Make your home your sanctuary full of warming colours this autumn.
Add some mood-enhancing colour for a seasonal revamp that will lift your spirits, writes Leanne Moore
1. NATURAL BEAUTY
"I think nature really got it right with colour," says textile and wall coverings designer Emma Hayes. "I gravitate towards the outdoors when I'm in need of a refresh, and I guess it's only natural to have subconsciously brought some of these tones into my work," says the Auckland-based creative who produces sublime collections inspired by New Zealand's wild landscapes and the colours of the deep ocean. "I'm drawn to calm and beautiful colour palettes. I like layering tone on tone and texture. I think if you love something, embrace it and it will be a joy to be around. At home, I exhale when walking past favourite colours and wallpapers."
2. COLOURFUL COCOON
Colour plays such an important role in influencing our mood and emotions. "We subscribe to a world of bright, playful colour, print and texture and truly believe that it can make a room sing!" says Erin Dempsey of the fun and colourful homewares and bedding brand Kip & Co. "We draw inspiration from the beauty of nature to influence our colour pairings; from a sherbet summer's sunset to a pile of golden autumn leaves. Our homes are a sanctuary and we encourage you to create a home that is happy, uplifting and full of colour."
Kip & Co cushions and throws (main image) available from moiongeorge.nz
3. OUTSIDE IN
Bring the beauty of nature inside by filling your home with house plants, vases of foliage and beautiful blooms. If a room is feeling cold or stark, a lush and verdant living plant will instantly inject warmth and character. House plants add the feel-good factor to your home – and improve the aesthetic of a room at the same time, says Sandii McDonald of Babylon Gardens. "Looking after plants is a way of bringing a meditative quality to your life. The ritual of caring for plants is a good way to slow down and take some time out. Plants can be super rewarding when you put them in the right spot and they start to come away beautifully." For maximum impact, she recommends grouping plants together, staggered at different heights, displayed in similar pots or baskets. Flowers don't have to be a grand, huge gesture. Sometimes the simplest single bloom in a bottle is just as beautiful, if not more so. "To put it simply, flowers make everything look beautiful," says Amanda Holland of homewares store Small Acorns. "Perhaps it's because it is that little bit of living colour – a small piece of nature transported indoors."
4. FEELS LIKE HOME
Don't follow trends, follow your heart. "You must always, always, always decorate for yourself and your immediate family, the things you love and the way you live," says Holland. "True style is about having the courage of your convictions. Be true to yourself and the things that you love." She likes an interior that mixes print and pattern with colour. "Without a little visual intrigue, your interior is always going to feel a little flat and uninteresting. The key is to rein-in your colour palette so that common shades run through your interior scheme. Keep it simple – perhaps work with no more than three or four colours. Any more and the result can be chaotic and busy. With a restricted colour palette, you can then go ahead and mix a floral with a stripe, or a geometric with a textured plain. Balance is important, symmetry is not! Mix rather than match."
5. SLOW DECOR
Build your nest gradually, adding layers over time, for the ultimate form of self-expression. Homemaking is an evolving process of mixing, clashing, combining and contrasting. Old against the new. Designer pieces with treasures found in nature. Rough with smooth. Dark with light. Patterns and prints. High-end with mass-produced. The tension between opposing forces is what makes a room interesting. Experiment. Play. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Sometimes we have to get it a little wrong before we get it right.
6. SEE THE LIGHT
When it comes to making a home feel warm and inviting, good lighting is one of the most important investments you can make. A collection of mood lighting – table lamps, floor lamps and pendants – will make a huge difference to the ambience of your home. Plop them everywhere and anywhere, the glow from a beautiful lamp is guaranteed to bring joy. The beauty of accent lighting is that it doesn't matter if you live in a rental, your first home or your forever home, because you can take it with you. And invest in dimmers for the rooms where you spend a lot of time at night. You won't regret it.
7. NESTING
The cocooning quality of soft and luxurious texture underfoot makes the experience of living in a space more pleasurable. Artisan Collective's Lily Ng has noticed people are going for punchier colour tones when it comes to selecting rugs and carpet. "We are finding that as more and more people are continuing to work from home, there has been a shift from safe comfortable neutrals to a brighter, more uplifting palette." The half-tones of autumn flowers, foliage and spices – nutmeg, olive, rust, terracotta, sage and forest green – are bringing colour to otherwise neutral interiors. Adding a rug to a room instantly changes the way people behave. A rug draws people together, creating a natural point of connection. Rugs have the unique ability to add warmth, texture, grandeur and a homely vibe to your space, all at once. There are no hard and fast rules about choosing rugs, but make sure you select wisely. Rugs made from natural fibres, such as wool, jute, bamboo and cotton, are both planet and people-friendly.
8. IN THE BEDROOM
We spend a large proportion of our time in bed, so why not take the time to create the ultimate rest and relaxation zone? A carefully curated collection of quality bed linen will stand the test of time compared to cheaper alternatives. And beautiful linen takes the daily chore of bed-making from a bore to an enjoyable ritual. All-white linen is the simple solution but consider creating a dreamy escape with different colour combinations and textures. If you take your cue from nature you can't go wrong. "We are always inspired by nature when designing our collections," says Katie Collis of bedding and homewares store Thread Design. "Natural colours are restful and relaxing, especially green, which is regarded as the most relaxing colour for the human eye. Kiwis are often afraid to use colour but there's no easier way to create mood and personality in a bedroom."
9. SCENT TO PLEASE
Fragrance adds another layer of harmony to a home. Candles bring a warm glow to a space, as well as a beautiful scent. Diffusers and incense are other options for creating a sweet-smelling haven. Scent can have a positive impact on our feeling of wellbeing through its soothing and relaxing qualities, says Ben Ashley, of waxed perfume brand Ashley and Co. "Surrounding yourself and loved ones with positive scent rituals in the home brings joy to those moments, and also provides a sense of calm and familiarity," he says. A hot new topic in the design world is "scent scaping". The idea behind it is that scent can be used to differentiate and zone areas of your home to either stimulate and inspire or rest and relax. This is particularly helpful if you're working from home and you want to switch your space up from calm and restful to stimulating and productive.
10. EVOLUTIONARY HOME
Discover what you like and return to the things you are drawn to, over and over. “Spaces that evolve and develop gradually almost always turn into beautiful eclectic rooms that are as individual and personal and unique as the people who inhabit them,” says Holland of Small Acorns. “I love rooms with soul and personality and many stories to tell. I always say that a room is never done. This doesn’t mean that you should be on a mission to over-do things. What it means is that there will always be room for something that you love and that you should be open to unexpected treasures and opportunities that may come your way.”
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