The fresh paint colours to consider for spring
The daffodils are beginning to bloom, the days are getting longer and the weather has briefly turned a little warmer. In our mind, that's enough to say that spring is nearly here. A new season means a change in the light that diffuses our homes and it often makes us crave bright, fresh spaces. Especially after the long winter we just endured and the battering thanks to the elements, a change of scene can be a welcome breath of fresh air and perhaps a new lick of paint is just the answer. For spring, think of the change in colours outside your home; the green grass, soft pink of blossom, yellow daffodils and the glorious blue sky. Emulating these at home will bring a cheerier note to your space and surround you with the joyful colours of the season.
We've gathered some rooms from the House & Garden archive to prove how wonderful spring colours can look at home, and have listed below the best paint colours for ease.
Blossom pinks
- 'Setting Plaster' by Farrow & Ball
- 'Pink Ground' by Farrow & Ball
- 'Temple' by Paper & Paint Library
- 'Jonquil' by Edward Bulmer Natural Paints
- 'Stony Plaster' by Atelier Ellis
- 'Faded Blossom' by Atelier Ellis
- 'SC234' from Paper & Paints
- 'Pink Slip' from Little Greene
- 'Blossom' from Dulux Heritage
Greens
- 'Breakfast Room Green' by Farrow & Ball
- 'Scallion' by Paper & Paint Library
- 'Invisible Green' by Edward Bulmer Natural Paints
- 'Pea Green' from Paper & Paints
- 'Edith's Eye' from Little Greene
- 'Willow Tree' from Dulux
Blues
- 'Blue Ground' by Farrow & Ball
- 'Lulworth Blue' by Farrow & Ball
- 'Constantia Blue' by Paper & Paint Library
- 'Bluebird' by Paper & Paint Library
- 'Sky Blue' from Paper & Paints
- 'Mineral Mist' from Dulux
- 'First Dawn' from Dulux
Yellows
- 'Citrona' by Farrow & Ball x Kelly Wearstler
- 'Dayroom Yellow' by Farrow & Ball
- 'Trumpington' by Edward Bulmer Natural Paints
- 'Pollen' by Atelier Ellis
- 'SC281' from Paper & Paints
- 'Pale Lime' from Little Greene
- 'Butter Cup' from Dulux Heritage
1/19The trumpet of a daffodil is a deep, yolky yellow, evoked here in the sitting room of Benedict Foley and Daniel Slowik. Benedict painted the room in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Wet Sand’ on the recommendation of their great friend Emma Burns, managing director at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler.
Paul Massey2/19Annabel Bevan's London home is full of fresh, soft spring colours. In Annabel's bedroom, the walls are painted in ‘Aquamarine’ by Little Greene, a green-blue that diffuses the light wonderfully.
Paul Massey3/19Annabel's daughter's room has walls in Little Greene's ‘Bone China Blue Mid’, while the wardrobe is painted in a Papers & Paints' blue that is the colour of a spring sky.
Simon Upton4/19This drawing room of this country house decorated by Fiona Shelburne is dominated by two monumental works of art. 'We thought a vibrant, lettuce-green colour would be a good backdrop for them and would bring a freshness and femininity to the room.' The vivid green colour was mixed to Fiona's specifications, but 'Green Melon' by Designers Guild has the same pep to it and costs £39 for 2.5 litres of matt emulsion.
Owen Gale5/19Edward Bulmer's 'Jonquil' is a soft blush pink, here providing a perfect backdrop for the original black marble fireplace in this house by Clarence Graves. The acid yellow chandelier adds a pop of vibrancy to the soft wall colour.
Paul Massey6/19This vibrant living room belongs to none other than Rita Konig, in her County Durham farmhouse. Walls in 'Invisible Green' by Edward Bulmer Natural Paints hark at the brightness of fresh grass shoots and the first signs of life in the garden. It's a bright, fresh colour.
Owen Gale7/19Elsewhere in the house, a bedroom has been painted Atelier Ellis' 'Stony Plaster'. This colour can read differently depending on the light and in well-lit, sunny rooms it becomes a blossom pink. In darker spaces, it has more of a stone-like colour, making it versatile throughout the seasons.
Paul Massey8/19In this Arts and Crafts house by Brandon Schubert, the panelling, designed by Brandon, is painted in a lovely soft blue: Farrow & Ball’s ‘Blue Gray’.
Owen Gale9/19Chris Graves of Clarence Graves describes the kitchen of the house as 'Wes Anderson meets Provence', and the softened down pastel tones here are seen throughout the house. The most striking feature is the pistachio green Crittall windows, the first time that the installer had seen anyone choose a colour other than black or grey in twenty years. A splash of colour used in this way is an easier way to update your home than repainting entire rooms.
Kara Rosenlund10/19Walls in ‘Pacific Harbour’ paint by Dulux create a bold backdrop for an eclectic mix of furnishings in Anna Spiro's house, which is a winning example at how to use colour in a bold way.
Owen Gale11/19Farrow & Ball's 'Setting Plaster' is an undeniably popular soft pink that works so well in a myriad different spaces. Here, in the open plan kitchen-dining room of Angelica Squire's house, it gives a warmth and comfort to the space and benefits from the skylight that brings out its lighter side.
Øivind Haug12/19Farrow & Ball’s ‘Breakfast Room Green’ paint is similar to the original colour of the 1820s drawing room in this grand house by Ptolemy Dean.
Øivind Haug13/19Pastels may not be groundbreaking for spring but when they have the richness and depth of Farrow & Ball's paints, it adds another dimension Here, the hallway walls are in ‘Card Room Green’.
Benjamin Edwards14/19With its mix of clean lines and natural textures, the townhouse of interior designer Emma Sims-Hilditch pays homage to its London setting, while serving as a reminder of her rural roots. In the kitchen, irregularly sized wood panelling is painted in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Purbeck Stone’, which presents as a soft blue-green in the light-flooded space.
Maree Homer15/19A small space is a great opportunity to go bold with colour, as this living room in a Sydney cottage by Lisa Burdus attests. On the ground floor, walls papered in Osborne & Little’s ‘Chroma’ in the apple colourway match woodwork painted in ‘Purslane’ from Dulux, a colour that is sadly only available in Australia.
Sharyn Cairns16/19'The sitting room seemed to need pink... After splashing splodges of various pinks about, I called Patrick Baty at Papers and Paints and he mixed exactly the right shade that warmed and softened the room,' says Ben Pentreath of the living room in his Dorset Parsonage. The colour is now in one of Patrick's paint ranges - naturally called 'Parsonage Pink'.
17/19Louise Roe's British Standard farmhouse-style kitchen cabinets are painted in 'Sage Green' by Little Greene. It's a darker shade of green, however with the large window diffusing light through the space, it becomes a fresh and wonderful colour.
Elsa Young18/19Walls in Edward Bulmer’s ‘Invisible Green’ offer a backdrop for an eclectic mix of cushions – some made from vintage suzanis - in an Edinburgh flat by Susan Deliss.
Paul Massey19/19In this bedroom, Little Greene’s ‘Theatre Red’ adds drama to the dressing room that leads to an en-suite bathroom. The main bedroom walls are in light-reflecting ‘Temple’ by Paint & Paper Library, a colour which creates a base for layers of texture.
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