How to combine wall colour: our guide to creating stylish feature walls

Whether the room is a completely blank canvas or has some existing features to factor into your choice of wall colour, the size and shape is crucial. Colour has almost magical properties in the way it can deceive our eyes and can be a great help when it comes to painting a small room, for example. In this case, whether you are after a soft contrast or something a little more dramatic, lighter colours will make the space seem larger. With larger rooms, on the other hand, you can add depth by playing with darker shades.

The same principles can be applied when thinking about how much light a room enjoys. If there is a lack of light, it’s best to avoid dark colours as they tend to absorb any light there is, whereas the world is your oyster in a space with plenty of natural light, and here you can play with the deeper hues on the paint chart to your heart’s content.

Last, but not least, you need to choose a hero. Is there a particular feature, be it the walls, floor, even a picture or item of furniture, that you want to place in the spotlight? Once you’ve decided that, then all other elements need to be chosen and positioned accordingly, to create a cohesive overall look.

When deciding on your wall colour or colours, it’s worth taking some time to get the science books out and enter into the world of colour psychology.

Every colour can affect our state of mind and evoke very different sensations which is why it’s important to think about the way we use the various rooms in our home and how the role their décor can play in our everyday life.

For the bedroom, for example, you want to create an atmosphere that is conducive to rest, so deep colours and soft contrast on the walls are called for. A Salvatori Total Look comes into its own here, with the neutral tones of our palette of natural stones ideal for creating this effect. And, if you want to differentiate the walls, a deep blue is a perfect counterpoint to the cool tones of this room, with the natural, relaxing feeling created by Bianco Carrara in Rain texture.

If you prefer warmer tones in your bedroom, why not opt for a delicate pale or powder pink combined with the creamy, elegant tones of Crema d’Orcia Select in Romboo texture for a feature wall that blends without overpowering the space or disrupting the sense of harmony.

Deciding upon colours for the walls of a kitchen presents some particular – let’s not say challenges – aspects to consider. While it is another dynamic environment, it also has to accommodate certain elements where you have limited opportunity to play with look and style, such as appliances. This means that the Rule of Three comes into force again, to ensure you avoid a cluttered, busy look with a mish-mash of colours.

If your cabinetry is already multi-coloured, but you want to avoid homogenous walls, the best option is to temper the contrast with a combination of natural stone and a paint in the same tonal family as the cupboards.

For more monochromatic or plainer kitchens where a splash of something extra is needed to lift the entire décor, you can experiment and try out some brighter colours on the walls. For example, a deep mustard yellow would be stunning paired with a grey stone, such as Grigio Versilia, with its glorious swathes of veining.

In paler kitchens, a deep Bordeaux would create a striking counterpoint to a warm, light stone, such as Silk Georgette with its delicate waves of patterning.

In this Salvatori “Total Look” space with its combination of light, neutral colours and pared-back furnishings, the feature wall not only provides a point of interest, but also focuses attention on the reading nook.

The pale floor and lefthand wall, both in Crema d’Orcia limestone, contrast perfectly with the rear wall in Gris du Marais® Tratti motif where anodised gold inserts add a touch of understated bling for an overall effect of harmonious elegance and understated luxury.

A bathroom in a bedroom, especially an open space version, is not a commonplace feature, but it epitomises a modern architectural approach in which conventional barriers and distinctions are removed. To achieve a result that is not only cohesive and beautiful, but also functional, there is no better material than natural stone. While a Total Look would be the ideal solution, this may not always be possible, but the good news is that stone lends itself perfectly to being mixed and matched.

The fusion of two very different environments calls for an expert eye when it comes to design, if you want a result such as in this photo, where the delicate blends of white of the Bianco Carrara Lithoverde® wall work beautifully with the dark brown stone floor to simultaneously unite and delineate the bath zone. The spotlight then falls on the star of this area, the Anima bathtub, creating a sense of theatre without losing the sensation of wellbeing that a bathroom should transmit.

Up till now, we’ve been talking about feature walls inside the home, but we’re going to end with a look at how the guidelines apply outside. The problem of natural light will usually be a lot easier to deal with here, but you still need to consider the usual factors we’ve covered in this article.

Natural stone, with its hardwearing properties, is ideal for outdoor spaces and requires little or nothing in the way of embellishment or added extras.

If you want to combine different types of stone, the best option is usually to go for tone on tone such as in this photo where the warmth of the beige side walls harmonises perfectly with the Crema d’Orcia paving, finished with an original choice in Silk Georgette® Romboo texture. It not only makes an arresting backdrop to the spa pool, but also brings together the entire terrace, creating a restful al fresco living space.