapers – for a reflective and coordinated feel to a space. Use the background colour of your wallpaper and then use a lighter shade of that colour for the surrounding walls, if possible a lighter shade still around the windows, to reflect maximum light. This will allow you to create a strong textural focus to the space whilst keeping it essentially light, and reducing the amount of painting that you’ve got to do (although you will off set that with a bit of wall papering!)