Colour is the single most powerful tool in interior design. It can make a room feel larger or smaller, warmer or cooler, energising or deeply restful. Get it right and every other element in the room falls into place. Get it wrong and even the most expensive furniture and fabrics can look flat.
But choosing colour for a luxury interior is more nuanced than simply picking a shade you like on a paint chart. The relationship between colour, light, fabric, wallpaper and texture is complex and understanding it is what separates a truly considered interior from one that simply looks expensive.
This guide covers everything you need to know.
Start With the Light - Not the Colour
The most common mistake in colour selection is choosing a colour in isolation, on a screen, in a shop, or from a small paint swatch held up to a white wall. Light transforms colour completely, and no two rooms receive the same light.
Natural light changes throughout the day. A north-facing room receives cool, blue-toned light all day, warm colours like terracotta and ochre can counteract this beautifully. A south-facing room floods with warm golden light, it can handle cooler tones like sage, slate blue or soft stone without feeling cold.
Artificial light has an equally dramatic effect. Incandescent and warm LED bulbs enrich warm tones, reds, oranges, and yellows glow beautifully. Cool fluorescent light flattens warm colours and enhances blues and greens.
The golden rule: always view your shortlisted colours in the actual room, at different times of day, and under the artificial lighting you'll be using. A large sample at least A3 size, is essential. A small swatch tells you almost nothing.
Understand Undertones
Every colour has an undertone, a secondary hue that sits beneath the surface. These undertones are invisible on a small chip but become very apparent on a full wall, and they're the reason two whites that look identical in a shop can look completely different once painted.
Warm undertones (yellow, red, pink) - make a space feel cosy, intimate and inviting. Work well in living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms.
Cool undertones (blue, green, grey) - create a sense of calm and space. Work well in bathrooms, studies and rooms with warm natural light that needs balancing.
Neutral undertones - the most versatile, but the hardest to find. True neutral whites and greys are rare — most lean warm or cool.
When selecting luxury wallpaper or fabric to work alongside a painted wall, always check the undertones of both. A wallpaper with pink undertones next to a wall with green undertones will create an unpleasant clash that's difficult to identify but immediately sensed.
Match Colour to the Purpose of the Room
Different rooms serve different purposes and colour should support those purposes, not work against them.
Bedroom: Colour should promote rest and relaxation. Soft, muted tones work best dusty blues, warm greiges, sage greens, and deep charcoals for a more dramatic effect. Avoid highly saturated colours that stimulate rather than calm. Consider how your chosen colour will work with your curtain fabric, a rich velvet in a complementary tone can anchor the whole scheme beautifully.
Living room: This is a space for both relaxation and social energy, so colour should feel warm and welcoming. Warm neutrals, stone, ivory, warm white, soft terracotta, create an inviting atmosphere. For a more dramatic scheme, a deep jewel tone on a feature wall paired with complementary luxury wallpaper creates a sense of considered luxury.
Dining room: The most theatrical room in a home and one where bold colour pays dividends. Deep greens, rich burgundies, midnight blues and dramatic blacks all work exceptionally well. The colour should feel immersive and intimate. Consider silk wallpaper or a grasscloth wallcovering instead of paint, the texture adds an extraordinary dimension that flat colour cannot replicate.
Home office/study: Colour should promote focus without feeling sterile. Mid-toned greens and blues are particularly effective, studies consistently show these promote concentration and calm. Avoid stark white, which can feel clinical, and very warm tones, which can feel soporific.
Bathroom: Cool, clean tones work well, soft whites, pale blues, warm stones. But don't be afraid of drama in a smaller space a deeply coloured bathroom with richly textured wallcovering can feel like one of the most luxurious rooms in a home.
The 60-30-10 Rule
Professional interior designers often use this formula as a starting point for colour balance in a room:
60% — the dominant colour. Usually the walls, large upholstered pieces, or a key wallpaper. This sets the overall tone of the room.
30% — the secondary colour. Curtains, rugs, secondary upholstery, or a feature wall. This supports and complements the dominant colour.
10% — the accent colour. Cushions, accessories, artwork, trimmings. This is where you can be bold — a vibrant accent in an otherwise restrained scheme adds life and personality without overwhelming.
This rule isn't absolute, some of the most exciting interiors break it deliberately — but it's an excellent foundation when you're unsure where to start.
Colour and Fabric: Why They're Inseparable
One of the most overlooked aspects of colour selection is the relationship between colour and material. The same colour behaves completely differently depending on the surface it sits on.
A deep teal in a matte paint finish feels calm and grounded. The same teal in a silk velvet fabric has a luminous, almost jewel-like quality. In a grasscloth wallcovering, it becomes earthy and organic. Each reading is entirely different and all three could exist in the same room.
When building a colour scheme for a luxury interior, always consider:
Sheen and lustre - silk and high-sheen fabrics reflect light and intensify colour. Matte surfaces absorb light and soften colour. For the most sophisticated schemes, use a mix of both.
Texture and depth - a heavily textured fabric like bouclé or jacquard adds visual depth to a colour that a flat fabric cannot. Dark colours in particular benefit from texture, a flat dark wall can feel oppressive, while the same colour in a textured wallcovering feels rich and layered.
Pattern - when introducing patterned designer wallpaper or fabric, pull accent colours from the pattern for your 10% accent elements. This creates a scheme that feels deliberately considered rather than assembled piece by piece.
Sampling: The Step You Cannot Skip
No matter how confident you are in a colour choice, always sample before committing. This applies equally to paint, fabric and wallpaper.
For paint: order the largest sample pot available and paint at least an A3 area on the actual wall - ideally in two or three different positions. Live with it for at least a week.
For fabric and wallpaper: order physical samples before ordering full lengths or rolls. The difference between a colour on screen and in person is often significant, and for luxury wallcoverings in particular, the texture, weight and sheen are impossible to assess from an image alone.
At Studio 198, we offer a professional sampling service across our entire range of wallpapers and fabrics. Select your samples directly through our website and we'll arrange for them to be shipped directly from our global suppliers, ensuring you receive the most current batch for your project's mood board.
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Need Expert Advice?
If you're working on a luxury interior project and would like guidance on colour, material selection or fabric and wallpaper combinations, our team is always happy to help. We work with interior designers, architects and private clients on projects across the UK and worldwide.
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