Below are images from a Country Homes and Interiors shoot I styled a few months back (shot by the lovely David Britton) The concept was Tuscan style interiors (but in an English way!) keeping rooms cool and breezy by using leggy furniture, light voiles and finishing with pretty marble accents. The palette was so delicious with faded linens (as you know I am obsessed with linen!) in pale cream, grey and olive, combined with touches of coral and a mix of floral prints.
This was a large shoot, and much like decorating a home, it was a while in the planning. My advice for a successful and coherent colour scheme to run throughout your home, is to have a place where all of your samples and paints can sit together. Invest on a big cork board (a small investment compared to the cost if you get it wrong) and pin each room next to one another, include paint, tiles and fabrics samples as well as tear sheets from magazines (you may have to use double-sided sticky tape to stick your tile samples on). Leave everything up for a while and make sure you walk away for a few days, fresh eyes always spot things that might jar.
When deciding on your style, I don’t believe it’s necessarily about creating a look that is ‘on trend’ but more about finding colours and fabrics that resonate with you. Put a limit on the amount of colours you use and as long as you run this palette throughout, you can mix and match patterns with plain. I shoot an abundance of pattern and colour all throughout the year and cover nearly every trend out there, but my home is very simple with not much colour on the walls. Instead, I like to create depth and interest with raw materials and soften it up with cushions, rugs and plants. My point is, just because I’m a stylist, I don’t have to be colour mad, it’s all about being confident with what you like and sticking to it. If you are struggling to find inspiration with your schemes then take a look at a website called Design Seeds by Jessica Colaluca, she takes her inspiration from nature and there is a palette for every taste, it really is beautiful.
