Why are we so Afraid to Paint our Walls with Colour?

We get excited over bright rooms in the mags we read and blogs we visit, but one question still remains. When it comes to our own home, are we all so afraid to splash our walls with colour?

My inbox is flooded every season with press releases and imagery from paint brands, both local and overseas. I often cover a lot of it on the blog (like these awesome paint effects), encouraging you to give bright or moody tones on your wall a go. But I never see or know of anyone who’s gone to the paint store and taken the plunge.

I scroll through my Instagram feed past oodles of homes; all decked out with white walls. Ok, sometimes they’re grey. And once in a while, black. But there’s never any colour to be seen – especially here in Australia. But why are we afraid to use colour on out walls when it looks so damn good?

So why no walls with colour locally?

I’m really intrigued by why we don’t paint our walls in bright colours Down Under. I refuse to believe that we don’t like colour as much as our overseas friends and family do.

I don’t think we’re afraid to use colour altogether, because the homewares stores are packed to the rafters with brightly coloured decor (and we gobble it all up). But for some reason we do seem hesitant to use it in large doses on our walls. There has to be a reason, though. So what gives?

Below I’m going to share some theories as to why we don’t use colour enough. But what you’ll also get is a tonne of inspiration on walls with colour from my friends at Haymes!

Is open plan living to blame?

I see brightly painted walls far more in homes overseas, especially in Europe. But never here.

I’m going to go with the theory that because the homes over there are traditionally less open plan, colour experimentation is more prominent. The weather is gloomier too, in places like England, so the concept of brightening your outlook with a splash of yellow paint, for example, seems quite appealing.

The added bonus of the rooms being closed off from one another, is that you can easily shut the colour off from one space to another.

Here, with open plan homes, I’m guessing that people get worried about where the bright or bold colour should end. Do you apply paint to one wall, a few walls, all walls? It’s a fair question to ponder, and probably why we avoid it altogether (which truly breaks my heart).

Are you confused about colour combos?

Maybe it has something to do with fear about matching colours and making the overall scheme work with bright tones. Over my years in the biz – and working with my own design clients – people do seem to grasp making neutrals work far more easily than colour. It feels less imposing, less daunting, and easier to play with and interchange.

But what’s so sad about that is (as you can see in the above imagery) that colour can create such an amazing mood in a space; far more than beige, white or soft grey can. And yet we seem to steer clear of it.

Does it seem too expensive for you?

People tend to think that painting a wall is a huge expense, and I reckon they fear that the gamble won’t pay off. Compared to tiles or wallpaper though, paint is so easy to splash on and splash over.

It won’t take more than a day to complete and the expense really isn’t very much. Though I think it still falls into the ‘too hard basket’ for most people. And there’s worry over getting the exact shade right, too.

Do you have walls with colour?

I’d love to know if you’ve considered painting your walls with colour but didn’t go ahead with it – and what the reason was. Perhaps you bit the bullet and went through with a brightly coloured wall. I’d love to know how you went with the experience and if you love the colour.

Drop me a comment below and share your thoughts on why we don’t paint walls with colour more at home!

The images in this post are newbies from the awesome Haymes colour library. To find out more click here.