3 quick and easy ways to add colour into your home

Everyone needs a dash of colour in their homes, it’s an easy way to stamp personality on an interior. Colour doesn’t need to be overpowering, bold or in-your-face; it can be used to subtly bring a room to life, create warmth or highlight a statement piece. But, we often get stuck. Colour-ways and palettes can be tricky to navigate; trends come and go, lifestyles change and room settings evolve.

So, to help us navigate the minefield that is colour, we sat down with interior designer, Zara Bolingbroke-Kent. Zara is the founder of Bombay Sprout, a design company based in Norfolk. Bombay Sprout designs all aspects of interior furnishings, specialising in dhurrie rugs and bespoke fabrics. A confessed colour aficionado, Zara’s collections are quirky, colourful and draw heavily on ancient traditions. She uses a multitude of materials: from wool and cotton, to renewables like jute and tencel – a fibre made from the wood pulp of trees that are grown and replaced on specialised tree farms.

Is there anyone better or more qualified to talk about how to add a dash of colour into your home? We think not.

Rugs

Colour is here to stay, no home should be without it. Patterns and colour should bring joy to every home, so don’t hold back on mix-matching patterns and fabrics.

As we become braver, dark, trend-led colours will disappear and be replaced with pops of colour and colourful accessories. Cushions and rugs are a brilliant way to introduce bolder colours to a home; they can also move and evolve with you – from home to home or into a different room setting.

We’re seeing a love for very bright and colourful rugs, especially when paired in interiors with white or off-white walls. Rugs are incredibly versatile and work in both traditional and contemporary interiors. A cleverly designed rug, with the right use of colour, can really bring a room together and make it sing.

It doesn’t all have to be strong, bright colours, but the key is to use the right colours together. The Kovalam Palm Tree Rug is a great example of colours that might not usually be paired together, but work really well. It’s an extremely popular option for those looking to inject a dash of colour and warmth into a bedroom or bathroom – and in some cases, used as a wall hanging.

A hand woven Jute rug is the perfect way to add a layer of texture to your interior – it can be placed anywhere in your home for a smart, rustic feel. The material is wonderful, is very easy under foot and can be used in high traffic areas due to its hard wearing nature.

Not many people have the vision to embrace clashing colours and patterns, but ones to watch are Anna Spiro and Elizabeth Hay Designs; they are championing this look brilliantly and are leading the way. Suzy Hoodless also does this very well, most recently in a sitting room setting with bright yellow woodwork – it looks fantastic.

Wallpapers

Wallpapers are here for the long term. Decorative wallpapers are on the rise and are making a real impact in the design world. It’s the answer if you’re looking for ways to add an explosion of personality and colour into your interior.

We’re seeing Indian and Mughal influences everywhere – have a glance at Iksel wallpapers, they’re doing things right. Believe it or not, a decorative wallpaper can compliment a decorative fabric. For example, Elizabeth Hay Design created the most exquisite guest bedroom using a beautiful Peter Fasano wall-covering with our Mughal Marigold Fabric in maxi stripe. Mix-matching fabrics and wallpapers can work in the right environment.

Image: Elizabeth Hay Design

For more inspiration, Milola Design and Quadrille Designs are producing some beautiful wallpapers.

Crafts, ceramics and glassware

Whether it be ceramics, glassware or cushions these smaller items are guaranteed to add character and colour to your home. They can work particularly well in a neutral setting which longs for an injection of life.

With the rise in upcycling, more quirky and unusual items are becoming increasingly popular – this has led to a thriving creative and craft sector. There are so many kooky and talented people offering creative homewares, for example: The Fabled Thread is doing colourful and quirky painted picture frames and needle points; they even offer guides and how-tos so you can do it yourself. By Alice is another little retailer creating unusual homewares: hand painted candles, table linen and lampshades to name, but a few.

So in a nutshell, we’re embracing colourful, decorative and unique homewares. It’s an exciting time for the creative and craft sector, but also for interiors.