Please enjoy part 1 of a beautiful blog series from our in-house creative consultant, Raluca, on how to create a home this winter that serves your mind & soul.
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Recent times have bound us to spend a lot of time in our homes. We’ve adapted our personal spaces to suit our new needs. From the living room corner, office space, through to the bedroom and reading nook, our homes have changed to become enablers of all our daily activities.
You might think you’re done with home improvement and you’re actually quite happy with the functionality of your house, or you’re just plain tired of making changes. But how does your home impact your mood?
With winter now properly upon us, the sun shining less means not only shorter and colder days, but it also affects the emotional needs you have from your home. You need more light that mimics daylight, for those hours you still have to work but a look out the window says it’s wind down time. You also need different types of lights, ones to keep you active and ‘prolong’ the day, and ones to make you feel cosy and warm in the evenings, with a book in your hands or while lounging in front of the TV. You need colours and fabrics that envelop you in warmth and create a homely feel to settle into after a morning of walking in the crisp fresh air.
I would like to give you some tips to help create a winter sensory experience for your home: from the colours and the light you see, the materials you feel, to the smell, tastes and sounds that will stimulate you in the right way.
Let's start with the things you can see, and the elements that affect them. I’m talking colours first.
The colours….
I’d like to dismantle the belief that the darker the natural light in the room, the brighter the colours should be. For colour to make sense not just visually but in our subconscious, I always advise clients to follow the natural light and its intensity level.
If a room is a bit on the darker side, especially in winter, don’t go against it with a bright white. Bring in a warm palette of colours that feel natural and velvety, and don’t be afraid to bring the colour up on to the ceiling and all the way down to skirtings, and around to doors and frames. To create an enveloping mood that's perfect for winter, the less changes in colour will help the mind focus better. Think of your walls (your ceiling included, it’s the fifth wall) as a canvas, or the mesh that underpins every other element in your room.
If you’re unsure about colours bring in warm neutrals such as Paint and Paper Library’s Canvas palette, or one of my favourites, Little Greene’s Rolling Fog range (as picutured). If you feel more confident with colour, then I must mention Mid Umber and Terra Ombra from Dulux Heritage collection which are gorgeous and have such a velvety quality to their look. Take it one step further with Sima, from Coat. We’ve recently painted a living room in this wonderful colour and the result is so welcoming we just didn’t want to leave. And I couldn’t leave out Firle from Atelier Ellis - a beautifully warm green with a hint of grey that would create such a calming atmosphere paired with natural wood floors.
If painting whole rooms is not an option, think of other ways you can bring warmer colours in: a door, a piece of furniture you can hand-paint, or through your soft furnishings. There's always unique ways to improve your space that will make such a difference to the overall essence of the room.
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To work with Raluca on making your space beautiful, please check out our colour consultancy services or fill out our contact form.
