[Ad] How to use colour to express your personal style, with Bisley (a minimalist’s guide)

In my last blog post with British brand Bisley, I touched upon the importance of curating a colour palette that supports the mood you want to create in a space. In today’s blog post, I’m going to expand upon that idea further and share some helpful tips for using colour to express your personal style.

It has to be said that I have a somewhat tentative relationship with colour! In my own home I used it sparingly and with careful thought, so this blog post is for those of you who, like me, could do with a bit more colour confidence. Perhaps you want to understand how you can start to introduce colour without sacrificing a pared-back minimalist style, or maybe you want to know how to find a colour that suits you, rather than a particular trend.

I personally use colour as an accent rather than the main event. I like to use the walls as a neutral backdrop so that my furniture, accessories and art can tell the story. For me that feels like less of a commitment; I can change things around if I get bored of a colour and I can start lightly with a few little hints of tone before getting too carried away. It allows me to build a home carefully, slowly, intentionally over time. That said, I have been a (little) bit more daring in my daughter’s room, painting the walls a muted green and even painting the ceiling pink (first time I’ve painted a ceiling anything other than white – baby steps!).

And if I do choose a colour for my home, I choose something that will compliment my calm, simple aesthetic. You’re definitely not going to find neon pink in this house! When finding the right colour for you, I think it pays to take a more thoughtful approach so you can work out if it’s really the right fit for you and your home.

[Ad – This is a paid partnership with Bisley]

Amongst these practical tips to help you find your colour palette, you can see pictures of Bisley’s new Fern lockers that I’ve styled in a couple of different ways throughout my home. Made of sustainable steel, Fern is their first collection to be designed specifically for the home. There’s 16 complementary colours and five different sizes in the range. Here you can see Chalk, Palest Pink, Goose Grey and Olive Green.

Simple in design and sturdy in construction, the Fern lockers are pieces that are made to last and stand the test of time. I love that they have an inherent adaptability to them – you can use the Mini locker as a bedside table or kids storage unit, and you can use the Cabby locker as a sideboard or TV unit. So if you get bored of them in one space, you can always move them into another room and find a new use.

You might also commit to one colour in the Fern range, but then it’s all about what you do with that colour and how you make that piece your own. Using the Fern collection as inspiration, let’s get stuck in and get on to my tips for using colour to express your personal style.

1. Familiarise yourself with colour psychology
Colour psychology studies how different colours impact our mood and behaviour. As I believe that our homes play an intrinsic role in how we feel on a daily basis, I think this is a good starting point if you want to deepen your relationship with colour and know how to better use it in the home.

Everyone will react to colour in a unique way, but it’s known that certain colours tend to relate to certain emotions. It’s these emotions you want to pay attention to when you design a room, because you want to make sure your space is supporting the mood you want to create. Green, for example, is connected to nature, harmony and health; yellow tends to be related to positivity and happiness; blue with loyalty and competence, and white with simplicity and purity.

Colours might also bring to mind particular memories associated with places or past experiences. I don’t tend to like blue, for example, because it somehow reminds me of school where almost everything was blue. I’m not a fan of purple because I don’t have anything positive to relate to it. I do like green, though, because it connects me to the outside world and reminds me of the restorative power of nature.

2. Think about the feeling you want to create in a space
Which leads me onto my next point. As well as the practicalities of a space, one of the most important things is to think about the feeling you want to create in a space. When I’m working with clients I always ask them, ‘how do you want to feel when you walk into the room?’ That will really set the tone (pun intended) for your choice of colour. If you want a space to feel uplifting and mood boosting, you might choose a bolder, brighter colour that will make you feel enlivened. If you need a space to feel quieter and more peaceful, you might go for more muted tones of the same colour.

3. Get to know your seasonal personality
There’s a theory in colour psychology that connects the four seasons of the year to different personalities and their relationship with colour. If you’re an autumn personality, for example, you’re likely drawn to a warm, cosy style with earthy tones and organic shapes. Winter personalities are decisive and prone to perfectionism, preferring a carefully curated home with strong contrasts, bold shapes and cool colours – think monochrome accents, clean lines and unfussy details. Spring personalities are full of energy and optimism for the new season, enjoying bright, airy interiors with pops of colour, floral patterns and playful graphics. Finally, if you’re a summer personality, you’ll likely have an easy going nature and be drawn to understated interiors and anything that’s tactile and organic to touch.

4. If in doubt, look in your wardrobe
I think it’s true when they say that you dress like your home. My wardrobe is full of neutrals, greys, greens and a lot of striped tops! And surprise, surprise, my home reflects that with a simple palette of tried and tested tones. But if you’re not sure even where to begin, have a look in your wardrobe and see what colours you’re normally drawn to. Because what tends to suit you, will also suit your home.

5. Build a colour scheme around one piece in your home
If you’re starting a room scheme from scratch, it can feel a bit daunting to begin with a blank canvas. One tip I have is to take one piece from your home and build a colour palette around it. I had one client recently who had a passion for the Arts and Crafts movement, and in particular the Bloomsbury Group. So I took a painting of Vanessa Bell’s, picked out the colours and created a scheme for a living room based on those exact tones. Then for the same client’s bedroom, we used a painting she already had of some tulips to dictate the colour palette of the textures, accessories and paint scheme in the room.

6. Be wary of trends
Colours in the interior design world can be very trend driven, lead by paint companies and Pantone releasing their colours of the year each year. There was a time when dusty pink had its moment, then it was green, and now it’s blue and brown. While it’s a good idea to keep an eye on trends, I think it pays to take them with a pinch of salt – you don’t want to get too swept away in them and lose your personal style in the process. Don’t just choose a colour because everyone else is using it, choose it because it connects with you and you enjoy the way it makes you feel.

7. Build your colour confidence slowly
I’ve been slowly, carefully, adding colour bit by bit over the past few years, and while my home is anything but colourful, I feel like I better understand what works for me. You can tentatively play around with colour before committing. For example, when I began my love affair with green, I would add a couple of accessories or a cushion here and there, before I decided to paint a wall or a whole room green. Live with a colour and see what affect it has on your mood and wellbeing.

8. How much colour do you want to see on a daily basis
Think about the things you want to have on display and the things that you would rather not see all the time. Consider what will make you feel the most comfortable in the space. I have a habit, for example, of hiding my most colourful books in a cupboard and only having my favourite books out on display! I tried having a Montessori style open shelf for kids toys in our extension space but in the end, all the different colours of the toys made me feel a bit overwhelmed. Now I have most of my daughter’s toys in a Bisley Cabby locker, so that I can put them all away at the end of the day and relax.

Colour is so subjective and it will take time to find a colour palette that truly works for your personal style. Hopefully these tips will help you begin to define how colour in the home will look for you. Most of all, don’t worry too much about making mistakes. Although I advocate for a more intentional way of decorating, I don’t think you should be too defined by rules. A wall can always be painted over or an item repurposed. Making a home should also be playful and joyful. Enjoy the process!

Featured products:
Bisley Fern Mini locker in Chalk, Palest Pink and Goose Grey, £199
Bisley Fern Cabby locker in Chalk and Olive Green, £264