Accent colours are colours that contrast the dominant scheme in a room. They are used to add impact and personality to a space and can be vibrant, bold, natural, dark or vivid. There are many different ways to use accent colours to create drama in your home. Here we explain the best ways to use accent colours to create an eye-catching feature in your bathroom, kitchen, bedroom or lounge.

How to use accent colours

The primary accent colour should be used sparingly to achieve a stylish interior. As a guide, we recommend around 3 or 5 times in a single room. Using too much can be overkill and cause the space to look dark or cluttered. Using small quantities will help draw your eyes around the space. To create continuity and flow, you may wish to use the same accent colour throughout the whole house.

The dominant colour should cover approximately 60% of the room and the secondary colour around 30%. Accent colours should make up the final 10%. When used effectively, accent colours can highlight architectural details such as coving, skirtings, architrave, picture and dado rails, bannisters and trims.

Bathroom

• Feature walls behind the bath or inside the shower enclosure for a more permanent accent colour
• Towels & bathmats can be easily changed according to the season, colour trends or just because you feel like it
• Window blinds and sills
• Accessories such as perfume bottles, fancy shower gels, or bath bombs

Kitchens

• Introduce a coloured splashback or tiles behind the hob
• Upgrade your kettle and toaster – there of lots of stylish designs and colours available
• Accessories, such as plant pots and photo frames
• Blinds
• Artwork
• Bar stools and dining chairs
• Paint the back wall of open storage units

Bedrooms

• Cushions and throws
• Artwork
• Accessories, such as lamps and lampshade, rug
• Feature walls

Lounge

• Feature walls in alcoves or behind fireplaces
• Cushions and throws
• Occasional chairs
• Coffee tables
• Your favourite artwork
• Accessories such as lampshades, rugs and picture frames

What accent colour should I use?

Deciding which accent colour to use is largely personal preference, but having a good understanding of colour theory will prevent potential disasters. For a more subtle look, you can choose a colour that is in the same family as the predominant wall colour e.g. a couple of shades lighter or darker. Or, for something a bit more striking a complimentary colour (opposite colour on the colour wheel) will look great. If you want to keep it simple you could introduce a neutral colour such as white or grey. You can also play with textures such as wood or metallics.

Introducing an accent colour is a cost effective way of giving your home a new lease of life. Small changes can make a big impact and completely transform the look and feel of a tired space. If we’ve inspired you to try an accent colour in your property, we encourage you to pop into our Weymouth tile, kitchen and bathroom showroom to take a look at our product range. Our experienced and friendly team will work with you to decide a colour scheme and suggest ways of adding a pop of colour to help focus the eye.

Book an appointment at New Image and begin your kitchen, bathroom or bedroom transformation today!