[Two Sunflowers]

What are the latest trends in colour for interior design?

New house, old furniture means I want to start anew with every bit of furniture so pretty much a blank canvas, but I dont know where to start...

I do look on Houzz and have bookmarked lots of pics but dont know where to go to from there.

Any words of wisdom? How do I go about choosing a colour palate. I live rurally so dont want anything beachy, but that is it! Walls are all very neutral

TIA

[Academic]

I've mostly been seeing grey as a neutral, and ice-cream colours as accents (coral, lemon yellow, turquoise). Also lots of white and blue, natural fibres (in that French Provencal style).

Small doses of neon also seems big. Graphic and geometric prints. Wallpaper.

However, I think you should decorate the way you like it, rather than follow trends! They come and go too easily. Your home should reflect you and what you like, IMO.

(By all means, look at Houzz, Apartment Therapy and other blogs to get inspired and figure out what you DO like!)

[red_squirrel]

All the magazines and websites are pushing grey at the moment.
Personally I get tired of it in about 5 mins. My house is quite cold and if I painted it grey it would look like a prison. So my advice is go with the climate and orientation as well as building materials of your house.

[Madnesscraves]

I'd ignore these "trends" and pop into a bookstore (ideally a large one, like the kinokuinya near QVB in Sydney) . Look in the home and gardening section, and find a style you like. Work off that.

[skylark]

Grey is the big trend they keep pushing, but it honestly looks horrible to my eye here in the Qld light, it looks ok to me in inner city melbourne/sydney but a bit wrong everywhere else. I think unless you are thinking of selling up in the next couple of years, that you should just go with your own taste rather than trying to be on-trend.

[Two Sunflowers]

However, I think you should decorate the way you like it, rather than follow trends! They come and go too easily. Your home should reflect you and what you like, IMO

Absolutely! I was just wondering what the trend was more than anything, and hoping to get inspiration. Dont think I could do greys nor neons though!

So my advice is go with the climate and orientation as well as building materials of your house.

Red squirrel, what do you mean by this?

Madnesscraves, yep, good idea.

Skylark,

that you should just go with your own taste rather than trying to be on-trend.

, I just dont know where to start to find my own style, but yes, you are quite right.

Thanks for the replies

[*LucyE*]

I agree to go with what pleases you.

As a pp suggested, look at magazines and books to find a style that appeals to you. Libraries, markets and online are a great source of ideas. I bought a big project book and filled it with pictures I had cut out, taken photos of or printed off the web. I sorted into rough room categories to help organize my thoughts. I left room to scribble my thoughts as well. I found paint catalogues useful too. I also went to some display homes and open houses for ideas.

Don't rush the process either. The homes that appeal to me the most are not those highly styled ones but those that are a reflection of the people who live there. It evolves and changes over time so unless you have deep pockets, keep the expensive stuff neutral and play with the cheaper things to change.

[*LucyE*]

So my advice is go with the climate and orientation as well as building materials of your house.

Red squirrel, what do you mean by this?

Paint colours change depending on the environment. We have the same colour (same batch, painted same time) on some of our walls. The ones on the eastern side looks cooler, the ones on the western side looks warmer due to the way the sun come in in the afternoon.

We know people who painted their house a certain colour. Her mother visited and fell in love with the colour, went home and had her place painted the same colour without doing sample swatches. It looked terrible at the mother's house. The daughter lived in a leafy suburban area. The mother lived on a remote country property.

[Chaos in stereo]

The Design Files

So much nice stuff on here, but I would just use it for inspiration. I'm not a design buff so I wouldn't have all that white wall, minimalist stuff because it's just not me (and I can't afford the gorgeous things they showcase against those sparse white walls).

In my house, the palette is always warm. I don't really suit warm colours but I love the way they feel so I use them in my home instead of in my wardrobe. I would definitely go for things that make you feel good, that you feel a positive response to when you see/touch it.

[Escapin]

We paid $500 for a interior designer (a real one, not a Dulux colour consultant!!) to work with us to choose the paint colours. If you can afford it, then I would thorough recommend it.