All of us need a little colour in our lives, and award-winning interior designer Anne Tuohy has the smart steps to adding a splash to our homes.

I honestly can’t believe that summer is almost over. We had day after day of dry, lovely weather and now constant rain and cooler temperatures have become our norm.

There is one thing that we can do to inject that summer feeling into our homes, and that is to embrace some vibrant colour. All of us need a little colour in our lives, and this is no exception when it comes to our homes.

I passionately believe that our homes should nurture and support us, providing us with a calm and loving refuge. However, you can still have a calm home with lots of colour in it, but you need to be careful about how you achieve this.

I am not a big fan of the accent wall, occasionally it’s necessary to improve the design, but as a general rule, it’s something that I deliberately avoid doing. Therefore I am not advocating that you introduce colour, by randomly painting your walls a vibrant colour.

Instead, I would urge you to introduce your accent colours in your choice of accessories and soft furnishings. You can create so much positive energy with the introduction of really vibrant pieces, treasures that put a smile on your face every time you see them.

( Forgive me, I should have straightened my necklace before this picture was taken!)

This vivid fuchsia lampshade makes my heart sing every time I open my front door. It’s a fairly recent addition, which perfectly compliments the monochromatic scheme. This hall is eighteen years old, and I still love it, because the strong pop of colour gives it life, and an injection of fun.

Camping pods at the Wild Atlantic Camp in Creeslough – designed by Anne Tuohy

In my tiny pods project, the addition of vibrant, complimentary accent colours is what provides the positive energy that welcomes you the minute you walk through the door. Uplifting orange, pink, yellow and blue tones all work together to create a most uplifting space. The colours are evenly carried throughout the entire pod to create balance and harmony.

This is something that you can easily replicate in your own home. When you have a neutral backdrop, you can layer the colour in your cushions, rugs and soft furnishings. And over time, if you tire of your scheme, you can just change your accessories.

A gorgeous wallpaper is another great way of achieving colour and drama in your hall, downstairs WC or bedroom. The shops are full of fabulous strong statement papers at the moment, like this one above from Zoffany.

Be bold, and pick something that you absolutely love, then stand back and enjoy it every time you step into your room.

How was your summer?

I hope that you all had a really good summer. It’s just so hard to believe that it’s almost over, and that the kids will soon be back at school and college!

I have actually been much busier than normal this summer, which is why you have not seen an article from me. Thankfully, routine has commenced again!

I’ve been working exclusively on the complete design of five very different new houses, including two passive homes. All are at varying stages of completion, and scattered country wide, so it’s been a very exciting time for me. I have also been busy on a design project for myself, which you will hear more about soon.

Two weeks ago, I was invited by Newstalk FM to take part in an interview about small space design with Sinead Ryan on The Home Show. I really enjoyed it, and am thrilled to say that they have invited me to come back. This is the podcast link, and I’m the first on. https://www.newstalk.com/news/new-newstalk-app-launches-ios-android-896258

September Home Detox

How would you like to join me in a September Home Detox on Facebook? I have just done this with my own home, and I can’t tell you how wonderful it feels. The huge bonus is that our home has never looked better either. And yes, I have added some colour to brighten things up!

Leave me a message here if you would like to join me in detoxing and improving your own home, and together we will get it into it’s best possible shape this Autumn.

Stay fabulous.
Anne xx