aubergine interior
Louise Swarbrick Design

Aubergine

When is a colour not quite a plum and not quite a brown? When it’s aubergine. This colour can be a dramatic addition to a room giving it a luxurious feel. As a wall colour, it needs to be used sparingly and with a lot of styling. Use gold accessories and white trim against this …

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black and white interior
Louise Swarbrick Design

Negatives: Black and White

How stylish and chic are photographs in black and white. Some of the best images in the Getty collection are of glamorous film stars taken in this medium. The 1930s as a decade embraced the two tones in many of their designs especially in the Art Deco look. Whilst not to everyone’s taste, these schemes …

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nursery decor
Louise Swarbrick Design

Nursery Days

A new baby coming is an exciting time. It’s worth thinking early about how you will provide a calm and happy sleeping space for your baby once they are old enough to sleep alone. We are no longer restricted to pink or blue for each or either gender. Any colour is there to choose from …

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winter white
Louise Swarbrick Design

Winter White

Winter has come and now is the time to assess the merits of a cool winter interior. White is an amazingly versatile colour, believe it or not. The number of white paint colours on the market is legion. Farrow and Ball are the market leaders in shading up and down white neutrals. A clean, pale …

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red
Louise Swarbrick Design

Better Red Than Dead

Red – the colour of the vamp, the badge of royalty, the signal for danger. How many different moods and atmospheres can one colour provide? An almost endless variation of shade means that this colour can be used anywhere and everywhere whether in wallpaper, fabrics or paint. But there is a caveat. For most homes, …

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Louise Swarbrick Design

African Sun

On a grey November day it is heartening to look at fabrics and furniture that reflect the heat of the Savannah or the red dust of the desert on the African continent. The obvious colours to fit these reflections on a hot clime are the yellows of the sun, the orchres of Turkish pottery baking …

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Terracotta
Louise Swarbrick Design

Terracotta

The bright warm tones of the Mediterranean can be seen in the strong earth tones of terracotta and ochre. These colours have not been used in recent years but they do form a useful function in today’s designs. Looking afresh at terracotta, there are many ways of introducing this strong colour and using it to …

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