USE COLOURS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY, SAYS HEATHER YOUNG
My go-to paint shade was once bog standard Brilliant White, and while there’s something refreshingly transformative about painting a tired old room white, I’ve definitely moved on when it comes to my understanding of using colour to set a mood in my home. We moved house when my twins were toddlers and for some inexplicable reason, I decided an eye-watering combo of brights was going to be perfect for our new home. I can only think that my sleep-deprived brain had been hijacked by the vivid shades of the kids’ toys. Luckily, for speed and ease we painted all the walls white and then I introduced the bright accents using soft furnishings and accessories. I quickly learned that those colours are really not my happy place. Rather than being mood-boosting hits (as I’d hoped), they actually made me feel uncomfortable and antsy. So I phased them out, removing them gradually and ending up with a soft palette of nature-inspired shades – pale green was a favourite. In that house, our main living space was all open-plan but we moved again a couple of years ago to a Victorian house with a more traditional floor plan, and the options to set the mood room-by-room suddenly opened up. The rooms in which I’ve been braver have been our biggest successes to date. The main bedroom is by far my favourite. I’ve suffered from bouts of insomnia over the years, but now the bedroom is painted in a soft pink (Farrow & Ball’s Setting Plaster), I feel calm and relaxed the second I enter the room – an obvious aid to sleep! This is backed up by colour psychology - pink is a hopeful and comforting colour and light pink is often viewed as soft, healing, and peaceful. If I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed, I take myself up to my bedroom and chill out there. I’m convinced
