Britain's best interior designers on the paint colours you just can't go wrong with

People across the country are using their time to decorate, and with the big companies still running delivery services you're likely to be able to get pretty much any colour you like.

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But what to choose? How can you pick a colour which will look good forever, rather than matching a passing fad?

Country Life's Giles Kime put this question to some of Britain's best interior designers: what are your desert island paint colours? The shades you couldn't do without?

Here's what they came up with.

N.B. As ever with paint, please bear in mind that how the shade comes up in these illustrations won't perfectly match what the same colour looks like when you see it on your wall, with your lighting and your furniture. Tester pots are always a good idea.


Emily Todhunter

(Image credit: Country Life)

Neutral Subtle Ivory 3, Dulux — Our go-to off white for ceilings, cornice and woodwork

Dark Down Pipe, Farrow & Ball — This is a colour we use often, because it works with everything

Soft Eau de Nile, Edward Bulmer — A pretty, gentle green that works well in a room with a garden view

Bright Deep Water Green, Paint & Paper Library — An upbeat turquoise that works in rooms that need a little oomph!

www.todhunterearle.com


Emma Sims Hilditch

(Image credit: Country Life)

Neutral Shell, Neptune — This is a staple for cabinetry, furniture or walls — it brings a sense of space and light to a room

Dark Picture Gallery Red, Farrow & Ball — This is a beautiful rich red that can be used to accentuate the grandeur of a building

Soft Blue Gray, Farrow & Ball — Depending on the light, this can look slightly blue-toned, creating a serene atmosphere

Bright Cook’s Blue, Farrow & Ball — A deeply pigmented colour, perfect for use in both kitchens and exterior dining areas

www.simshilditch.com


Henriette von Stockhausen

(Image credit: Country Life)

Neutral Wimborne White, Farrow & Ball — A perfect, soft all-rounder that I like for ceilings if rooms aren’t too tall

Dark Studio Green, Farrow & Ball — I have this colour in my kitchen and love its depth and how it looks by candlelight

Soft Jonquil, Edward Bulmer — It creates a warm, comfortable atmosphere, as well as looking wonderfully old-fashioned

Bright Dark Yellow, Rose of Jericho — This gives a facelift to any room and works well with antiques, gilt frames and treacly oil portraits

www.vspinteriors.com


Katrin Cargill

(Image credit: Country Life)

Neutral Jabot, Dulux — The perfect neutral pure white, neither yellow, nor blue or green, that will sit with anything

Dark Camo 2, Papers and Paints — Good for a dining room with rich woods, reds and candlelight

Soft Angie, Little Greene — A soft, pretty pink that can work in bedrooms as well as sitting rooms; sweet, but not cloying

Bright Circle Line, Mylands — A strong, but great, yellow that can give a room gravitas and it works with so many fabrics

www.katrincargill.com


Lucy Elworthy

(Image credit: Country Life)

Neutral Slipper Satin, Farrow & Ball — A gentle colour that works especially well with stone, wood and brick

Soft Half La Seine, Zoffany — Fresh and serene, this works well with indigo, soft pink and almost any pastel or bright colour

Dark Inchyra Blue, Farrow & Ball — Good colour for bookcases or a TV wall; inviting and smart

Bright Yellow Ground, Farrow & Ball — It’s warm, and particularly good with dark reds and lavender purples

www.lucyelworthy.co.uk


Luke Edward Hall

(Image credit: Country Life)

Neutral Setting Plaster, Farrow & Ball — Soft and delicate. As the name suggests, it’s similar to a freshly plastered wall

Dark 4-050, Papers and Paints — I love a 1970s shade of chocolate brown; I used it last year on the walls of a disco drawing room

Soft Pistachio, Papers and Paints — Green is my favourite colour and this ice-cream shade is calming. Nice for a 1930s-style bathroom

Bright Manhattan, Papers and Paints — This is a wonderful shade of coral. Lovely in gloss for a hallway or for a dressing room

www.lukeedwardhall.com


Susie Atkinson

(Image credit: Country Life)

Neutral Slate II, Paint & Paper Library — The perfect Neutral: at once warm pebble and sandy grey, it sits beautifully next to any white

Dark Mulberry Red, Abigail Ahern — A hypnotising berry red that is so dark it’s almost black — perfect for a moody hallway

Soft Faded Blossom, Cassandra Ellis — The very softest of all pinks with a luminosity that always makes a room feel uplifting

Bright Pale Powder, Farrow & Ball — The most luminous of aquamarine tones that is both subtle and enlivening

www.susieatkinson.com


Sophie Elborne

(Image credit: Country Life)

Soft Norsk Blue, Zoffany — A beautiful green-blue, it’s ideal for hallways and cosy rooms

Dark Georgetown, Paint & Paper Library — A cosy brown that looks great with oranges and reds. It sits well with brass or gilt picture frames

Neutral SC292 Papers and Paints — A white that is neither too grey nor too yellow. I use it on woodwork or to paint out a room

Bright Invisible Green, Edward Bulmer — This looks good on skirtings and doors with off-white walls

www.kitesgrove.com

Giles Kime
Giles Kime is Country Life's Executive and Interiors Editor, an expert in interior design with decades of experience since starting his career at The World of Interiors magazine. Giles joined Country Life in 2016, introducing new weekly interiors features, bridging the gap between our coverage of architecture and gardening. He previously launched a design section in The Telegraph and spent over a decade at Homes & Gardens magazine (launched by Country Life's founder Edward Hudson in 1919). A regular host of events at London Craft Week, Focus, Decorex and the V&A, he has interviewed leading design figures, including Kit Kemp, Tricia Guild, Mary Fox Linton, Chester Jones, Barbara Barry and Lord Snowdon. He has written a number of books on interior design, property and wine, the most recent of which is on the legendary interior designer Nina Campbell who last year celebrated her fiftieth year in business. This Autumn sees the publication of his book on the work of the interior designer, Emma Sims-Hilditch. He has also written widely on wine and at 26, was the youngest ever editor of Decanter Magazine. Having spent ten years restoring an Arts & Crafts house on the banks of the Itchen, he and his wife, Kate, are breathing life into a 16th-century cottage near Alresford that has remained untouched for almost half a century.