New idea for your living room... A new tranquillity.

Sometimes just one major alteration – such as repainting a wall or reupholstering a sofa – can lead the way for a number of smaller more subtle changes which combine to change the overall feeling of a room.

This large double sitting room now has a serene and tranquil air, thanks to a subtle change of colour. Walls that were once a deep turquoise have been replastered in pale eau de nil, which is complemented by the existing clear aqua paintwork. Bare floorboards allow the eye to run unimpeded from one end of the room to another, while translucent curtains contribute to the almost ethereal mood. The room not only looks but feels different.

Lots of pure white further lifts the space – a comfortable large sofa and modern chair are upholstered in crisp white linen, while the contempary shapes of a white leather chair, a large Capellini floor lamp and low tables in moulded plastic and metal prvide some contrasting textures. There is an interesting play between hard and soft, shiny and matt, plain and pattern, which keeps the room alive.

In such a calm and soothing space, the few splashes of contrasting colour and pattern stand out to great effect – the bold floral fabric on the flour cushion and back of a chair has as much impact as the painting on the mantelpiece. Colour and pattern have also been used to draw the two ends of the room together and make them work as one space – this can be surprisingly difficult to achieve in double sitting rooms or ‘knock through’ rooms. Keeping the main upholstery colours of whiter and mauve the same either end, and sprinkling accents of aqua, ocean and green in the form of cushions and other details throughout is an extremely effective way of unifying the space. Note the way the two strongest patterns -  the jazzy stripe and the cut velvet peony print – have been repeated just once in both spaces, you don’t need to overdo it. The stripe on the cushions is so bold that the eye is drawn to it even at the far end of the room. The beautiful mauve and white orchid blooms are a decorative force in their own right, anchoring the eye in the centre of the room, ad playing on the other mauve accents.

“This is the third change this room has undergone since we lived in this house. I wanted a softer mood while still wishing to experiment with colour – the paler walls and a lot more white have created an entirely new mood. This is a light, airy look for summer, but in winter I might use slightly more colour by laying down rugs and charging the cushions, It interests me to see how these small but subtle changes can mould the whole feeling and emotional charge of the room.”  Tricia Guild

Inspiration by tricia Guild

For more decor ideas visit decordirect.co.za

Accents of orange & cerise pink - Spring decor inspiration.

When accents of pink and orange are used in a mainly white room, the mood is warm, fresh and joyful. The grand architecture of this French chateau, with its ornate paneling, soaring ceilings and high shuttered windows, has been giving a young, comtemporary feel with low furniture and vivacious, feminine colour. Comfortable modern sofas and chairs are joined by lots of floor cushions; sitting on the floor in a room like this immediately makes it feel informal and relaxed. The windows are dressed in layers and stripes of various shades of pink, with gauzy voiles filtering the light coloured glass. The pattern is a modern take on printed lace – just right for this charming flirtatious mood.

 “The use of colour here is gloriously tonal – taking pink from palest shell to shocking Schiaparelli, with accents of persimmon and mauve. Colour contrast is provided by the vast expanses of white paneled walls and the oversized white rug that lightens the effect of the wooden floor. Modern combinations of hot pink dahlias, spiky grasses and scented geranium leaves give a freshness and vitality to the room.”

Inspiration by "thinkcolour"

View more decor ideas

Interior decor idea: dancing rhythms and vibrate stripes for your living room

Sometimes, it is worth being as bold as you dare to breathe new life into a space. This traditional room, with its old wood paneled doors and black and white tiled floor, could easily look heavy and old-fashioned. Instead, it has been taken to the opposite extreme with a quirky modern mix of bright colour and graphic pattern. A real sense of joy has been brought into the space with vivid stripes, exuberant florals and cheerful clashes bright orange, mauve, pink and canary yellow.

But there id method in the madness, the scheme id held together by a few subtle colour continuities which save it from fragmenting. The geometric floor is one anchoring force; the charcoal colour is repeated in the striped fabric on the sofas and in the floral fabrics and rug, with their scribbly, graphic, almost fifties feel. The use of bright yellow, leapfrogging from the curtains to the floral cushions on the sofa and ottoman, is another. This is a bold look, which works because of severity of the floor and the subtly repeating relationships between the colours – like recurring jazz themes. The flowers – tall stems of alliums or nerines, or papery rounds of ranunculus layered in stripes of colour under water – continue the quirky, graphic style. 

 “The striped fabric is what draws this whole scheme together. Its perfect for this room, as it relates to the severe geometry of the floor and at the same time contains almost all the other colours that are used elsewhere. Using a plain fabric for the seats of the sofa defines its shape and gives a neutral base for the other patterns.”

Inspiration: "thinkcolour" by Tricia Guild
View www.decordirect.co.za for more interior decor ideas.

How to decorate your outdoor table for a Summer lunch.

Table decor idea: A feast for all the senses.

Use flowers and leaves creatively to add the spontaneous spirit of an al fresco lunch. Don't reach automatically for a jug or vase - gather flower heads from the garden or from arrangements inside the house. When the flowers in a vase begin to fade, there are always a few blooms whose beauty remains intact. Pick off those flower heads that still have life in them and scatter them over a tablecloth or display singly in little glass vases where they can be admired at close quarters. This is a great way to make the most of your flowers, even if they only last like this for a short term. They can even be kept in the fridge for a few days beforehand, if required.


The heads of nerine lilies or single gladioli blooms, usually seen at the top of long  stately stems and in the company of other flowers, are transformed when used in this simple, unassuming way. They add to that sense of 'contemplated haphazardness' which is so appealing but can be quite hard to achieve. Edible flowers such as nasturtiums, borage and pansies and freshly picked herbs such as chervil, coriander and basil can also be used to decorate and add taste to salads. And when serving cool drinks, such as fresh lemon presse, fill the glass with slices of lemon or lime and use sprigs of mint to flavour the water slightly and make it more refreshing.

Decor inspiration by Tricia Guild - Thinkcolour

Decor idea for a Summer lunch

A crisp striped cloth and a scattering of petals for a spontaneous al fresco lunch outside.
This table laid for lunch outside has a casual, carefree charm - a mismatch of chairs brought out into the garden in the shade of old olive and fig trees. What makes it so inviting, however, is the clever use of colour that belies the seemingly spontaneous arrangement. The orange of the Arne Jacobsen chairs is highlighted on the vibrant striped tablecloth, and echoed in the flower heads strewm around the place settings and tucked into tiny vases with a few scented geranium leaves.


"Eating outside is liberating - the simple act of laying a table out of doors frees us from the formalities that might prevail in the house. Take a few risks - mix old and new, rustic and contemporary - but keep it all moving with a subtle continuity of colour. There is great fun to be had in choosing which furniture and cloths to use. pick a favourite fabric and work around it, or take some chairs that work well together and continue the scheme around thos e colours. Fresh salad leaves, herbs and nasturtiums from the garden make a colourful and delicious salad." Tricia Guild

Decor inspiration by "thinkcolour"

For more garden decor ideas visit www.decordirect.co.za

Decorating for large open spaces.

Vital, uplifting colour againt a white backdrop

These are vital rather than vivid colour, with clarity and purity that instantly lifts the spirits. A deliberatly low-key backdrop of white whalls and polished resin floor lets the colours sing out in the open, uncluttered space, while other details such as cushions, lamps, tables and other furniture are also confined to white.

 Traditional curtains can look out of place in the minimalist modern spaces, so here, banners of plain fabric have been suspended on metal rods to make simple blinds that can be opened or shut, depending on the quality of light and privacy required. They also take the colour in the room right up to the ceiling. The same window treatment has been used throughout the apartment, but in the lower room just one window panle is coloured; the rest remain pure white, which makes for a cooler feeling around the windows. White is also the predominent colour in the backdrop of walls and floor, with fresh linen cushions and a leather chair and stool.

Inspiration: "thinkcolour" by Tricia Guild"
More living room decor ideas go to decordirect.co.za

Decorating ideas for your living room

A feeling of space and light


This wonderful, high-ceilinged apartment is in a converted schoolhouse - a clean, modern, urban space with great proportions. The size of the rooms perfectly complements the tall arched windows and there is a welcome feeling of space and light above the hubbub of the city.

It can be hard to know how to arrange your life in such a large open plan layout. Keep things simle - too many elements look cluttered and fussy while large clean shapes and clear colours build the structure you need. Here, even the textures have been confined to just two - hard and soft. All the soft furnishings are in linen - a soft yet flat texture which does not detract from the essentially square and masculine lines of the furniture. The only other textures are the hard glass, metal and shiny white surfaces of the modern tables, lamps and sideboard.

The use of colour is what creates the mood, manipulating the space, creating different atmospheres in different areas for different uses, but drawing them subtly together. Instead of keeping the place all white - the classic response to a large openplan loft - a restricted palette of just a few strong tonal shades gives these two large ajoining rooms a sparkling vitality often lacking in such spaces.

In the second room, the orange on the sofa is a subtle shade of cantaloupe - one tone down from the zingy citrus. This sits beautifully beside a fresh chartreuse of the armchair, pale ocean on the footstool, and clear crocus mauve at the windows. Just one mauve cushion on the sofa makes the crucial link with the crocus fabric at the windows.

The space flows down past the staircase into another sitting room on a lower level, with slightly smaller proportions. Here, slightly smaller proportions. here, slightly cooler colours take the mood down a note or two. But while the temperature may be cooler, the vital, vivacious mood down a note or two. The ocean colours links both spaces, but the cantaloupe orange of the sofa has been exchanged for lime, with accents of turquoise in small details such as the cushions on the sofa floor. Touches such as this help to give each room an identity of its own, even if some of the principal colours have been carried over both.

Inspiration: "thinkcolour" by Tricia Guild

Get more Interior decor ideas from decordirect.co.za