Winter colour palette ideas: the most inviting combinations to try at home this season
Some rooms just lend themselves to the chillier months, with enveloping interiors that invite you to hunker down and make yourself comfortable. Sometimes these can be the darker rooms in the house, the snugs and dens that perhaps don’t get a lot of natural light anyway, and invite a darker colour scheme; sometimes they can be the rooms that make the most of any light coming in and amplify the weak winter sun. Either way, the winter colour palette you choose will have a huge impact on the mood of the space, and combining the right colours can create a particular kind of magic. We’ve gathered some of our favourite winter colour palette ideas – some that feel of the moment, others that are timeless classics – to help you on the way to an incredibly cosy interior.
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Peter Molloy1/10It might seem somewhat counterintuitive, but sometimes whites and neutrals are the way to go for a successful winter colour palette that won’t leave your space feeling dark and dreary. The key is to choose the right sort of neutral that looks and feels warm rather than cold. And who better to show us how it’s done than one of our favourite colour consultants? At her former Georgian cottage in Richmond, Harriet Slaughter chose Farrow & Ball’s ‘Pointing’ for the sitting room, with other warm whites throughout the house. ‘I love original Farrow & Ball neutrals, because they feel inherently historic, with their green tinted, creamy tones echoing the mineral paints of the past,’ she explains. ‘I like a room being able to hold quite a lot of colour in objects, rather than necessarily on the walls.’ Here, the off-white walls are the backdrop for lovely fabrics in pinks, blues and classic ticking that create a calm and quiet feel.
- her piece on the subject</a>, ‘Its fresh new appeal could be linked to the tactile and warm approach to minimalism described by trend forecasting experts WGSN as “soulful minimalism”, where cool tones and sharp lines are being replaced by natural materials, texture and a neutral colour palette…Or perhaps it’s the strong association between shades of tan and brown and the <a href=https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/"https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/seventies-interior-design/" target=\"_blank\">1970s</a>.’ We can see all of these factors at play in <a href=https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/"https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/brandon-schubert-north-london-flat/" target=\"_blank\">designer Brandon Schubert’s sitting room at home in north London</a>, where walls covered in chocolate brown linen from Vescom provide the backdrop for beautiful blues, rich oranges and reds, and an eclectic mix of vintage and antique wooden furniture. It feels at once timeless and contemporary, and brings such a warm, enveloping feel on cold days when the fire is lit.","contentType":"photo","credit":"James McDonald","segmentedSources":{"sm":[{"height":414,"width":320,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/69088f7fbee3776c99f09131/master/w_320,c_limit/251008_Brandon016_V3_WEB.jpg"},{"height":829,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/69088f7fbee3776c99f09131/master/w_640,c_limit/251008_Brandon016_V3_WEB.jpg"}],"md":[{"height":829,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/69088f7fbee3776c99f09131/master/w_640,c_limit/251008_Brandon016_V3_WEB.jpg"},{"height":1657,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/69088f7fbee3776c99f09131/master/w_1280,c_limit/251008_Brandon016_V3_WEB.jpg"}],"lg":[{"height":1326,"width":1024,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/69088f7fbee3776c99f09131/master/w_1024,c_limit/251008_Brandon016_V3_WEB.jpg"},{"height":2651,"width":2048,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/69088f7fbee3776c99f09131/master/w_2048,c_limit/251008_Brandon016_V3_WEB.jpg"}],"xl":[{"height":1657,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/69088f7fbee3776c99f09131/master/w_1280,c_limit/251008_Brandon016_V3_WEB.jpg"}],"xxl":[{"height":1657,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/69088f7fbee3776c99f09131/master/w_1280,c_limit/251008_Brandon016_V3_WEB.jpg"}]}}}" data-testid="GallerySlideWrapper">
James McDonald2/10Brown has made a real resurgence in the last couple of years, and it is a colour that really comes into its own during the winter months. As Eleanor Cording-Booth wrote in her piece on the subject, ‘Its fresh new appeal could be linked to the tactile and warm approach to minimalism described by trend forecasting experts WGSN as “soulful minimalism”, where cool tones and sharp lines are being replaced by natural materials, texture and a neutral colour palette…Or perhaps it’s the strong association between shades of tan and brown and the 1970s.’ We can see all of these factors at play in designer Brandon Schubert’s sitting room at home in north London, where walls covered in chocolate brown linen from Vescom provide the backdrop for beautiful blues, rich oranges and reds, and an eclectic mix of vintage and antique wooden furniture. It feels at once timeless and contemporary, and brings such a warm, enveloping feel on cold days when the fire is lit.
Rachel Whiting3/10If you’ve got a room in need of some significant brightening, why not go bold with a sunny yellow? That way, even on the darkest winter days, your home will feel vibrant and joyful. This example from Lucy Clayton’s Kensington townhouse, which she decorated in partnership with Ben Pentreath, takes things one step further with yellow walls lacquered by MBMC Studios for the ultimate shine. We particularly love how the walls, and the gilt mirror above the mantelpiece, have been subtly tempered by deeper, richer aubergines and blues, for an elegant, atmospheric scheme that will work well all year round. You can see how Lucy brings her house to life at Christmas here.
Mark Anthony Fox4/10Biscuit tones make for an elegant combination with burgundy, as designer Charlotte Boundy has found in the spare bedroom of her London house. The walls are lined in ‘Bengali’ wallpaper from Braquenié, and the woodwork is painted in ‘Lute’ by Edward Bulmer, which picks up the ground colour of the wallpaper nicely. The headboard is upholstered in Rose Uniacke’s ‘Cotton Velvet’ in madder.
Paul Massey5/10This gloriously enveloping bedroom in a country house by Henri Fitzwilliam-Lay is done out in warming tones of olive and brown, colours drawn from Claremont’s ‘Tree of Life’ cotton which has been used for the bed canopy and curtains. On the walls is Phillip Jeffries’ ‘Amalfi Silk Como’ wallcovering in olivastro, and the woodwork is in ‘Copper Beech’ by Paint & Paper Library.
Christopher Horwood6/10Rich browns combined with ochres are incredibly cosy for autumn and winter, and a colour with yellow tones will help to reflect as much of the pale winter sunlight that filters in. Patrick O'Donnell has used Farrow & Ball's ‘Cane’ on the walls of his bedroom at home in Worcestershire, pairing it with ‘Cola’ on the woodwork. ‘I put the sample on the wall at the end of summer, but it came into its own in autumn and winter. In the south-east light in that room, you get these ripe skin apricot tones coming through, and it’s so lovely and cosy and warm.’
Dean Hearne7/10Pale blue might seem like a rather cool and spring-like colour, but when combined with the warmth of terracotta reds, it can be a delightful scheme for cosier rooms. Tom Cox of HÀM Interiors has deployed it in the sitting room of his 17th-century house in Devon, using Farrow & Ball's ‘Oval Room Blue’ on the walls, Edward Bulmer's ‘Sang de Boeuf’ on the bookshelves and a stripe by Mulberry Home on the sofa.
James McDonald8/10The muted pink-red used on the walls of this Kensington house by Kate Guinness is a surprisingly useful colour. If you’ve been contemplating painting a dining room in a traditional shade of red, this might be a more versatile option, and when combined with accents of dark green, it really sings. The precise shade here is Paint & Paper Library’s ‘Rouge II’.
Boz Gagovski9/10Deep blue is a cocooning shade for a sitting room, but really comes to life when combined with orange, as designer Lucy Mayers has done in her London flat. ‘This shade, “Oxford Blue” from Papers and Paints is just pure pigment,’ notes Lucy. ‘I wanted this room to feel grown-up, like a members’ club, somewhere that I’d want to spend my evenings. But it also has this rather womb-like feeling – it’s a room to be held in.’ The curtains were made in a plain Volga Linen and trimmed with a vintage braid when the edges faded in the sunlight – a clever affordable and sustainable decorating idea.
Christopher Horwood10/10For a deeply moody colour combination, try murky dark greens with navy blue. Cassandra Ellis of specialist paint brand Atelier Ellis has used it in the hallway of her Battersea flat, using Atelier Ellis’ ‘Tirzah’ shade on the walls. ‘I really loved a dark green room with a blue sofa,’ says Cassandra, ‘so I thought, why not make the entrance hall a special place where I’d want to spend time and not just wasted space?’
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