What colours make you feel calm

[MusicTeacherSussex]

I just bought a house! And i am really pleased with the size and shape of it but the previous owner has made block colour feature walls against neutrals. Bedroom is bright blue living room is red and second bedroom has fussy grey wallpaper. Kitchen is pastel green. I hate it! Staircase is mauve! The beige berber carpet throughout is ok and we dont want to replace however I want something nice and to feel cool, big and spacious without extreme colour. What have you all got on your walls for a modern and welcoming colour? My first owned home, so please be kind!

Congratulations on your new house!

I like dusty, hyacinth shades for bedrooms and studies, I suppose because they’re calming. Previously I was very keen on muted greens, but it’s such a personal thing. Probably the one generalisation you can make is that calm= muted.

Order some colour charts, look at colour schemes online and make a mood board. If you’re doing a whole house at once, it’s best to take time to be sure.

We live in a sea of magnolia! Although the feature walls you have inherited do sound a bit OTT I'd love some colour! I am encouraging DH to go for some feature walls in the future!
I would suggest you get lots of samples of paint colours and wallpapers you like and put them up and live with them for a while. We've always done this (I know we've still ended up with magnolia but that's mainly because our house is quite dark!).

@ariettyjones thankyou I like the idea of hyacinth what would you put with it I have white furniture so maybe in terms of wall hangings would you say b&w? Thanks for your congrats i am excited!

@peridodo I am averse to magnolia as it reminds me of university! Is there a more soft shade you could recommend? I will for sure do that in my excitement I didnt think of testers,so much going on at once!

I find brighter colours calming. My house isn’t for everyone but I have bold flowery wallpaper and pink and teal painted walls and doors.

@PeggyBundy what do you team with teal? I love teal (clothing, jewelry, home accessories) but dont know how to work it in for decor

I like grey yes I know it's overdone!
My living room is polished pebble, one wall is a wallpaper in a sage green pattern
Bathrooms are rock salt
Bedroom is goose down (I love this colour!)
Hallway is chic shadow
My apartment isn't big or anything special but I find what I've picked really calming

@QueenCT your digs look lovely. In my rental I had grey but I got scared and thought it had been done before. Maybe i should stick to my palette and head for most colours to match my furniture. Yours looks lovely l!

I fully understand your aversion to magnolia! We have just repainted our living room and it's pretty much a cream colour, we bought several testers in shades of cream and with very little difference between them we settled on one! I'm not sure of the exact shade. Again this is because light is a big issue in our house sadly.
But be bold, try the testers and do quite big patches so you can get a real feel for the colours.
I am very tempted by pale lilac/grey and pale greens, I think they are very calming especially for bedrooms and offices. I think living rooms can take a bit more bold colour depending on light levels.
The good thing is if you are just going for paint it is very easy to redo it if you don't like it!

Mist*

Teal and pink. This isn’t my kitchen (I wish it was) but this is colour scheme I like best.

@PeggyBundy this person has a big space and a lot of confidence! I like it! We have black granite worktops and white cabinets so maybe you are onto something wint a dark opulent teal wall to contrast. We have under cabinet lighting too so maybe a dark colour would add some drama and depth.floor is cheap one but hoping to tile slate maybe

I think it's what shade of grey and what you put it with
I like it with sage green or pale blue, then with kind of dusty pinks/mauves/mulberry type colours too
Definitely look at what furniture you have and bedding and if you have anything you hate or want to keep... all my towels/bath mats/everything are blue so I've always stuck with that for the bathroom!
Then you've got all the sort of white shades, like rock salt is a v v pale white grey. Tone on tone is more calm to me than contrast

Thanks all for restoring my faith in Colour. Testers away. The previous owner was a single straight humdrum bloke who practically lived with his girlfriendanyway... enough said on his choices!

Blush pink/Rose
Mustard/ochre
Lilac/violet
Duck egg blue/teal
Sage green
Stone/charcoal grey

Basically all muted colours. I find anything too bright makes me feel overloaded. I hate magnolia with a passion, and much prefer white though.

Cream and magnolia just make me think about washing the nicotine our of net curtains and off walls

Floral/birds wallpaper on main wall, and backdrop of alcove. White walls and satin woodwork, pale grey carpet, curtains and lampshades. Pink and grey cushions on teal three peice suite. I love it!

I've got my bedroom painted in Blueberry Crush(Dulux). I can't link it but you can Google an image . It's a beautiful pale blue, with a slight purple tinge so it feels quite warm, not far off a pale sky blue. I have cream woodwork,doors and furniture , so that it feels fairly muted. Very restful, like a summers day. The ceiling is the same colour. This is the 3rd bedroom I've had painted this colour because I love it so much!

Another vote for teal. Maybe with some yellow mixed in somewhere for 'happy' and a beach vibe. Some minty green perhaps. Perhaps a light pinky lavender or peach too.

Something interesting to try...... David Zyla (colour analyst, stylist, general awesomely talented man) says your personal tranquil colour can be found in the iris of your eye. It's the lightest shade. Mine is a pine green and goes from the deepest shade to the pastel version. It's your personal spa colour, look it up!

Something interesting to try...... David Zyla (colour analyst, stylist, general awesomely talented man) says your personal tranquil colour can be found in the iris of your eye. It's the lightest shade. Mine is a pine green and goes from the deepest shade to the pastel version. It's your personal spa colour, look it up!

What’s a “spa colour”?

@supadupapupascupa

Something interesting to try...... David Zyla (colour analyst, stylist, general awesomely talented man) says your personal tranquil colour can be found in the iris of your eye. It's the lightest shade. Mine is a pine green and goes from the deepest shade to the pastel version. It's your personal spa colour, look it up!

Oh that's interesting. My eyes are brown, but in the sun they are much lighter. My living room is very autumnal - browns, golds and pale oranges and russets - which I find immensely calming.

I am all about the calm. The colour comes from the furniture and soft furnishings. I am afraid my walls are all Stone White (which is quite a cold colour but we have lots of light to counteract it) and Linen White in the bedroom (the palest of pink linen duvet and linen curtains with warm wooden furniture) and its so calm in there - very theraputic to come into and spend time in.

Just redone daughters bedroom in coconut milk (v light warm grey) and mineral spring (pale minty green) from homebase and it's just so lovely and calm with the beige Berber carpet. Big pale grey rug on top.

I have massive bedroom envy!!