5 Homes That Illustrate Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Use Colour

In decorating, just as in life, taking risks can be intimidating.

Here, we round up five homes that showcase how a commitment to colour in your personal space can prove to be highly rewarding.

A home in Happy Valley

5 Homes That Illustrate Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Use Colour

Realised by designers Anne-Julie Barnes and Janet Douro of By Nomade Ltd, this colourful residence is a spectacular showcase of how the synthesis of Asian and European styles can manifest in impeccable interiors. The union of East and West is apparent in an antechamber decorated with Asian-inspired art and Moroccan-style lampshades, flowing into the light-filled living room, where a curved wall imbues the space with a sense of warmth that’s heightened by the designers’ application of rich fabrics in sumptuous shades. Elsewhere in the home, pops of colour — in the form of printed rugs, painted cabinets, and playful textiles — effectively lend complexity to a space without overwhelming the eye.

A villa in Norfolk

Interior designer Anji Connell’s family owns a pretty stunning collection of homes in places such as South Africa, London, and Hong Kong, but it’s their Norfolk oasis that she calls the most homey of all. Here, she utilised an eye-catching palette with sea blue, bold red, and bright pink, enhanced by Chinese artworks that serve as a reminder of their Hong Kong background. I wanted it to be a complete getaway where you could chill out, warm and cosy, with everything you needed – saunas, steam baths, the ability to help yourself to wine and delicious food from the upstairs pantry adjoining the cinema, and in the summer to be all open to sea and sky, says Anji of the feel she and her husband Barry were striving for.

An apartment in Mid-Levels

Australian interior designer Aviva Duncan’s vibrant personality shines through in her Hong Kong home, an effervescent Mid-Levels flat populated with colour, riotous prints, and interesting choices in furniture and objects. I love the feeling of a high ceiling, so I experimented with the walls where I painted the bottom half of the wall a darker tone and the top half a lighter tone. It makes the ceiling feel higher.

She adds, I really like that deep raspberry shade, so I used it for my office and carried it through to [the sofa] in the lounge room.

An apartment in Moscow

At 861 square feet, this home is a study in using colour to visually enlarge a space. Designer Nadya Zotova arranged the layout to accommodate the owner’s requirements, and worked to create a spacious bedroom with a dressing room, as well as resizing the bathroom to take the place of a narrow corridor. Geometric prints and fabrics add dimension, while a cohesive yet colourful palette dominated by blues and yellows keeps its atmosphere fun yet harmonious.

An apartment in Kadoorie Hill

There’s a bit of French flair, like a converted atelier space in Paris, says Catherine Bourquin of interior design firm Atelier B, which took on the challenge of decorating two 1,600sqft adjoining apartments in Hong Kong.

We have different bursts of colour, but somehow they are all intertwined. For example, the blue lacquer of the Julian Chichester Regency cabinet in the entrance is continued in the timber dado rail of the corridor, and then picked up in the stripes of the upper wallcovering by Maya Romanoff from Altfield, Catherine continues. Other exquisite touches include hand-painted Chinoiserie silk wallpaper by De Gournay in the dining area, Versailles timber parquet flooring, and original lithographic prints and Art Deco paintings sourced from Paris. The wallpapers, while intricate, were kept relatively muted save for a world map-inspired print in the baby room.

For more home tours and interior inspiration, visit our Homes tag.

The post 5 Homes That Illustrate Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Use Colour appeared first on Home Journal.