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Ask The Expert with Penny Byrne, Kitchen and Home Designer at Neptune by Global Village

Say goodbye to grey days! A colour consultancy with interiors specialist Neptune By Global Village will transform the look and feel of your home

1. How does a colour consultancy work?

We are delighted to provide Neptune’s new colour consultancy service as there’s never a grey day here at Neptune by Global Village! Neptune adds two new paints to their palette each year with a bright, fresh colour for Spring / Summer, followed in Autumn / Winter usually by a darker, cosier shade. We help our customers to discover their ideal colour combination and interior palette via a home visit which is tailored to each family’s individual needs, creating a space that is unique to them and which reflects their personality. You can book an appointment here or by calling us on 01 406 3882, emailing design@globalvillage.ie or by calling into our showrooms. This is your chance to briefly share your vision and gives us a better idea of the shades and combination you might be drawn to. We then arrange a home visit where we bring large samples of each paint colour from the Neptune range. Using our expert eye, we place and combine them in each room, working with the variations of light and furnishings within the space. Measurements of the room are taken so that we can estimate how much paint will be required. We follow up with a wallet containing swatches of the proposed paint colours for each room, and a guide to share with your decorator.

2. How will a colour consultancy benefit a customer?

Neptune paints have some of the lowest concentrations of VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) compared to many of the major paint brands on the market. They are made simply with powdered pigments, acrylic binders and water; so are good for your health, good for your home, and good for the planet.

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Colour is a great medium with which to use visual trickery to improve a space. Walls can be made to advance or recede, ceilings can appear lower in lofty rooms, but most importantly, colour can create a feeling of well-being. Some customers might have a lot going on in their interiors and find it difficult to create harmony, while others might need to revitalise an existing piece of furniture, or even give their kitchen cabinets a facelift. The Neptune paint range comprises matt emulsion and eggshell finishes with two new finishes coming later in the year for floors and exterior masonry, so our colour consultancy can cover a wide variety of practical situations.

3. Should a customer do anything to prepare their home/room for a consultancy?

We would prefer a customer to present their house as it used day-to-day, as this will enable us to give the best advice possible. Keep the clutter if that is how it usually is, and if you have any artwork yet to find a home in the space, please have it to hand so that we get a full view of all the elements that create your style. If you have any mood boards, magazine cuttings, photographs, or other reference materials that you’d like to show your colour consultant, you can gather these together for either your initial visit in-store, or for your consultant’s home visit.

4. What are the next steps following a colour consultancy?

We aim to have a decorator’s pack in the post to you two days after the home visit. This will include a breakdown of the chosen colours and their locations in each room to share with your decorator. Paint quantities will be suggested as a guide, but please consult with your decorator for their advice on quantities should you wish to place an order.

5. How does your interior design consultancy work and how does that differ from the colour consultancy service?

Whereas the colour consultancy is about helping to choose paint colours only, the home design service introduces customers to the full Neptune range of furniture, fabrics, paint colours and accessories. Our home design service starts with a free 60-minute consultation in our KCR showroom. We talk through the collection and take a brief and if you feel that we are the right fit for you, the next step is a home visit which is charged per room. This is where we get creative! Mood boards bring your vision to life; plans and 3D drawings help you to improve the function of each room. Once the concept is approved, we will provide an accurate quotation and estimated delivery dates for all Neptune products, and we will also be there for you throughout the whole project.

6. Can a customer choose a particular designer?

All our consultants are experts, and while we cannot guarantee a particular consultant, we will always do our best to accommodate your requests.

7. Who carries out any painting / decorating work?

We are happy to work with your choice of painter / decorator. We always advise that you seek out references from a trustworthy source and if possible, review real examples of their work. As with all tradespeople, if they are good at their job, you might have to wait several weeks for them to become available to carry out any work on your home, but the wait will be worthwhile.

8. Are there any limits to the number of rooms or size of property that a design consultation will cover?

Absolutely not. Once we are aware of any large properties from the get-go, we can allocate the appropriate length of time to spend with customers.

9. Does receiving a consultancy oblige a customer to purchase?

Not at all. We are happy to help where we can and build trust with customers in the hope that they will return to us in the future, and we often make some great friends along the way, so that’s a bonus.

10. What is the cost of both services?

Our colour consultation service is €250; you’ll benefit from a one-hour consultation at home and expertly chosen palettes for up to four rooms within 40 km of our Powerscourt or KCR showrooms. If you’re looking for help with more than four rooms, it’s an additional €60 for every hour thereafter. Customers beyond the 40km area will be quoted for individually for the service.

Book your colour consultation here

Our home Design service is priced per room and includes a home visit, 3D drawings and moodboards. It’s €450 for the first room and €350 for each additional room.

Book our home design service here