Home Is Where the Colour Is: Hue-Filled Houses Are Here To Stay

Newly built, cookie-cutter Australian homes have become synonymous with neutral, blank-canvas details: white walls, grey carpets, beige tiles and concrete floors. Whether due to our national obsession with resale value or simply a lack of inspiration, times are (thankfully) changing.

“Colour has become the new language of individuality,” Melbourne-based interior stylist Jess Hislop says. What’s more, it’s a language that – done properly – will stand the test of time.

“If you choose something based on who you are and your personality, versus a trend, you’re going to love it no matter what,” Hislop explains. Colour trends, like the bright red of 2023’s tomato girl summer and our current obsession with burgundy, should only be adopted if you truly love them. “Don’t make your interiors something you’re not, just because it’s cool. If you like it, then do it.”

Once upon a (recent) time, the tendency was to shun bold colours in favour of “safe” hues like white and neutrals as a means of creating calm, “but you can still have that sense of calmness with the right colours,” says Hislop. Shades that reflect nature, like blues and greens, are her picks. “In my previous house, the whole kitchen was green marble. No way was I ever going to get sick of it. I loved it every time I walked into that space.”

For the self-described “eclectic” stylist, who’s been injecting happy hues by way of patterned upholstery, unexpected shades of carpeting and bold marble surfaces into Australian homes for 16 years, colour ideally shouldn’t be an afterthought. Her advice is to think about it at the building stage.

“Don’t play it safe in that first meeting and think, ‘if I do white walls and a grey kitchen then I can add some coloured elements later’,” she says. “As opposed to building an all-white house and thinking ‘oh, we need some colour’ and putting a red armchair in the corner that sticks out like a sore thumb, introducing colour at the beginning makes it easier to introduce [more] colour with accessories and furniture.”

Forget painting dramatic feature walls reminiscent of the early 2000s (“we’re not doing that anymore,” she says). Colour can – and should – be considered in every aspect of the build, remodel or restyle. Some examples include kitchens with red benchtops and walnut timber cupboards, bathrooms with warm terracotta-coloured tiles from floor to ceiling, and master bedrooms in duck-egg blue with contrast panelling.
Working with a design-led builder, like Melbourne-based Boutique Homes, can make the daunting venture of building and styling a home a delightful experience. Each of the home designs in its range provides the perfect template for you to personalise in order to “give your home a fingerprint,” Hislop says. “The range they offer is really impressive. Go bold and trust your instincts.”

Hislop’s advice is to start with the kitchen and go for a “good quality stone bench with a bit of colour the rest of the house can leverage off”. Be sure to include colours, materials and pieces “that bring joy,” she says. “When you get home you should have a smile on your face, not be sitting in a house that’s devoid of colour or any fun things.”

When working with clients who are struggling to find their colours and define their interior style, Hislop starts by looking at their wardrobes. “You can gauge a lot from how someone dresses and what colours they gravitate towards,” she says. If an individual’s drawers are filled with vintage band tees and distressed denim, they’re probably not going to feel at home in a baby-pink bathroom with mother-of-pearl mosaic tiles.

People’s taste in art is another giveaway: a Roy Lichtenstein print suggests they’ll like bold contrasts and primary-coloured (red, yellow and blue) accents. Canvases of layered pastels and flowers point to a soft, romantic style. On Hislop’s own walls, you’ll find everything from enormous, colourful contemporary works to antique oil still-lifes picked up on Etsy.

Once the colourful foundation is laid, it’s time to fill each room with things both practical (beds, towels, chairs) and beautiful (vases, artwork, your child’s arts and crafts) that speak to your personality. “Personal curation takes time,” says Hislop. “I would prefer to have an empty spot in the corner until I find the perfect armchair.”

The best part of a home is its lived-in aspects, like the marble console in Hislop’s own living room with a crack right down the middle. “It’s like your favourite worn leather jacket or bag that tells a story. These things create a conversation.”

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Boutique Homes.