Colour hunting with DFS House of Colour

A couple of weeks ago you will have seen over on Instagram that I went along to the DFS House of Colour event.

On a warm early summer’s evening, DFS and Dulux presented wonderful room sets by journalist and blogger Kate Watson-Smyth, interior designer, stylist and TV personality Sophie Robinson, along with uber-stylist Pippa Jameson. It was a colour hunting treasure trove with beautiful hues, daring palettes and impeccably styled furniture. I got to catch up with people I hadn’t seen in a while and drink lots of glasses of elderflower while everyone else knocked back fizz. I was suffering from the effects of a big night and needed to ‘take care’ of myself.

DFS, the biggest sofa manufacturer in the UK, recently conducted some research into how British people feel about colourful homes.  They held a panel discussion at the House of Colour event, where they delved into the research with colour experts on hand to share their humble opinions. The panel featured DFS Merchandising Director Jean Brixey, Marianne Shillingford Dulux Creative Director, Kate Watson-Smyth and was moderated by Sophie Robinson. As you can imagine there was plenty of tongue in cheek moments as they discussed what the nation’s colour preferences say about us, particularly with a crowd of colour hungry bloggers and journalists in the room. It probably won’t surprise you that neutrals remain the UK’s top colour choice, with 39% of UK homeowners opting for grey, cream, beige (or in reality, probably magnolia) as the prominent colour theme in their home. BUT there is an eagerness to embrace a bolder palette, in fact, nearly half of UK homeowners (46%) want to inject more colour. HOOORAY. Jean Brixey, Merchandise Director at DFS said, “There’s nothing wrong with a neutral colour palette, it can be the basis of a beautiful home, but we also know that so many people are hiding their love for colour behind a fear of failure.”DFS sales data shows a growing trend for colour crusaders. Sales of pink sofas have increased by 16% in 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 (January-April), while green sofas have seen a 9% increase. Could there be a certain Instagrammer responsible for this? Underpinned by the launch of the Windsor sofa from the Joules collection, sales of yellow sofas at DFS have more than doubled year on year (see my post here about it).  I’m glad to see the fearless few following their colour ambitions.

Decadently recalling Art Deco and the Jazz era, Pippa Jameson used shades of peach and apricot to bring a glamorous air to her set. Nicknamed the Barbara Cartland boudoir by the colour hunting attendees I was talking to, we all agreed that the Blush Velvet Palace Collection was a triumph, although possibly in smaller bite-sized chunks. I’m not sure I could use all three pieces together in my home, as fab as they are.  Pippa used 5 Dulux shades (Dulux Coral Canyon 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 for those who are interested) to create the ombre sunset on the walls before layering with fringing. The fringing used on the walls is smoking hot right now, with all the major European Interiors shows showing fringed elements in furniture, lighting and accessories (take a look here).

The research revealed that as a nation we are hampered by self-doubt, with 47% of UK homeowners fearing failure when it comes to choosing colours for their humble abode. Which is why using an interior designer is good advice, as they’ll help to navigate those fears and hold your hand when making big decisions.  This fear and inability to trust their choices means that while one in five homeowners (20%) would like to use colours such as blush pink (20%), sage green (27%) or teal (29%) in their homes, these are among the colours they are least confident in using. Unlike Sophie Robinson’s room set filled with high saturated colour in the people-pleasing palette of blue and yellow – a winning combination. I was smitten with the cushions and the peonies, but the clever element was matching the wall colour to the sofa so that the other elements shined.

Kate Watson-Smyth’s room set was a cosy yet dramatic living room featuring a deep chocolate brown (Velvet Truffle 1) and a band of pink in Dulux Raspberry Diva. I now have my eye on the Bailey Sofa shown below in Dusty Pink, although I’m thinking of it in a different colourway. The compact Peace Accent chair was on my mood board for the House that Bloggers Built, great minds think alike!

This panel got me thinking would you like to see more posts from me about colourful homes maybe tackling,

• The most common fears around using colour
• How to use the latest trends for colour in our homes
• Top tips for how to be more confident with colour
• Championing colour crusaders
• How to get beyond the beige

Let me know your thoughts. In fact, drop me a line or a comment below if you have any suggestions for topics you’d like to see covered.

Something about DFS you might not know – 

DFS has a fundraising partnership with the British Heart Foundation; customers purchasing a new sofa from DFS can opt for their old sofa to be taken away for free to be sold in one of British Heart Foundation’s homewares stores. All proceeds from the sale of these sofas go straight to the charity; so far DFS customers have helped raised over £10 million for the charity.

This is not a sponsored post. All images by Mary Middleton for Hello Peagreen.com except those of Kate Watson-Smyth’s room set and the very last image of the French Connection sofa in grey.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this colour hunting dream event, you might also like my post about styling a sofa here.