Going for Gold

All that glitters isn’t gold…add in a bit of yellow too!

For a long time, gold’s reputation as an interior décor colour was anything but opulent – a generation of faux variants had left the world’s most precious metal flagging rather.

Yet its return, along with a resurgence of yellow that’s as far from the kitchen marigolds as you can  imagine, has opened up some fantastic new interior ideas.

But why are these particular colours making a comeback? Well, psychologists believe recent tough economic times have meant we favour shades with positive psychological qualities. Sure enough then, yellow screams happiness, optimism and confidence for the future; while gold is the colour of ambition, and more prosperous times ahead. What’s not to like?

Combine with black or grey

Gold, in particular, radiates against very dark tones, and the contrast between the shimmer of class and sheer blackness offers a classy touch that’s as mysterious as it is polished. Yellow, similarly, can really fire against an offset colour – in this case, we’d recommend grey.

It’s all in the accent

Rather than layering colours over an existing space, a recent trend has been to offer various hints of colours that add warmth and light, with gold and yellow right at the front of the queue.

So forget statement walls and instead replace pictures with gold frames. Paint a desk chair, add a throw on a sofa, redo cushions, and perhaps even replace a curtain pole with golden tones.

Very quickly you’ll be adding a sense of class to a previously drab room.

Make a statement

Of course, nothing screams confidence like a statement wall or piece, and yellow is truly the colour of the moment for this.

A radiant wall, a sofa, even a contemporary picture that’s big and bold on this summer shade, can draw the eye to a room and light it up instantly.

Remember to offset with lampshades, seat covers or perhaps something as simple as a pot to reinforce your intentions.

Exude exotic ambitions

Gold happens to go magnificently with another array of colours that are currently bang on trend: verdant greens. You know these – they’re the rich, lush shades one might find while trekking through the Amazonian rainforest.

It’s fortunate then that many high street homeware shops currently boast table lamps, doorknobs and other such adornments in a rich golden hue, and in the image of monkeys, tigers and parrots. It’s true – the sort of embellishment that might have appeared in an Indian Army Captain’s Bengali parlour can now also be found in the apartments of aspiring young hipsters… and some older ones too!

And finally, don’t go overboard

As King Midas readily discovered, you can have too much of a good thing. It’s important to keep your glorious golden delights in perspective. So just as no one likes an excessive show of wealth, too much gold will inevitably overwhelm and create the opposite effect of looking a tad cheap.