20 tips for choosing a colour scheme

Hello : ),

I'm at Coco Republic Design and learning all about how to work with colour tonight. Exciting stuff ! I love it. It's great for creating mood boards for a client or even yourself if you want a change in your bedroom or if you're game; an entire home. Below is 20 tips for choosing your colour scheme - I'm definitely using these as a bible for my next assignment !

·      Use colours that your client prefers or identifies with
·      Use red-based colours to bring warmth to a room
·      Use blue-based colours for restful, calm spaces like bedrooms.
·      When warm and cool colours are used together, the warm ones appear cooler than are usually would.
·      The dimensions of a space will affect how intense the colours within it seem. Using a particular colour on a large area will increase the intensity of that colour.
·      In larger spaces, use colours that are low in intensity. Bright colours will work well here for features and trims.
·      When light and dark colours are used together, the light ones appear lighter and the dark ones appear darker.
·      When bright and dull colours are used together, the bright ones appear brighter and the dull ones appear duller.
·      Adjacent colours will show their difference more dramatically than if they are spread apart.
·      To make a room appear larger, use cool colours or tones with high values (light colours).
·      To make a room appear smaller or more intimate, use warm colours or tones with a lower value (darker tones).
·      To make a room dynamic, use colours with contrasting values, such as a dark piece of furniture in front of a light wall. Avoid overusing this technique though, as it can be overwhelming.
·      To make a room feel tranquil, use tones of a similar value.
·      Dust shows up more easily on dark colours, whereas lighter colours are more easily marked and may require more effort to maintain.
·      Colour harmonies are most effective when there is one dominant colour. Proportionally, the dominant colour should be visible in about 60 per cent of the space.
·      Complementary schemes make the colours seem more vibrant.
·      Light sources affect how colours look. Artificial lighting soothes colours, so always check your samples in natural daylight before applying them to a room. Fluorescent lights will also affect colours differently, depending on whether the light is cool or warm.
·      Always try and include come neutral colours (whites or light greys) to your colour scheme. They give the scheme strength and can enhance your colour harmonies.
·      Texture affects how we perceive colours – surfaces with rougher textures will look darker than those with smooth textures.
·      Colour is the most versatile of the elements of design, and therefore it is often the easiest to change. Work with your colour scheme as must as you need to create the right mood for a space.


I hope you found these tips useful !  I'll also be sticking by them for the boutique fitting and furnishing.




With Love,
Bee x

Confessions of a Time Poor Bee

If you're like me, I can sometimes over analyse things like crazy and make things sound way worse in my thoughts, than what the reality is; especially when it's written down and I can re read it several times and realise it's not as scary as I'm making it out to be. It's kind of like how my life is at the moment.

I'm a little lost for motivation. There's so much going on in my busy life that I'm slightly concerned that I've taken on too much in a small time frame and kind of overwhelmed myself. At the same time I think its good that I've pushed myself in the deep end and I'm actually surprised at how I am jumping through the hurdles and making it out to the other side. But this is early talks for the moment.

I'm just shy of working three months full time plus I'm in my fourth week of my third year, second semester at uni AND my third week of learning interior design. My gosh is the work load catching up on me! I sit in class at uni some days and just think, "how can I keep doing this"? Proposals and critiques are keeping my mind away from Bali and it hurts to have it sitting at the back of my mind.

On the other hand, my design course is going amazing. All of my weekly exercises are ideas coming from my memories of Bali, colours you can't escape and textures you see around every corner. I've just got to keep on top of things and be organised. I guess this is the beginning of what its like to finally 'grow up' and live in the adult world. I don't really like it just yet. I guess you could call it "adjusting".

So I'm posting a new checklist. One not everyone will appreciate and some may call boring. But I need to post it for me.

• Finish your proposal
• Start your memoir
• Do your principles and design of elements
• Stay creative
• Take time away to regather your thoughts
• Don't give up on your dream
• Drink plenty of fluids
• Take care of yourself; you know when you've gone too far
• Keep the goal in sight
• Work. Money will get you back to Bali

I'll get back to Bali before I know it. There's piles of lists in my 'notes' app on my laptop, all around the main theme of Bali; the shops I want to source to sell in the boutique, locations, fit outs for the store; the lists are never ending! I need to go to Kikki.k and grab some notebooks I can write in and keep everything together. I'm also very close to announcing the name for the boutique :)

Hmmmm, I guess I do have some things to look forward to and keep me focused on the goal. Head down at uni and work - bring in the money and keep the goal alive and in arms reach!

I know it's a personal thing but if anyone has any ideas of how to keep sane and motivated, please let me in on your little secret below in the comments!

With Love,

Bee x

Shop Fit Out Inspirations

Have you ever opened a grand front door with a large iron handle of a shop and entered in awe? Being so mesmerised with what you are standing in, taking a moment to look around and appreciate the lighting, colour palette, fittings and finally, the merchandise.

This is what I want to create for every person who walks through my boutique store. (I'm still thinking of a name) I want to create an atmosphere that isn't experienced often when they visit a shop. Personally I find myself appreciating more stores in Bali than I do at home in Sydney. They seem to take more pride in the individuality of their style and the presentation of their visual merchandising in the front window displays. 

I have started my interior design diploma at Coco Republic and I couldn't be more happy. I'm learning so much and challenging myself too in what I need to learn and what I actually already had knowledge of but didn't realise. My major project involves having clients from a boutique hotel that I get to design for their penthouse. I have chosen to create a layout for a boutique hotel penthouse to be situated in Batu Belig, reflecting a decorative scheme that does justice for the local culture around the area. So using soft furnishings from homewares stores in the street and stocking the living area with ceramics from Kevala Ceramics. 

Kevala Ceramics store in Batu Belig

There's so much inspiration I take and adapt my style towards. I love linen and leather together; soft furnishings but have such different textures that just fit. Cane is another favourite, it can look hard but with the right colour of material and paired with soft furnishings, they can look luxurious and very Hampton's chic. 

Colours I always seem to go back to are neutrals. Hogs bristle, crisp whites, feather greys and navy tone are fantastic when on their own or used altogether to create a decorative scheme. 

Bali is still a fabulous holiday destination for myself apart from also being the place I want to eventually call home permanently. I like taking the local culture and views surrounding the areas into my interior scheme as well. Palm trees, coconut bowls, sea shells, engraved skulls, recycled timber, ceramics and linen are some things that springs to my mind. Blue waves, vibrant green and yellow leaves of the palms, stained wooden doors, bronzed and iron door handles remind me of the colours I envisage also.

There's so much love for all these starting points. I am so excited to do a buying trip with mum in the next few months for all these statement pieces plus a little goal and test run of having a market stall in the Northen Suburbs of what we wish to sell in the store in Bali. (Will fill you in more in the next coming days !)




With Love,
Bee x