Magnolia or Elephant’s Breath? Get inspiration to paint your home this autumn

There’s nothing like a fresh coat of paint to liven up your living room, beautify your bedroom or upgrade your utility; but often, the biggest problem is choosing the right colour. This may seem like a simple task but can cause even the most even-tempered among us to reach boiling point over the ideal hue for the hallway.

Help is at hand, however, at the Permanent TSB Ideal Home Show, which this autumn features a Dulux Heritage Interior Design Hub.

Running from Friday, 21st to Sunday, October 23rd, at the RDS, the show will showcase a new collection of 112 luxurious colours, while Dulux Heritage colour consultants will be on hand to discuss options, and help homeowners to decide what shade will work best for their homes. There will also be complimentary one-to-one appointments via the Dulux Let’s Chat Colour service, in the weeks following the show, where experts can work up colour-inspired mood boards for each interested homeowner.

The hub will showcase living rooms decorated by three leading designers: Philippa Buckley of Studio 44; Karina Heaslip of Karina Heaslip Interiors and RTÉ’s Room to Improve; and Elaine Verdon of Leo and Cici.

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Colour consultant Jane Witter, who is one of the experts who will be helping would-be-DIY enthusiasts, says she and her colleagues will be delighted to offer advice and suggestions to suit each individual client.

“The Dulux Heritage space will feature the Dulux Colour Consultants [herself included] who will help people approach colour choice for their projects,” she says. “People can bring their plans and we will recommend colours and finishes. For those who want a more in-depth session on colour, we will book one-to-one appointments for visitors where they will take a deeper dive and provide colour plans for the visitor’s space. These are complementary and really work well.”

Indeed, choosing the right colour can make all the difference to a home or individual room and Jane says that it is important to take a number of different aspects into account.

“We constantly talk about ‘flow’ throughout a home and clients often come to us looking to create this in their home,” she says. “So, choosing the right colour is very important as it can create this flow, allowing the transition from each room and living space to feel seamless.

“So, one of the main factors to consider when choosing a colour is recognising your starting point. Do you have a blank canvas and are you actually ready to start your colour journey or do you have a starting point? This starting point can be something as simple as the colour of your flooring, your sofa or your kitchen cabinets - then we can build on this depending on the orientation of the room.”

Like most aspects of design, paint colour also goes in and out of fashion — and the colour expert says that the current trend is for muted tones.

“Dark shades of grey greens and blues are really popular at the moment,” she says. “Waxed Khaki, which is a distinctive grey/ green that combines the beauty and versatility of a cool neutral and the calming qualities of lush botanical greens, is the perfect addition to a living room to help create a calming and restful space.

“Alternatively a deep sumptuous hue like DH Oxford blue, which once upon a time would have been exceptionally expensive to create, looks good adorned on cabinetry and in hallways to create a decadent space which we can enjoy.”

Other highlights at the three-day event include Permanent TSB’s mortgage centre; celebrity chef Neven Maguire will perform every day at the Dunnes Stores Simply Better Chef’s Live Theatre; while there will be plenty of advice on site to deal with everything from building an extension, to retrofitting your home and the latest trends in home entertainment.