The shabby chic look is often built on layered shades of white, but you don’t have to restrict yourself to pastels and shades of cocoa if you want to add some spark. Whether you’re looking to refresh a room or completely remake your home, the palette is essential. Colour affects our mood and our perception of a room. Here are some tips for how to expand your colour possibilities in a shabby chic design mix.
By Day, By Night
If you aren’t planning on a major change to your lighting, spend time to put paint samples on the walls and look at them in both natural daylight and your electric light. A colour that feels warm by day – such as burnt sienna – can make a room feel dark if your lighting isn’t right for it. Depending on the bulb you use, a colour can look just as lovely as you envisioned or downright strange. Most of those gorgeous photos online are taken with special lighting and reflectors, and they don’t necessarily reflect your home’s reality. If you are redoing the lighting, it should be in place before you decide on a palette. Halogen, compact fluorescent, incandescent lights all have very different effects on colour.
All About Balance
As is true with most design schemes, the brighter or more saturated a colour, the less you need of it. If you love tangerine, try adding it to just one wall. A white bedframe of distressed wood or iron would stand out against it, giving the room more definition. The soft shapes and lines of shabby chic styles are sought after because they make you feel right at home, but they don’t tend to lend themselves to dramatic hues, such as primary red. If you love red, though, you can get a little drama with a shade of brick on either an accent wall or in your accessories. Deep, dark blues and purples might not be the best match for your antique washstand, so try a shade in the sapphire or aqua family to show off that piece.
Location, Location
Shades of celery or citrus green can make a dark room seem bright. A coat of paint on the ceiling of a large room can make it feel cosier, while a small room can seem larger if the walls and ceiling are the same colour. In other words, where you put that paint matters. You can use it to highlight a particular piece of furniture – like that beautiful wooden headboard – or downplay a trim you don’t like. Before committing to a colour, put samples on the walls or ceilings and live with it for a few days.
Experiment outside of the standard shabby chic palettes and you can put a unique stamp on the look.