Slaked Lime Mid Bedroom

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The timeless paint colours that should be in your house this year

Find yourself sticking to one small section of the paint colour test card? It's time to broaden your horizons. Bold, timeless colour for your walls that won't date.

It's all too easy to reach for white paint or its close cousin magnolia when it comes to deciding what colour to go for in a house, but you can do so much more in your home if you get to grips with bold, rich paint colours.

There's nothing wrong with neutrals, but perhaps consider a toffee colour on your walls rather than magnolia. For advanced level colour picks, we've seen all sorts of beautiful rooms lately in bold emerald green, and we think it's perfect for a living room. And don't stop there! You could go for a vivid yellow bedroom or an electric blue kitchen while you're at it. Modern pinks (not millennial), pastel tones and bright reds are equally timeless.

The best paint brands and the colours they're famous for

Farrow & Ball

Setting Plaster
Light Blue
Hague Blue
Sulking Room Pink
Babouche
Railings

Little Greene

Sage Greene
French Grey
Slaked Lime
Invisible Green

Edward Bulmer

Jonquil
Brick
Invisible Green
Verdigris
Trumpington

Paint & Paper Library

Temple
Plaster III
Blue Blood

Dulux

Spicy Paprika
Denim Drift
Polished Pebble
Pure Brilliant White

Rita Konig's paint advice

As per usual, our columnist Rita Konig has some good advice for testing out paint colours. Don't bother painting them on the walls, she says, but "Instead, paint a square of thick card or ask your builders to cut up a spare piece of wood. This is a far superior way to choose colours for several reasons: you can look at them in the room without the confusion of other colours, put them next to the colours you want to combine them with - those for skirting boards, window frames and the neighbouring rooms - and see how they work. You can also take them out with you to see them with fabrics and carpets."

We've rounded up the bold tones you should be using for your walls here, and don't forget, if it doesn't work, you can simply start again... if you need further convincing, consult our gallery of Farrow & Ball colours in real homes for extra persuasion.

Paul Massey

Panelling in 'Glass V' by Paint & Paper Library tones with cabinets from Lorfords Antiques in the sitting room of this Bayswater house, where JM Barrie once lived and where he wrote and rehearsed Peter Pan. Sophie Ashby's sensitive restoration has teamed sensitivity to its history, including several literary allusions, with a strong approach to colour and design details.
Maree Homer

Interior designer Lisa Burdus chose Dulux's 'Morocco' paint for the walls in this Sydney cottage, while an island painted in Dulux's 'Green Gables' offers a striking contrast. It's a great combination for a small space, though not for the faint of heart.
Paul Massey

After a determined search for a house in Kent that satisfied her love of Georgian architectural features, interiors doyenne Katharine Howard made full use of her insider knowledge to complete its decoration. The walls in the snug are painted in Farrow & Ball's 'Hardwick White'.

Paul Massey

Farrow & Ball's 'Castle Gray' paint creates a backdrop for artworks picked up by Brandon Schubert and his husband on their travels in their London flat. The rich colour changes with the light and makes the room full of interest at all moments.

Elsa Young

A 'Star' wall light from Jim Lawrence stands out against Farrow & Ball's 'Babouche' yellow paint. Susan sourced the Ercol chairs, Belfast sink and antique Dutch tiles.
Alicia Taylor

This modern living room decorated by Gabby Deeming has walls painted in a deep dark green, 'Obsidian Green' from Little Greene. An extra modern touch is the addition of painted black borders around the windows.
Elsa Young

A curtain in 'Susani Red' linen by Robert Kime picks up the fiery deep orange of 'Charlotte's Locks' paint from Farrow & Ball in the Edinburgh flat.

Paul Massey

The library of Suzy Hoodless' house has custom-made shelves and cupboards painted in 'China Blue' by Little Greene providing a contrast with the vibrant yellow doorframe. A vintage leather chair and a striking cluster chandelier are distinctive enough to hold their own against the strong colour.

Paul Massey

In the main bedroom, Little Greene's 'Theatre Red' adds drama to the dressing room that leads to an en-suite bathroom. Comfort is at the heart of Suzy's ethos and in her bedroom, walls in light-reflecting 'Temple' by Paint & Paper Library create a base for layers of texture.
Rachel Whiting

This vibrant office has been painted in a sunny yellow 'O8D02', from Little Greene. Cressida Bell has adorned a 'Stockholm' pedestal table from Scumble Goosie with her signature Bloomsbury patterns.
Rachel Whiting

A vintage school map (£395 at The Conran Shop) provides the colour inspiration for this orange and green room. The paint is 'Madras', £32.50 for 2.5 litres matt emulsion, at Paint & Paper Library.

Simon Upton

This drawing room of this country house decorated by Fiona Shelburne is dominated by two monumental works by Anselm Kiefer, one from the 'Alkahest' series; the other, from 'Palm Sunday', is a collage of palm leaves. 'We thought a vibrant, lettuce-green colour would be a good backdrop for them and would bring a freshness and femininity to the room.' Painted by Colchester Lister Associates (020-7228 8229) the vivid green colour was mixed to Fiona's specifications, but 'Green Melon' by Designers Guild has the same pep to it and costs £39 for 2.5 litres of matt emulsion.
Jake Curtis

The entrance to designer Ben Pentreath's flat is through a white door onto the stairway, the walls of which are covered in framed artworks. The print based on Radio 4's Shipping Forecast (centre) is from Flowers and Fleurons, a small letterpress workshop in Brighton that produces hand-printed limited edition prints. This particular one is the 'Finisterre' edition in subtle greys, printed for Ben Pentreath.

The stairway is painted in a muddy green created by the paint historian Patrick Baty - 'The Botanist' from Paint & Paper Library is a similar astringent shade.
Greg Funnell

The home of food writer and cook Mimi Thorisson is decorated in a romantic style typical of the French countryside counterposed with contemporary flashes of colour. Here a flame coloured paint leads the eye from the neutral hallway.

Ngoc Minh Ngo

This earthy space in a Dutch farmhouse was created using Papers and Paints' 'Deep Celadon Green', £38.40 for 2.5 litres matt emulsion. The deep colour is complemented by other shades of green from houseplants and pieces of botanical art.
Emma Lewis

'If you are planning an interior around a collection, first consider the architecture of the house. Often that dictates where certain pieces will go,' says interior designer Amanda Baring, of the scheme she has created for the home of her sister, a prolific collector of contemporary ceramics.

Amanda felt it was important for the drawing room to retain a certain formality, as it would have in the nineteenth century, but without its looking like part of a museum. The walls are painted in a pretty pink - 'Calamine' from Farrow & Ball is a similar shade.
Mel Yates

This living room styled by Gabby Deeming and Olivia Gregory is painted with a fearless combination of colour blocked paint, all sourced from Crown Paints. A pink 'Hot Pants' feature wall is overlaid with a panel of 'Mean Mustard' and a stripe of 'Blue Monday'.
Natalie Dinham

Vibrant Red

Kristin Peters

This grand yet modern bedroom has walls painted in Farrow & Ball's 'Down Pipe' emulsion. Antique furniture is mixed with a eclectic assortment of glassware and fabrics in aqua and jewel tones to create a scheme that piques the imagination. The eighteenth-century bed, was sourced from Alex MacArthur.
Jake Curtis

This country-style living room styled by Gabby Deeming has panelled walls painted Farrow & Ball's 'Breakfast Room Green', a soft olive. An antique sofa has been covered with a loose cover in Colefax & Fowler's legendary Bowood chintz. A trestle table displays an interesting collection of antiques including a vintage tole flower lamp and bust of Napoleon.
Michael Sinclair

The dining room of Lady Wakefield's London house is painted a limewash-style blue, which brings out the veins in the marbled cornicing and door frame. Create a similar effect with Paint & Paper Library's 'Deep Water Green' applied with a brush.

Elsa Young

Jeanetta Rowan-Hamilton of Nettles Cashmere restored her tin-roofed fishing lodge after inheriting it from her parents. The bathroom is painted a soft duck egg blue, 'Half La Seine' from Zoffany is a similar shade.
Jake Curtis

A 17th-century oak cupboard and 19th-century American maple chairs feature in this dining room, which is brightened up by a pendant light from Pinch. The walls are painted in panels of 'Plaster III' and 'Hot Earth', £42.50 for 2.5 litres matt emulsion, from Paint & Paper Library.
Jake Curtis

This bedroom has walls painted in 'Hot Earth', £42.50 for 2.5 litres matt emulsion, from Paint & Paper Library. This warm terracotta colour works well with the green accents in this bedroom, decorated by Gabby Deeming.

Paul Massey

Playing on the lack of natural light in her bathroom, Rita Konig had the bath area covered in horizontal and vertical boards, painted in a high-gloss 'Deep Brunswick Green' from Papers and Paints.
Paul Massey

The walls, sofa and decorative plates in the upstairs sitting room of Anita Lal's home in India share a sky blue palette. This charming space has light printed voile curtains and tall french windows that open onto the balcony. 'Old Glory' by Sanderson is a similar shade to the paint used in the walls.
Jake Curtis

Matt black walls provide a smart foil for pale wood and the warm tones of copper and leather. This paint is 'Pitch Black', £32.50 for 2.5 litres matt emulsion at Farrow & Ball.

Chris Tubbs

Walls and woodwork in 'Murrey Red' from Papers & Paints, has been used by designer and antiques dealer Adam Bray in this room. A light gloss finish bounces the light around, while the nineteenth-century alabaster light was chosen to impart a grown up mood.
Mel Yates

Classic Victorian houses needn't be painted in muted tones, as this bold scheme shows. Harmonious shades of yellow and green create a flow between these two rooms, while the pink paint used for the lower wall and woodwork adds another colour into the mix. To recreate this scheme, try Paint & Paper Library's yellow 'Gamboge' and green 'Apple Smiles II' paints, both £42.50 for 2.5 litres of emulsion, and Farrow & Ball's pink 'Nancy's Blushes', £39.50 for 2.5 litres of emulsion.
Paul Massey

It can be daunting to paint every element of a room in one colour, but this hall, in Paint & Paper Library's 'Blue Blood' (£42.50 for a 2.5-litre pot), looks very smart. A matt finish has been used for all components, keeping the look clean. This is a good way of incorporating a minimalist aesthetic into a house with traditional architectural details.

Simon Brown

Somewhat quixotically, the owner of this London apartment asked specialist painter Matthew Bray to copy the colour of a friend's faded T-shirt when painting the corridor, an unexpectedly perfect accompaniment to the saffron colour living area. It's hard to find a similar colour off-the-peg but 'Vardo' from Farrow & Ball has similar oomph!
Chris Tubbs

Dark colours can be tricky, but in this town house, designer Adam Bray has used rich tones from Paint and Paper Library to excellent effect. 'The moody, bruised shades look good at night,' he says.

The two-colour door allows the hall, painted in 'Pure Grey 11', to flow into the 'Murrey Red' drawing room; £42.50 for 2.5 litres of emulsion.

Slaked Lime Mid Bedroom

Source: https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/paint-colours

Slaked Lime Mid Bedroom