How to add saffron, white, green and blue colours to your rooms and kitchen

The combination of white walls and natural wood finish in furniture is a classic. You can add pops of colour using tiles and plants - remember to keep it subtle though.

August 15, 2021 marks India’s 75th Independence Day. It’s a day to commemorate our nation’s heritage, history, and cultures. Taking inspiration from our national flag, we explore some design interventions to introduce colour into homes.

Saffron, white, green, and blue is a colour palette with great potential. Expressed subtly—with restraint—in interior design, these colours can make a space inviting and interesting.

Before you add the colour, though, make sure to clear unnecessary clutter—create free-flowing spaces that are pared-down and impactful.

Warmth of saffron

Saffron is in the same colour palette as deep orange and yellow. It evokes a sense of warmth, joy and vitality. The colour can tie a space together, and can instantly make it feel more inviting and comfortable.

Use it in places where everyone gathers: the lounge, entertainment spaces, or even a kitchen.

You can use the colour in a focal accent wall or printed wallpaper in hosting spaces.

In the kitchen, you could use statement wall tiles in solid blocks of this colour— like subway tiles, or eclectic patterned tiles that can reflect the overall classic/modern theme of the home.

Tranquility of white

White, though, neutral, can transform the look and feel of any given space. With its calm and serene character, white can bathe the canvas of any room to create a Zen space that can be further layered with colourful details.

The colour effortlessly allows spaces to seem larger than they are, creating a sense of visual expanse which also brightens up interior spaces.

The colour renders spaces with a clean, fresh, and minimalistic aesthetic, creating endless opportunities for one to integrate selective colours and textures against the whites.

With an extensive range of warm and cool tones, white can be a choice for private bedroom spaces and living areas.

The colour could be applied to the walls and ceilings as paint, to create the sense of a larger space, whereas other chosen complementary colours can dot the room in the form of décor, art, and upholstery to create balance.

The combination of white with wood is timeless as well; furniture in wood tones can make for a fitting addition in a predominantly white bedroom or living area. Less is truly more when styling a white-heavy interior space as it lends the room a curated and clutter-free look.

Saffron, white, green and blue have great potential as a colour scheme in interior design, if used right. Start by de-cluttering the space.

Dapper blues

Blue as a colour evokes a sense of rejuvenation and peacefulness with its many shades. It pairs stunningly with white, yellow, mint green, and other complementary shades to create a composite of cool and warm tones.

The colour can make for a great choice in areas like bathrooms, private study rooms, home offices, and bedrooms. The truly adaptable nature of the colour allows homeowners to utilise it in a dominant role, or in accents across a space to make an impact.

If the choice is to go bold with the colour, consider enveloping the walls of a study or home office in a deep shade of blue to create a moody ambience. Areas like bathrooms can be layered with a blue-toned wall or floor tiles to create a sanctuary to unwind and rejuvenate. Bedrooms, too, can host an accent wall that can be textured, introduce large art prints in a blue colour palette, or utilise small doses of the colour through loose furnishings.

(Photo Credit: The Jardin Home_Quirk Studio © Kuber Shah)

Perennial greens

Associated with facets of nature, growth, and fertility, green as a colour is proven to have a calming effect on the human eye. The presence of the colour indoors can instantaneously lower stress levels, creating an environment that allows end-users to destress and focus better.

Green can make its way into spaces such as entryways, home offices, reading nooks and balconies. The colour heightens the sense of refinement and luxury indoors, creating an immersive backdrop for activities.

Foyers and entryways with additions of green as paint or wallpapers can lend a residence understated elegance. Home offices and reading nooks require the end-user to focus and to be at ease and hence green can be used as a wall paint choice or in the form of accessories and plants that layer these private spaces. Balconies or green nooks indoors can host a variety of plants to spruce up homes inexpensively and to build on the indoor-outdoor experience.

Colour is a pivotal vessel of self-expression in spaces—it manifests as a visual representation of our personalities and our idea of a perfect home. The inspiration to celebrate the colours of freedom through our spaces can be tapped into in many ways, each unique to our dwellings and personal design styles.

Let us strive to create spaces that reflect us honestly while surrounding ourselves with objects we truly need.