Advice 2 June 2026
Choosing the right colourway
Most of our designs come in four or five colourways, and choosing between them trips up more people than choosing the pattern itself. The same motif can feel airy in one colourway and enveloping in another — and the deciding factor is rarely taste alone. It is light.
Before you order, run your shortlist through the three questions below.
Which way does the room face?
North-facing rooms receive cool, blue-tinted light all day, which drains warmth from greys and can turn crisp whites chilly. They reward colourways with warm undertones — clay, ochre, blush, warm green. South-facing rooms are bathed in warm light and can carry cooler palettes without ever feeling cold.
East- and west-facing rooms change character through the day, so judge them at the hour you actually use them: an east-facing kitchen at breakfast, a west-facing sitting room in the evening.
Small room? Consider going darker
Instinct says paler colourways make small rooms feel bigger, and in bright rooms that is often true. But in a small room that never gets much sun, a pale colourway can just look grey. The deeper option leans into what the room already is and turns the size into cosiness — a study or snug in a dark colourway feels intentional rather than cramped.
Read the undertone, not the colour
Two neutrals can sit side by side and quietly disagree — one leaning pink, the other green. Compare your shortlisted colourway against the things in the room you cannot change: the floor, a large sofa, stone or tile. Hold the sample directly against them and the undertone declares itself in seconds.
Sample on the wall, then wait
Order samples of your final two or three colourways and tape them to the wall — a shaded wall and a bright one, not just the one opposite the window. Then live with them for a few days and glance at them at different times rather than studying them.
The one you stop noticing arguments about is usually the answer. A colourway you can live with at 7am and 10pm will still be right in five years.
