Like us, you may have been staring at your walls over the past…erm, almost a year…itching to change your surroundings. To give them a new pep of life and a sense of change and freshness. We’ve decided that the time is NOW.
We caught up with Natasha Bradley, Home Interior Designer and Colour Expert at new cult-fave Lick on everything you need to know about bringing colour into your home.
HOC: Hello Nastasha! Let’s go from the basics – how should we choose a new colour/paper for our walls?
Natasha: The key factors to consider when selecting a new colour/wallpaper for your walls is to firstly decide on the feel and vibe you want to create. For example, is this space a wind down area after work? Is this room used the most of any other room in the house i.e the kitchen? This will allow you to narrow down the kinds of colours and prints you could use in this space.
If it was a busy kitchen, I would want to avoid any loud and exciting prints which could make the space feel more chaotic but if you were creating a space to relax in, you would want to add a little of something you like whether that’s a soft green or a dusty pink – something that doesn’t make the space feel less calming but makes you want to spend more time in it.
Another key factor is to consider the light and direction your room is facing and what time of day you spend that space. If your living room is where the sun sets and where you spend your time in the afternoon – you would want to consider the colours you could use in this space. Especially if you live in the UK as it will become warm and/or dark towards the evening depending on the weather.
Finally, consider the fixed elements and existing furniture you have in the space you are decorating, it’s funny how people forget to think about what they already have when they start decorating. You want the space to still feel gorgeous as you decorate so don’t get carried away with filling the living room with new furniture before you have looked at what you have got and how you want the space to look!
HOC: What common colour mistakes do people make when rushing into redecorating?
Natasha: I often find with my clients before they come to me that they are not choosing colours they love but rather what they feel like other people will like. People seem to forget that the only person you need to please when it comes to your home, is yourself! You are there the most afterall.
It’s very common for people to fall into a ‘trend’ and focus less on how these will fit into their homes architecture or existing furnishings. It’s important to consider the surroundings that already exist before you start decorating your home, consider what will work with what you have – it’s a great way to save money too as you will spend less on things that won’t work in space.
HOC: There’s a hidden poor sustainability record behind interior design and decorating. How is Lick combatting this?
Natasha: You’re sadly right! Lick is working against this in the following areas:
- Products consciously designed – low VOC, water-based, low odour paint; all of our wallpaper is FSC certified, meaning it is sustainably sourced and felled from forests around Europe, and made in small batches to avoid waste.
- Packaging – a lot of thought went into where, how, and at what cost (to the planet) our boxes were manufactured. They can be recycled up to seven times and are 100% biodegradable.
- Doing what we can to clean up and give back (18g of plastic cleaned from the ocean with every paint tin sold, and 1 tree planted for every blind or roll of wallpaper).
Further information can be found on our website .
HOC: Amazing work! Finally, we love the wallpaper collaborations with artists – as shown in the images in this article – what do you have planned for the next year?
Natasha:We’ve just launched our Artist in Residence initiative which feature 17 new designs by five incredibly talented artists. Each artist has their own style, all hand-painted! Lick is hoping by giving these young artists a platform to share their work it will encourage creativity and support young up-and-coming artists.
Head over to Lick to peruse their collection of paints and wallpapers. We can’t wait to see how you bring colour into your home!
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