Decorating
8 Clever Ways to Use Strategic Colour Blocking in Your Home
Paint can do so much more than refresh your walls. Explore ways to highlight features, zone areas and trick the eye
Colour-blocking isn’t just for, well, adding colour. In the right hands, this smart design tool can do anything from carving out a new architectural feature to hiding something you’d rather not see. Check out the spaces below to see how Houzz designers have employed paint for some very different purposes.
2. To enlarge
The interior designers at My Bespoke Room have cleverly created the illusion of a bigger space by painting the back wall of this hallway in a soft sage green. Dark colours tend to recede, and here the resulting effect is that the hallway looks longer.
The impact is accentuated by the decision to paint the radiator and skirting board, too.
Note, also, how the vertical line stops short of the left-hand wall. This makes the narrow space feel wider and will allow for an interesting effect when the spotlight in that section is switched on.
The interior designers at My Bespoke Room have cleverly created the illusion of a bigger space by painting the back wall of this hallway in a soft sage green. Dark colours tend to recede, and here the resulting effect is that the hallway looks longer.
The impact is accentuated by the decision to paint the radiator and skirting board, too.
Note, also, how the vertical line stops short of the left-hand wall. This makes the narrow space feel wider and will allow for an interesting effect when the spotlight in that section is switched on.
3. To echo
Colour-blocking can also be used to conjure up the idea of a missing architectural detail. In this bedroom, designer Hannah Drakeford has painted a circle on the ceiling above the pendant light, suggesting the idea of a ceiling rose.
The lampshade she’s chosen throws out shards of light that make the feature almost look three-dimensional.
Orange details around the room – including the lamp seen here – pull the orange circle into the design as a whole.
Looking for an interior designer to guide your decor decisions? Find one near you today.
Colour-blocking can also be used to conjure up the idea of a missing architectural detail. In this bedroom, designer Hannah Drakeford has painted a circle on the ceiling above the pendant light, suggesting the idea of a ceiling rose.
The lampshade she’s chosen throws out shards of light that make the feature almost look three-dimensional.
Orange details around the room – including the lamp seen here – pull the orange circle into the design as a whole.
Looking for an interior designer to guide your decor decisions? Find one near you today.
4. To accentuate
In this Parisian kitchen designed by AGENCE MARN DÉCO, a warm terracotta paint has been used to replicate curved shelving, turning the detail into much more of a feature than it would otherwise have been.
Paired with the blue cabinetry, the overall effect is strong, modern and edgy.
See more of this city flat lifted by bold colours and graphic lines.
In this Parisian kitchen designed by AGENCE MARN DÉCO, a warm terracotta paint has been used to replicate curved shelving, turning the detail into much more of a feature than it would otherwise have been.
Paired with the blue cabinetry, the overall effect is strong, modern and edgy.
See more of this city flat lifted by bold colours and graphic lines.
5. To conceal
Painting a wall dark to hide the television is a well-used trick among designers. Here, though, in a scheme by Younger Homes, the idea has been given a dramatic twist that turns the paintwork into a feature and highlights the room’s high ceiling.
The concealing trick doesn’t only work for TVs – try it for taking your eye away from computer screens (especially good when your home office is in a dual-purpose room) and also for making radiators “disappear”.
Painting a wall dark to hide the television is a well-used trick among designers. Here, though, in a scheme by Younger Homes, the idea has been given a dramatic twist that turns the paintwork into a feature and highlights the room’s high ceiling.
The concealing trick doesn’t only work for TVs – try it for taking your eye away from computer screens (especially good when your home office is in a dual-purpose room) and also for making radiators “disappear”.
6. To add drama
Trompe l’oeil literally means “trick the eye” and that’s just what these candy stripes do.
This bedroom, designed by Furnished by Anna, would make a fun space for a child or teenager – the strips of pink not only define the bed, they give a sense that it has a canopy.
Trompe l’oeil literally means “trick the eye” and that’s just what these candy stripes do.
This bedroom, designed by Furnished by Anna, would make a fun space for a child or teenager – the strips of pink not only define the bed, they give a sense that it has a canopy.
7. To reshape
The darker blue paint in this French studio flat is doing a very clever job. Look closely and you’ll see the walls are angled, which has impacted on the bespoke joinery forming the platform.
Patricia Coignard of Atmosphères Design Studio is behind the geometric trickery. She explains that the angle (seen in the before photo below) was “prominent and oppressive [and] so unusual it drew all attention, making the room seem tiny”.
The darker blue paint in this French studio flat is doing a very clever job. Look closely and you’ll see the walls are angled, which has impacted on the bespoke joinery forming the platform.
Patricia Coignard of Atmosphères Design Studio is behind the geometric trickery. She explains that the angle (seen in the before photo below) was “prominent and oppressive [and] so unusual it drew all attention, making the room seem tiny”.
Here is the offending angle, which the owner wanted to erase visually. This couldn’t be done with the furniture arrangement alone, so Patricia resized the inside angle using dark paint: highlighting the left side and painting the angle darker made it recede from view.
But there’s an art to this sort of brushwork. “A triangle that stands out too much painted on the wall can have the opposite effect,” she says.
Explore more of this genius layout that fits three rooms into a small space.
But there’s an art to this sort of brushwork. “A triangle that stands out too much painted on the wall can have the opposite effect,” she says.
Explore more of this genius layout that fits three rooms into a small space.
8. To zone
In a similar idea to the bed canopy, pulling a section of paint up and over onto the ceiling can be used to great effect for conjuring alcoves out of nowhere. In this project, designer Hannah Drakeford has used strategically painted black panels on the walls and ceiling to enclose a sideboard.
Together with the symmetrical artworks and lighting, she’s created a cosy and striking little corner.
Tell us…
Are you tempted to try one of these colour tricks in your own home? Let us know your favourite idea in the Comments.
In a similar idea to the bed canopy, pulling a section of paint up and over onto the ceiling can be used to great effect for conjuring alcoves out of nowhere. In this project, designer Hannah Drakeford has used strategically painted black panels on the walls and ceiling to enclose a sideboard.
Together with the symmetrical artworks and lighting, she’s created a cosy and striking little corner.
Tell us…
Are you tempted to try one of these colour tricks in your own home? Let us know your favourite idea in the Comments.
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This is a clever idea that works well – though not exclusively – with beds with no headboard, as it uses paint to create the illusion of one. Here, the designer has chosen a lovely rich terracotta.
If you have a wood or metal headboard, you could extend it by painting it in the same colour as the half wall, conjuring up a full-width feature.
A half-painted wall is also a good way to add lots of colour to a space without committing to an all-over change.