A perfect way to dramatically change your interior is to paint an accent wall. You know that feeling when you start to get a bit of an itch to change things up in one of your rooms? For me, it starts to build slowly, maybe because I have been working on a project using a particular colour which has captured my imagination or my mind has been sparked by some inspiration on Pinterest or social media. Then I spot I have a window of opportunity coming up to commit to some home decoration and think, yes, let’s grab the time and do it. Having a change is as good as a rest. Even swapping furniture around in a room is energising.

Like most of us, at the time of writing, I had lived within the same four walls intensively over the last year in and out of lockdown. So I was absolutely ready for a change.

Don’t get me wrong. I loved Farrow and Ball Green Smoke in our living room. It had served us well and received lots of lovely compliments via Instagram. Here is a fabulous shot by Aga Hosking Photography of our accent wall in Green Smoke. But I had that itch and a yearning for a deep, beautiful, wine coloured red was calling.

Here are my 5 reasons for opting for a rich earthy red over a soothing green. Although the change may seem rash, there were very solid grounds for making the leap:

1. Improved flow and balance throughout my home

We have pinks and reds at the top of the house in our bedroom loft space and the same colours on our stair bannister, which comes through the heart of our home. So having a deep red in the living room makes sense when you take the journey between all floors.

We have also recently bought some walnut wood furniture for the living room. The warm, rich wood colours work so well with the deep reds in the overall scheme.

2. Bringing a cosy warmth into the living room

This deep red adds a gorgeous cosy feeling in the space. We have an existing linen brown sofa, had it for years, it is effectively the dog’s bed in this informal living room, so we have not bothered re-upholstering it a different colour. This red colour blends really well with the sofa plus the pinks in the rug and cushions. It works particularly well with rose pinks, plaster peachy colours, terracotta and neutral shades. Layer up for extra cosy.

3. Excellent backdrop to my artwork

This was a big driving factor in the end. I wanted to make the landscape paintings I have on the wall ‘pop’ and this deep red did the trick. The greens and blues in the paintings were a bit lost against the green painted wall, whereas this bold red really brought them alive.

4. Simply a change to bring a different mood to the space

We all like change and changing the colour of the accent wall in this room has made a dramatic difference to how we feel in the space. My husband was initially reticent. He was a big fan of the green colour. We both were. Yet, as soon as it the transformation took place, he was sold and loves the new colour. It has a settling effect because it brings flow in our home. It makes sense to be there and ties in other elements in the room like the furniture and soft furnishings.

5. Connection with the outdoor space

I am not sure I actually realised this initially but I can see it clearly now and maybe it was always there sub-consciously. The red accent walls reflect the deep terracotta colour in the bricks we have in our garden, which are framed as you look out to the garden from this room. So, not only to you have the connection within our home but also as you gaze outside too.

The thing is it is only paint. We can change it up again when we are ready. That is the beauty of paint, it is a great way to make a punchy change in your interiors without costing too much. We love to do it using colour blocking. It means you don’t have to commit to the whole room and keep it easy.

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x Annie x

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