Here, Fiona de Lys explains how to take a human-centred approach to colour, using light and aspect in a way that makes you feel as good as your home looks
Here, colour consultant Fiona de Lys shares insights on how you can make any colour work for your home. The first step? An in-depth colour consultation.
The first part of a colour consultation involves finding out the client’s aesthetic narrative. A founding principle of my Delysian Colour System is that a successful interior design scheme is born of an intimate dialogue between person and space.
I also need to understand how someone aspires to feel in their home. Many of my clients want their home to reflect a new chapter in their lives.
People often don’t consider the film of colour that enters a room from their surroundings. The greenery outside my dining room casts a film of green light. A brick wall on a nearby building may throw apricot tones into a room. This is as important as the room’s aspect.
I have about 22 colours in my small cottage. In my workshops, I teach people how to use highlight and shadow hues on areas such as architraves and internal doors so that colour can ‘bend’ around the corner into neighbouring rooms and ease the transition between spaces.
There’s no right or wrong. What pleases one person won’t please another. Small spaces, such as libraries and snugs, look good in dark colours. I wouldn’t necessarily have a dark hallway, though, because I don’t want the experience of that space to be heavy and dramatic. The ceiling is the fifth wall. It should be embraced with colour, as white can often feel disconnected. If there’s a picture rail, I paint above that and over the ceiling. If not, I like using the ceiling colour to paint a motif around the edges of the walls.
Argile’s paints are very pigment-rich; I used them throughout my house. I also like Benjamin Moore. Francesca’s Paints is great too; it does a bespoke service, which is really special.
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