Summer Colour

Are you after a fresh, summer look for your home?

By changing your interior decor to summer colours, it can be an easy transformation.

And depending on how much time and money you have, it can be done in a snap, and for a snip!

So, if you want to know what’s ‘On-Trend’ for colour this summer read on.

‘Trends’ can be short lived and transient and are frequently seasonal. Good design is about combining individual, personal ‘style’, with what’s fashionable and current.

Having something just because it’s trendy doesn’t make it right or mean it will suit you or your home and could be a costly mistake. For example, don’t go and change the walls in your home to deep purple, just because it’s ‘trendy’ if, in actual fact, you can’t stand purple. You’ll feel as uncomfortable in your home as a fashion victim would in their clothes! You need to take inspiration from what’s ‘on-trend’ and combine it with what suits you, your home and your style.

You could keep your walls neutral and add a touch of purple with easily removed accessories, or you might find pale lilac acceptable to live with. In short, good interior design is about having and making choices.

Being armed with the right information and taking inspiration from what’s in vogue and what works with what etc., empowers you to make conscious, tasteful, decisions rather than uneducated guesses.

Whilst you might only be after a summer colour scheme/makeover at the moment, you might find yourself competently creating a base style or colour scheme that works well throughout your home, but which can be easily changed or ‘tweaked’ to give a completely different look for each season.

You might want to read the colour section of our on-line Interior Design Guide in addition to this summer section, for a thorough understanding of the psychology of colours and how they work together.

Strangely enough, a good rule of thumb when choosing colour combinations for your home - to make sure they suit your style is - would I wear it? For decades, the global authorities on colour, have surveyed the designers of the Fashion Industry and vice-versa (interiors follows catwalk, catwalk follows interiors), to bring you the season's most important colour trends and this season is no exception.

Designers are inspired by diverse influences this year and colours likewise are quite diverse, encapsulating vivid brights, soft muted tones and fun-loving pastels

I’ve compiled a list of the colours and hues that designers are using and I hope, in this guide, to explain how colour can help alter your mood; and provide you with the knowledge and enthusiasm to experiment with new looks and colour combinations for summer.

It is impossible to imagine summer without bright colours – like orange, red and yellow, or without cool colours like blue and white, but this season they won’t be the only hits.

The variety of colour trends isn’t too wide but it includes every lovely hue you would like to wear.

Caramel hues which include lilac, coral, cream, peach and banana will be as hot as scorching red, vivid yellow and orange.

Aquamarine and nude are included in the colour palette and classic black and elegant white are necessary additions to the colour scheme.

The hottest of the vibrant colours is Tangerine and the coolest of the cool this year is Mint green.

Medleys of mixed metallic’s are featuring as important highlights this summer as well.

One of the most prominent and respected authorities on colour is Pantone.The announcement of their colour of the year is usually eagerly awaited and this year they did not disappoint, with the launch of Tangerine Tango.

Bang on trend for the season. Orange has been revitalising itself over the past few years, evolving from light, bright yellow oranges to sophisticated red oranges and vibrant oranges such as Tangerine. Intense and intoxicating it reflects the dynamic power and energy of the sun.

Sugary shades and pastel colours are big this spring and summer, but Mint is the most delicious and trendiest of the bunch. This frosty tint is a scrumptious mix of blue and green and has a cool, airy flavour – perfect for hot summer days.

Mint pairs well with metallic tones of gold, silver and bronze, as well as with other pastels. And what duo compliments each other better than Mint and Chocolate Chip.

Just as comfortable with casual modern as it is with subdued elegance, mint will suit a lot of different interior styles.