Calming Colours for a Harmonious Home & Workspace

So, how can you make the most of your hardworking spaces? There are three ways you can achieve a more harmonious home: repurpose rooms, zone off areas and refresh spaces.

1. Repurpose rooms

In 2020, the John Lewis & Partners Flexible Living Report found:

• 28% of people in 2020, repurposed a spare room for guests into a home office
  
  
• 21% of people set up spaces for hobbies, such as puzzles, or painting
  
  
• 17% made a home gym or yoga space, and 15% created dedicated spaces for homeschooling
  
  

If you want to put an unused room to good use, start by thinking about its new purpose. Home office? Crafting station? Self-care sanctuary? Find workspace ideas using calming colours here, or get ideas for creating a self-care sanctuary with relaxing colours. 

Next, choose a colour that captures the theme of the room or go with a neutral colour scheme if you’re unsure.

Marianne painted her spare room like a jungle! Living in London, she doesn’t have an outdoor space, so this was a creative way of reconnecting with nature.

2. Zone off areas

Zoning is a great way to split spaces into different areas, so you get more out of one room. It’s a popular painting technique for creating multi-functional open plan living spaces.

Colour is one of the best ways to create zones. Not only can it help to define different functions of a room, it can influence the room’s ambiance – and your mood. Here are a few zoning ideas for you to try in your home:

Colour blocking – use a bold, block of colour to create a dedicated WFH zone. This could be transforming the neglected space underneath your stairs into an energised desk area. Or why not try one of our favourite workspace ideas and paint the perfect arch? Learn how. 

Painted celling – add colour to your ceiling to zone off areas. If you want to create a yoga space in your spare room, try painting an area of your ceiling in calming colours to help you relax. Or a lovely stripe of colour over your dining table can help to separate where you eat from where you cook. It's like an invisible barrier!

3. Freshen up spaces

Whether you use the same colour or something different, a fresh lick of paint can really give your surroundings, and yourself, a little lift.

As well as freshening up your walls, transforming your woodwork can work wonders. Painting your skirting boards and doors makes a big difference.

You can’t go wrong with crisp, white paint, it really refreshes a space. However, there’s nothing like colour to revive a room.

Watch: What paint finish to use on wood or watch: How to paint a door like a pro

Your colour choice should be based on the room’s purpose and how you want to feel when you’re there. Whether that’s calming colours for a little R&R or vibrant colours to fuel your 9-to-5.

Now’s a great time to experiment with different colours for different purposes. 

This is the part of the podcast where our own doctor of decorating, Marianne, prescribes the antidote for your DIY ailments.

Jade, one of our Instagram followers, asks Dr Dulux “how can I pick the perfect colours for my little boy’s bedroom?”

An easy way to cheer up a cold, dark kids bedroom is by using bright colours. For this particular room, we suggest painting the ceiling in a sunny, golden yellow and bringing that down onto the walls. You could also paint beneath the yellow in a soft blue. This will make the room feel bigger and warmer. The idea is for the yellow to be the sun and blue is the sea.

If your child is easily stimulated, you may want to turn the visual volume down and decorate with relaxing colours instead. Maybe your kids are sharing a bedroom? In this case, you could split the room into two separate zones. That way they have their own personal space – and you’ll get some much-needed peace!

Find lots of fun kids bedroom ideas and themes on the Dulux YouTube Channel. 

Emily from Swindon asks Dr Dulux “I have a busy home and a busy job. What calming colours can I use to create a relaxing bedroom, so it feels like a sanctuary?”

This is a burning question right now. We can all relate to Emily’s dilemma.

When we need somewhere to unwind after a long day, we naturally escape to our bedrooms. We suggest using soft blues and greens. These calming colours reflect the land, sea and sky, and help us reconnect with nature. For example, relaxing colours like Tranquil Dawn can create calm, nurturing spaces that allow you to focus on your wellbeing.

You should also consider the furnishings in your bedroom. Warm, natural textures and materials lend themselves to a harmonious home. They bring balance to your bedroom and they’re bang on-trend!

Learn how you can create your own self-care sanctuary and enjoy that all-important me-time.

There’s no doubt that relaxing colours can make you feel good and live well. In fact, in episode 5 of the last series, we spoke about the magical powers of colours and how soothing shades can ease migraines.

A key part of having a harmonious home is organisation. So, we were delighted to speak to professional organiser and declutterer, Katherine Blackler.

Katherine is the founder of SortMySpace Ltd, a professional sorting and decluttering service, as well as the current President of APDO Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers.

We asked Katherine how we can build more efficient environments and make everyday life that little bit easier! “The answer is sometimes simply a shift of energy or shift of habits”.

For this episode’s #FeelGoodColour story, Katherine Blackler told us about her love of London sunsets and how the mix of pinks and oranges never fail to boost her mood.

Tune in to hear Katherine Blackler’s top organisation tips and listen to her #FeelGoodColour story.

Series 2: Episode 2 is available now on all major platforms. Listen, subscribe and if you do have a few minutes to spare, we’d love to get your feedback on how we’re doing.

Happy listening – we truly hope the Dulux Let’s Colour Podcast can help you in some small way.