Category: Features

Bold Is Beautiful: How Colour 
Confidence Boosts Your Mood

Jen Devaney

Colour Consultant 
Title

Bold Is Beautiful: How Colour Confidence Boosts Your Mood

 

There’s something special about a bold colour. It doesn’t whisper, it sings! It draws you in, lifts your spirits, and adds an undeniable pulse of life to a space. And here’s the best part, you don’t need to repaint your whole house to feel the difference. Just one bold colour choice can change everything......your room, your mind and your mood.

Colour and the Mind

Colour has a direct line to the emotional part of the brain, the limbic system, which governs mood, memory, and motivation. When you choose a bold hue, you’re not just decorating, you’re stimulating the senses and sparking emotional energy. Think of it as lighting up your neural pathways in technicolour.

 

Playing it safe with neutrals can feel calm and comforting, but sometimes what we actually need is a little energy injection. Introducing a bolder shade, even in a small way, gives the mind a sense of movement and excitement. It’s like reminding your brain what aliveness feels like.

Dipping your toe in

The first step into bold colour can feel like dipping your toe into a cool river. It's a bit of a shock at first but if you give it a moment, suddenly you want to go in further. Once you become more comfortable, your confidence builds. You go a little further, then a little further again, until you’re fully swimming in colour, movement, and joy.


Start small. A single chair, a mirror frame, a plant pot, a cabinet door...  these are perfect places to begin. Use this as a low-pressure way to experiment, to find what makes you smile when you walk past it. Before long, that one pop of colour will have you itching to try another. 

 

Bold Choices, Beautiful Benefits


Boost your mood: Bold colours energise the mind and body. Reds, oranges, and yellows ignite creativity and confidence. Blues and greens in rich tones add depth and clarity.


Break routine: Trying something unexpected disrupts autopilot living and that’s great for a healthy mentality. It invites curiosity and joy back into everyday spaces.


Express yourself: Colour is language. Choosing bold tones helps you reclaim your voice and personality in your home.
 

How to Create Beautiful Bold Pairings

Once you’ve found your colour confidence, it’s time to play with combinations. There are a few tried and true approaches that can help you get it right and keep it feeling intentional rather than chaotic.

 

Opposites attract

 

Colours opposite each other on the colour wheel naturally balance and energise one another. Think of a teal like Pinch Punch paired with a coral tone such as Sundowner or a red like Hot Lips. Or try mustard tones like Hot As Mustard balanced with a purple based pink such as Vintage Rosie. These complementary pairings have built-in chemistry.  Each one makes the other appear brighter and more alive.

Pinch Punch

Sundowner

Hot As Mustard

Vintage Rosie

 

The triadic trio

 

If you want playful, dynamic energy, try a triadic palette, three colours evenly spaced on the wheel. For example, combine deep blue tones like Hornblower, with a deep red such as Flamenco and an uplifting golden hue like Haley J. Together, they create joyful balance and an instant lift.

Hornblower

Flamenco

Hayley J

 

Tone-on-tone magic

 

If you’re not quite ready to go all out, work with layers of the same hue, deeper, softer, and lighter versions of a single colour family. (Think of it as a colour echo rather than repetition.) For example, pair Duckling with Smooth Operator or Boho Berry with Dream Catcher. It’s an elegant way to build depth and personality without overwhelm.

Duckling

Smooth Operator

Boho Berry

Dream Catcher

 

The pop factor

 

Finally, add one completely unexpected accent, a flash of deep Boujee alongside Ballerina, or a pop of Velvet Crush in an otherwise earthy scheme. That single surprise gives the whole room a spark of joy and keeps your eye moving through the space.

Boujee

Ballerina

Velvet Crush

Don’t Forget the Shine

A touch of metallic can completely transform how a bold colour feels. Think of it as adding light to the conversation, a glimmer that catches the eye and brings warmth and reflection into the mix.

 

Use our metallic paint range to create that touch of opulence. Try King’s Gold or Regal Rosie for a sense of warmth and luxury. With the Frensheens Sexy Silver gives a sleek, contemporary edge or while Green Goddess and Beautiful Bronze add something earthy and unexpected. For a softer sheen, try Frenshimmer to give furniture or décor pieces that subtle, light catching glow.


Metallics act like jewellery for your room. They highlight, accentuate, and add movement as the light changes throughout the day. Whether it’s a gilded mirror frame, metallic handles, or a whisper of shimmer on a piece of furniture, a little shine goes a long way.

Where to Begin

  • Furniture glow-up: Give a tired side table or dresser a fresh lease of life with a bold, joyful hue.
  • Ceiling drama: Flip convention upside down. A bold ceiling colour can cocoon and uplift at once.
  • Two-tone walls: Split your wall horizontally or use moulding and panels to frame bold blocks of colour to add instant architectural interest.
  • Doors and trims: A strong colour on your doors, skirtings or a window frame, brings energy and definition to a neutral space.
  • Moveable art: Paint your own canvas or experiment with painted panels or mirror and picture frames. You can move them around and discover how colour changes the mood of each room.

    Happy Painting!
    Jen x

 
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