A blog written by Crown Paints

Residential properties vary hugely from one to another. It’s not just the type of building, be that country cottage, Victorian townhouse or city centre flat, but also what people want from their house. What makes a house a home is its ability to reflect the personality of the people who live there which means the primary focus for residential interior design should be around creating a personal space which is liveable and homely.

The temptation, especially when working on large-scale residential schemes rather than individual homes, is to opt for a neutral colour scheme featuring shades of white or magnolia. But while these typically aren’t offensive, they don’t inspire either. Effective use of colour can play a large part in the making of a home, as Kathryn Lloyd, colour consultant at Crown Paints explains.

A fresh perspective on colour

Colour is almost entirely subjective, which is what makes it such a powerful tool. The way that our eyes process colour means that we all naturally perceive colours differently, so what is a bright red to one person may look very different to someone else. Colours also react to different light levels and can appear to change depending on the time of day or whether the light source is natural or man-made.

It’s far too simplistic to always specify blue for a bathroom, red for a dining room and green for a home office - a one-size-fits-all approach to colour simply doesn’t exist, not least for the residential sector.

It is a much better approach to instead consider ‘warm’ versus ‘cool’ shades in the first instance to create the desired atmosphere in a room, leaving the client’s tastes to guide the exact colour specification. In general, dark colours on the warmer end of the spectrum will make a room feel smaller and cosy while light, cool colours can make a room appear lighter and therefore larger.

Colours don’t exist in a vacuum or just on a printed colour chart. To be effective it’s vital to look at a colour or colours as part of a wider scheme, taking into consideration the style of the property, plus factors such as the lighting, room size, any period features and of course the client’s own personal tastes.

Using colour as a tool not just for decoration

Colour, and the way we perceive it, can be harnessed to make a subtle difference to the way a room is viewed. So for example, painting the walls and woodwork in the same colour or a slight tonal variation of the same hue, creates a monochromatic effect that elongates the length of the walls to make the ceiling feel higher and the room bigger, and using a dark colour on the floor and lighter colours towards the ceiling has a similar effect by emphasising the height of the space.

Using colour in a considered way also enables a designer to emphasise a feature like a fireplace or conceal or camouflage other aspects of a room such as the radiators.

Crown Trade’s Fastflow Quick Dry system, a water-based durable paint formulated for use on joinery and metalwork, can be tinted to almost any colour, including RAL shades, which makes continuing the same colour from the broad wall areas onto the woodwork in any room simple and easy to do.

On larger scale residential scheme such as a block of flats for students, colour can be used to communicate, not just set the scene. Using different colours on different areas or levels of a larger building is known as ‘zoning’ and is an ideal way to help people navigate around the space easily.

It’s not just useful for wayfinding within a building though, colour can also be used to create an inclusive environment for residents, whether that’s students in halls of residence or elderly patients in a care home. Specifying an inclusive colour scheme means being aware of how different people see and react to colours and how those colours react and contrast with each other in turn.

Timeless trends tailored to fit

While colours are timeless, colour trends help architects and specifiers devise colour schemes which feel fresh and of the moment. Crown Paints’ in-house colour consultants develop a series of seasonal trends several times a year which reflect the current mood or wider design trends and take into account what’s happening in the world around us.

These seasonal trends are designed to provide a springboard for architects to use to create their own spaces – interpreting them to add their own personality and style to the suggested colour palettes.

They are intended to provide a fresh take on colour schemes and with this in mind, Crown’s colour consultants signpost textures and shapes to pair with certain colours as part of a trend or offer different approaches on applying colour such as incorporating geometric shapes or an ombre effect on the walls for example. These methods demonstrate perfectly how you don’t need to rely on bright or bold colours to create an eye-catching space packed with personality.

Just as important as finding the perfect shade is specifying the right product. High performance paints with exceptional durability such as Crown Trade’s Clean Extreme range will make sure colours retain that fresh, ‘just painted’ look and won’t fade or diminish over time. Independently tested to ISO 11998, the industry standard for determining the wet scrub resistance of dry paint film, on which Crown Trade’s Clean Extreme Scrubbable Matt achieved a Class 1 rating, the highest, and has an impressive durability level of 10,000 scrubs.

The Clean Extreme range comprises three core products designed to resist stains, mould and bacteria to keep homes clean and safe – all without any detriment to the paint finish and without compromising on colour.

Even when working on huge residential projects with hundreds of individual rooms it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that each space, whether an individual room or flat, will be someone’s home. Crown Paints’ Colour Services team is available to offer expert advice on colour specification and guide specifiers through the process of creating individual and personalised colour schemes tailored to clients’ requirements.

For more information on Crown Paints’ specification services, please call 0330 024 0310, email info@crownpaintspec.co.uk or visit www.crownpaintspec.co.uk.