Feel good colours to pick you, and your home, up this winter

published 13 January 2016

January blues? Join the club.

Escape sluggish humdrum that January downpours bring and lighten brooding mornings with a slosh of popping paint and fresh furniture shades.

Here are your January 2016 pick me up colours that keep the stormy colours strictly outdoors.

Get a taste for tangerine

Zesty, vibrant and juicy - orange is a delicious colour and sure to brighten your mornings. Whilst gusts of wind cause havoc outside, this golden room will remain sunny thanks to apricot coloured cupboards. Pair with simple worktops or go for an orange overload with brass trimmings and caramel coated wooded fixtures.

Bring the green indoors

dining room with green table and flower vases

The conservatory is the domestic greenhouse, perfect for green growth. Allow your lawns to roll indoors by playing around with tables topped in lime green or plush sofas in milky hues with rich emerald cushions and plenty of potted plants and freshly cut flowers.

Introduce plush purples

Whether it's alongside a plain white study, pink princess en suite or relaxing blue living room, introducing purple into your home need not be hard, thanks to its broad pigment scope. This bathroom coats a small feature wall in rich plum and finishes the look with violet towels and mauve hydrangeas.

Learn to love red

The colour of anger, the colour of love - red has a big personality and a wow factor like no other. A slick of lipstick on the wall or a brush of blusher along the floor will do the trick, or go really heavy with a perfectly paired room like this one that slathers everything from the lamp to the rug.

Turn it up with turquoise

blue office room with wallpaper and table

Ignore the stormy blizzards outside and dive into a study of Caribbean currents and tropical elements. Create your own island by washing walls in light aqua and punctuating the room with deep blues.

Pucker up for pink

bedroom with pink wallpaper and wooden floor

Entwining pink amongst existing master bed colours is the perfect way to get a little colour this winter. If you are still unsure, work it subtly amongst cushions for an instant pick me up.

Say hello to yellow

yellow dining room with wallpaper and table

Everyone gets a spring in their step when faced with acidic shades of lemony yellows. Whether you're a 70s baby re-living your youth or daft for daffodils, I challenge you to not feel a little brighter once you've stepped into this room. Paired with orange, green, wood or white, yellow is here to make you smile.

Tamara was Ideal Home's Digital Editor before joining the Woman & Home team in 2022. She has spent the last 15 years working with the style teams at Country Homes & Interiors and Ideal Home, both now at Future PLC. It’s with these award wining interiors teams that she's honed her skills and passion for shopping, styling and writing. Tamara is always ahead of the curve when it comes to interiors trends – and is great at seeking out designer dupes on the high street.