Thanks largely in part to fearless ways with colour, Patrick Mele, on the meteoric rise, is the designer to watch. Not fearful of colour, Patric strives for bold statements using colour. With rich hues, he doesn’t work with tertiary colour or muted colour. Choosing a crisp white or black over the muted tones of others, Patrick makes a bold statement using colour as the statement.
How does Patrick make this statement? We took a sneak peek into his latest design project and asked for decoding of the colour room by room. Here are the lessons that we learned in colour.
1. Choose Colour Families
As you enter the home, the entry looks like a riot of vibrant colour. However, after you begin to look at it, you recognise that it’s a very tight palette with plenty of white. As your eyes adjust you’ll note the blend of blues and oranges as the true colour reveals itself. These colours are actually very complementary to one another. Using turquoise, cobalt, and delft as well as some navy, Patrick enhances the vivid hues of the colours. Adding in the oranges using tangerines, corals, and even grapefruit colours the hues blend together beautifully and complement one another.
2. Whites And Blues Complement
Patrick found that using whites and blues together is like wearing blue jeans with a white shirt. Or perhaps a navy blazer and a white shirt to complement it. They just don’t go out of style. This is a classic colour combo and it doesn’t stop there. You can play it up or down according to your desires. Patrick used a denim type shade on walls to add colour and even texture. This gave the silhouettes of the accessories in white an extra pop. This casually polished look is a classic and makes a similar play of the black and white of yesteryear that was so popular. It’s more casual and not as start and it is very welcoming.
3. Repeat Palettes
By streamlining your colour palette, you’ll give rooms a cohesive look without stifling them. When you’re standing in one room and peering into another, you will see that all of the rooms are from the same palette yet they are as individualised as you and I. The walls in one room may be a similar shade yet they are their very own shade. All of the rooms have a cohesive look without being boring or dull. Pops of colour here and there add to the striking effect.
4. Play With Your Percents
Another way to go is to play with your percents. Instead of fifty-fifty, why not try some flip-flops? Push one colour to the background or move another to the foreground. You’ll find that this is what Patrick did in the music room and it made a huge statement. The orange curtains and the tangerine in the lamps allowed the blue hues to recede to one simple chair. It all ties in yet, it gives an extra pop to some of the rooms.
5. White Is Refreshing
Patrick utilises white to make things appear more modern and fresh. Many people are afraid of older furnishings like grandma used, however, they have fabulous structure and form. These timeless pieces just need an extra refreshing coat of white to revive their youthful spirit.
6. Colour And Pattern Compromises
When you’re dialling up one colour, you’ll want to downplay another. This offers a calm and relaxing effect. Use pattern and don’t break it up with a variety of colours. This lends a more calming air to the overall palette and won’t be in competition with the other patterns. Choose your colours so that they play nice together and complement one another and play one up while downplaying the other. Focus on patterns in one colour and make those focal points in your overall palette and you’ll have excellent results and a stellar decor that says you spent a lot of thought on it.
If you’re ready to experiment with colour, why not get in touch with NTT Painters and Decorators to help guide you through the process.