*Orange, often associated with 70s style interiors, is taking on an altogether sophisticated warmth this Autumn in a perfectly balanced partnership with cool slate greys. From linens to wallpapers to lighting and paint there are some really refreshing new interior designs. It is a colour combination which will ensure that your room is as cosy as you wish it to be in winter and has all the necessary vibrancy and light for summer living too.

Who do you think you are?

Before embarking on any kind of decorating project it is good to know a bit about colour psychology and also to get to know yourself! How do you react to colour, both dark, light, patterned and plain?

Orange-aid

Perhaps you might like the idea of decorating ‘flow’ in your home where you keep the same colour palette throughout every room. Maybe you prefer the idea of decorating dark in rooms with northern light and bright in south-facing rooms. Or perhaps you like to theme each room in your house – or just let your home evolve with layers of much-loved decorating styles and objects.

* Orange is associated with joy, sunshine and the tropics. it represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement and stimulation.

It is always worth making time to think about this and also how each room will look from one room to another. It is sometimes overlooked but good to consider the view from room to room is either one of a colour pop, contrast or flow of the same colour. If you have an interiors project where these might be some of the issues and you need some help, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Here are some examples of how you can use Marmalade and Slate from hints-of to full-on saturated colour in a decorating scheme:

Marmalade and slate – a room for all seasons

Orange pops

You don’t have to saturate a scheme with either colour. See how you can decorate with small ‘pops’ of marmalade, mandarin or orange. Soft cool greys through to slate and black make the perfect canvas for these zesty shades.

This English Salon chair is by Howe London and beautifully made from Scottish Beetled linen in ‘Graphite’, deep buttoned with hand-dyed orange cotton tassels. Handstitched in horse hair and individually tied sprung seat on a beech frame with choice of stained and polished or painted beech or oak legs.

Salon chair by Howe London.

Marmalade and slate mood board

I have put together a decorating scheme with fabrics and wallpapers which are hot off the press! These are some of the newest marmalade and slate fabrics and wallpapers in favoured block print designs, woven stripes, plain velvet, embroidered linens. Special note goes to the wallpapers, which are by the very talented Anna Jeffreys whose work is available through Tissus D’Helene. When I saw these designs at the Design Centre press show earlier in the summer, there was a bit of a general gasp at her work as it was just so fresh and pretty! (Look out soon for my Stylist meets Designer interview with Anna Jeffreys).

New designer special mention

Here is a bigger piece of Anna Jeffreys ‘Laurel’ wallpaper brick (and the colour looks truer here than above – apologies for camera phone!) on grey 006b/04 at Tissus D’Helene.

Some other favourites

Luxury for less

I have to admit to having a bit of ‘thing’ for beautiful handtowels and candles. They are an easy way of sprucing up your bathroom/powder room and like coffee shops – it seems we can never have enough new home fragrance candles either. This candle is by Sweetness & Light (£19.50) who very kindly personalised this one for me, it has a Pomegranate fragrance and comes with a rose gold lid. The embroidered linen towel (£13) is from South African company Biggie Best (currently have 7 shops in the South East) who make luxurious vintage style decorating accessories at affordable prices.

Biggie Best towel styling and photo: Charis White

Sweetness and Light Pomegranate candle. Styling and photo: Charis White

Thank you so much for reading! If you have enjoyed this post and would like to receive email alerts for future ones, please press the large blue ‘Follow’ button either at the beginning or end of each post.

I believe there is still time to vote, so if you haven’t already and want to see your favourite (? ha, ha!) interiors blogger shortlisted for the Amara 2017 Interiors Blog Awards then please vote here:

http://www.interiorblogawards.com/vote/charis-white/

While you are waiting for Netflix Series 2 of The Crown (8 December 2017) – yes, you heard it here first – you can fill that Autumnal void with the excitement of Part 2 of 2 Marmalade and Slate  – The Interiors Box set … coming very soon!

Charis x