If there's someone who isn't scared to show her colourful side in these times of taupe and elephant breathe, it is celebrated interior designer Abigail Ahern. Now the best-selling author is on a mission to spread her colourful ethos with her new style bible, aptly named Colour. 'The ability of colour to transfrom surroundings, to excite, inspire, tantalise and calm, is second to none!' enthuses Ahern, who says walking into her own colourful home gives her a 'squishy feeling of contentment' everyday. Abigail Ahern described the colours used by Kelly Wearstler in her Malibu beachhouse as 'the most beautiful and complex I’ve ever seen' Ahern says of this Miami home: 'Inspired by a natural palette – silvery greys, driftwood taupes, watery greens and storm cloud greys – it’s what you might call glammed-up neutrals. I adore!' The designer says: 'I assure you white hallways wouldn't have the same effect!' So her message to anyone looking to transform their home is to ditch the beige, stop procrastinating and be bold with colour. The inspirational photographs in the book, which Ahern describes as displaying a 'virtuosic talent of colour', come from homes across the world. But if recreating these stylish spaces seems an overwhelming task, in an extract from her new book, here are the designer's top ten tips to colour confidence. 'You don’t have to overdose on colour to take your pad to the next level. Layer on texture instead,' says Ahern of this look . 'The soft gold kitchen cabinets in Jean-Louis Deniot’s Parisian pad (opposite) left me speechless. To master the metallic look, bear in mind that there is a fine line between adding pieces that instantly brighten a room and going overboard so that your space begins to feel like a nightclub,' says Ahern . 1. Start by picking a colour for your biggest room – say your living room or kitchen. Choose a hue that feels beautiful and inspiring, and true to what you love. Build on this to create a limited palette of colours for your entire home, using different combinations of those colours in each room. 2. Use an existing feature in your pad to inspire the basis of your colour scheme. This could be a view from the window, a work of art or any favourite item you own. 3. Think about what you want from your home to communicate to the outside world. No one will be talking about your beige-on-beige home, so go a little crazy. Be reckless, I say! The more your confidence grows, the more you’ll feel like experimenting with colour. 4. Be brave! To start with, decorating with colour can seem like a daunting task. Colour behaves differently according to where you put it. The effect changes again once you add lighting, pattern, texture and greenery into the mix. I think this is why people favour whites over any other colour group, as they distort less when other elements are thrown into the mix. However, to me, this is a bit like decorating by numbers. Too easy! Bold hues, on the other hand, make everything on display feel grander, cooler, more intense, with beautiful undertones subtly changing in the daylight. You’ll never look back! Left: 'Subvert expectations with a fresh take on a classic combo,' says Ahern of this black and white corner . Ahern advises, 'Painting a room out in a dark hue automatically makes it feel cosy, den-like and snug' 5. Remember, there are no no-nos. Well almost none. Pastels are one grouping I never want to work with. But then plop me in Miami and I’m sure I’d be instantly seduced! 6. Use colour in unexpected places . Behind closed doors, inside kitchen cupboards, bedroom wardrobes, the loo – all those tucked away places that surprise the minute you enter. 7. Remember the small stuff. Introduce colour through cushions, vases, bowls, fruit, greenery – you name it. There should be splashes everywhere for your eye to alight on! An inky palette with a shot of warm yellow is a marriage made in heaven. The yellow warms up the darker hue, Ahern says . 'To avoid your scheme looking and feeling dull, adding oodles of texture and the odd pop of colour' 8. All colour schemes are improved by accents: the final touches of colour that add an element of surprise, and bring rooms to life. There are no fixed rules when it comes to choosing these; just take care with the amount of colour you use and where you use it. As fab as that bright orange might look on a pillow, it may not feel quite so amazing on four walls because the impact will be so much stronger. 9. Patterns provide necessary punctuation; don’t neglect them. They anchor a space like nothing else I know. 10. Create the illusion of space by blurring the boundaries between walls and ceilings. Paint them all out the same colour and suddenly you’ve made your space a zillion times bigger. Promise! 'Clever finishing touches, like this whimsical wallpaper, revitalise rooms,' she says . The interior designer Abigail Ahern (left) has written a new book about colourful style ethos (right) Colour by Abigail Ahern (Quadrille, £20)
Interior designer Abigail Ahern has written new style bible about colour . Says her own colourful home gives her a 'squishy feeling of contentment' Being bold with colour is easier than you think, according to expert .