As summer draws to a close, many of us are looking for ways to keep the sunshine vibes going for longer. Colour pops, using paint or wallpaper to create a feature wall or a statement piece of  furniture, are a great way to bring a feeling of warmth into your space. But what if you only want to make a temporary change to brighten up your space for a few more months? Here's how:

Planning your colour pops

Start by considering the colours already in your room. Maybe you have a predominantly neutral palette – even so you should look at what will work best. If your neutrals have a brown base, for instance, you might want earthy tones of orange and red to brighten the space. For a grey base, jewel tones of emerald green or sapphire blue will lighten your room. Add more shades to the palette using clippings from magazines and old scraps of material or wallpaper to create a mood board. 

Once you’ve decided on the colour scheme you want to use, then, what to use is at least partly a matter of budget and partly one of how permanent you want the scheme to be. It’s very easy to change the look and feel of a room with accessories – so if you want something temporary just to bring sunshine into your home that’s the obvious way forward.

Living Room Ideas

The simplest accessories can have a big impact. Try coordinating cushions and throws on your soft furnishings with a new vase. We love this burnt orange shawl from Cuemars and think it would work brilliantly on a brown leather sofa paired up with a few cushions like this Tokyo printed cushion and this white and orange one from I Am Nomad at Cezanno. Add a stunning art deco vase from The Old Cinema and you have a unique look that will bring late summer into your living room, but can be packed away easily when you want a different feel. 

For something more permanent, consider installing a feature rug. If you pick one with a strong colour palate of its own, you can accessorise around it with different colour pops according to your mood. We love the product range from Carpets CC and it’s easy to see how you could pick any one of the colours from a Cecilia Setterdahl rug like this one to create a real colour pop effect.

Kitchen and Dining Room Ideas

Even with white kitchen units there are easy ways to bring colour into your space. We like the idea of these high stand plates to create a display with fruit or even beautiful jars of preserves from your pantry. 

Brilliantly coloured storage jars, placemats and table linen can all add colour pops without permanence – and are perfect to brighten up your kitchen or dining room at the end of summer.

 

Bathroom Ideas

Bathrooms are one of the easiest place in the home to vary your look using colour pops. Co-ordinating towels and bath mats can completely change a white bathroom – think blue for a Mediterranean ocean effect, orange for warmth or purple for decadence. For a real boutique hotel effect, add storage jars that complement your colour scheme and decant your toiletries neatly. Or buy something with a boutique appeal to put on display.

We’d pair these minty textured towels with deep blue frosted glass storage jars and with an elegant senti orchid.

Bedroom ideas

Plain white bedlinen is beautiful but can easily look tired. Brighten up your bed by swapping the linen for a colour pop of yellow like this set from Alexandre Turpault. Or just add a throw – a simple colour that will co-ordinate with your wallpaper or curtains perhaps.

And there’s more

Cezanno has plenty of accessories that could work anywhere around the house. We love these bright paper vases from Octaevo. Table and floor lights are another great way to bring colour into your home. How about this yellow and blue mini lumio light, which doubles up as a charger. Or bring a bit of vintage into your home with this upcycled Sofono heater lamp dating back to 1960 from The Old Cinema.

What’s great about accessorising your home with colour pops is that it’s easy to change the look. I have a range of summer and winter towels and bed linen for example, so that in winter I can make my space feel cosy and in summer I can brighten things up. It means my bedroom and bathroom never look tired – and rather than redecorating I can just re-accessorise. The same principle can work throughout your home, just look for those things which can be easily stored (cushion covers, throws, vases and décor boxes for example).  Then, pick a co-ordinating set for every season so that you never get bored of your look.

By Fiona Maclean