Hello,
I hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend. I love this pocket of calm we share every week, just you and me, talking about colour, home, and how we want to feel in the spaces we live in.
This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about the emotions behind colour. So often, when people start choosing paint, they tell me they feel overwhelmed, as if they have to get it “right.” But it’s not really about indecision, is it? It’s about emotion. Your home holds all your life in it: the laughter, the chaos, the quiet. Naturally, the colours you choose matter deeply.
For me, colour has never just been about appearance; it’s about atmosphere. When you walk into a room, the colours should feel like they’re holding you, reflecting who you are and how you want to live. That’s why I always ask, how do you want your home to feel?
So many people I’m talking to at the moment want their home to feel calm. Maybe it’s the world right now and we all crave a sanctuary. But what does calm mean to you? Not what you think it should be, or the colours you’ve seen labelled “calming” online, but truly, how does your calm feel?
Something I’ve been encouraging my clients (and myself!) to do lately is to step away from Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration. You may have seen the challenge I posted on Instagram this week. We’ve all fallen into that hole, scrolling, saving, and then designing homes that look beautiful but might not feel right for us. Instead, I want you to feel colour again. Think about your day-to-day routines, your weekly rhythms, those small moments that bring you joy. That’s where your palette lives.
Let me tell you a little story. I was with a client recently, working on her kitchen, and I asked her to do this exercise. While she had a think, I went to make a cup of tea in her kitchen. That was when she told me about one of her favourite moments in her week, walking to her local café on Wednesdays and Fridays when she works from home, the sun shining, the sky blue, that first sip of coffee on her walk back through the park. She said it makes her feel so content, so calm, and she got a little emotional describing it to me.
And straight away I thought, this is it, we need to bring that feeling into your kitchen. So we chose Blue 15 for the cabinets, a rich chocolate on the island, and White 06 on the walls and ceiling. Now, every time she’s in her kitchen, she’s re-living her morning walk with her coffee.
That’s the magic of colour, it’s not about copying what’s trending, it’s about designing for the moments that make you feel. The ones that make you breathe a little deeper and create a home that tells your story.
Colour psychology isn’t about labelling shades as “calm.” It’s about translating your version of calm into a visual language. And something I’m always explaining to clients is that we never actually see colour in isolation. We experience it through texture, light, materials, contrast, and proportion; it’s the story all these elements tell together that creates how a space feels.
I’d love you to try a little exercise this week. Next time you’re out on a walk, sitting in your favourite café, or even standing in front of your wardrobe looking at your favourite outfit, pause and notice the colours. Which combinations make you smile? Which ones make you feel settled? Then think about how you could bring a hint of that palette into the room you’re planning to decorate. It’s such a lovely way to start designing from feeling rather than formula.
Nature: The Original Calming Palette
If we’re going to talk about calm, we have to talk about nature, because she’s the real expert, isn’t she?
Have you ever noticed how a simple walk outside can completely reset your mind? One minute you’re buzzing with thoughts, and the next, you’re breathing easier. There’s actually science behind that. It’s called biophilic design, the idea that we have an innate connection to the natural world.
Being surrounded by natural elements, light, greenery, organic textures, and colours inspired by landscapes physically lowers our stress levels. Research shows that exposure to nature helps reduce cortisol levels, lower blood pressure, and settle the nervous system. Even just looking at greens and blues can trigger a relaxation response, because our brains evolved to trust those colours. They tell us, “You’re safe.”
That’s why I always look to nature when I’m building calming palettes. It gives us the most beautifully balanced combinations, colours that have harmony built into them. And the lovely part? We can bring that same sense of balance indoors. When you use nature-inspired shades, you’re not just decorating your space; you’re giving yourself that same feeling of calm you get when you’re outside.
Pink: The Physical Exhale
Red is a colour that wakes us up, it gets the heart pumping, it’s full of energy and life. But when you start to soften it, something really beautiful happens. Add a little clay, a touch of white, a whisper of brown, and suddenly the energy shifts. The warmth stays, but the tension melts away.
Those dusky, plaster-like pinks have this magic ability to make you exhale. Studies have shown that softer pink tones can actually calm the nervous system; they’re physically soothing. You can feel it in your body; your shoulders drop, your breathing slows, everything feels a bit gentler.
I often describe it as a cocooning effect. When you wrap a room entirely in one of these soft pinks, walls, ceiling, and woodwork, it doesn’t just look beautiful, it feels safe. It’s like a hug at the end of the day; warm, nurturing, and full of comfort.
Green: The Nervous System Reset
Let’s talk about green, the colour that seems to make everyone exhale.
Green sits right in the centre of the visible light spectrum, which means our eyes don’t have to do any work to adjust to it. It’s quite literally restful to look at. Studies have also shown that exposure to green can reduce cortisol and activate the parasympathetic nervous system, our lovely rest and digest mode. So from a scientific point of view, green really does help the body relax.
Emotionally, green reconnects us to the rhythm of nature, which is probably why hospitals, wellness spaces, and retreats lean so heavily into it. Green quietly tells your brain: you’re safe.
For me, green is nature’s neutral, endlessly versatile and always grounding. I often say to clients, if you’re lucky enough to have a beautiful view outside your window, use green to frame it. Paint the windowsill, or even colour-drench the whole room so that the greenery outdoors flows seamlessly into your interior. It’s such a lovely way to blur the line between inside and out.
Sage greens will always have a special place in people’s hearts, but lately I’ve noticed a shift. Over the past six months, more and more clients are drawn to fresher greens, the ones with a hint of yellow running through them. They bring this gorgeous vibrancy to a room: warm, energetic, but still calm and grounding.
The wonderful thing about green is that you can’t really go wrong with it. Because it’s so deeply connected to nature, it naturally works with almost every other colour. So if you’ve been wanting to dip your toe into colour but aren’t sure where to start, green is the easiest and kindest way in.
Blue: The Colour of the Mind
If pink soothes the body and green steadies the nerves, blue calms the mind. It’s the colour of exhale, spacious, steady, grounding. Lighter blues, like clear skies or sea mist, open a room up and invite peace in. Deeper blues, on the other hand, encourage focus and introspection, calm, yes, but with quiet depth.
There’s a reason blue is the world’s favourite colour. It’s so wonderfully versatile. I’ve noticed a real wave of people falling back in love with it recently, especially after seeing how beautifully Lucy Williams used that rich, sophisticated blue in her living room. It reminded everyone just how adaptable blue can be.
The lighter the tone, the more mentally soothing it becomes. I often use those soft blues in bedrooms, colour-drenching walls and ceilings to create a truly restful atmosphere. It makes the whole space feel like it’s wrapped in stillness.
But blue does ask for a little thought, particularly when it comes to light. In north-facing spaces, some mid-tone blues can absorb those cooler grey shadows, which can make a room feel flatter. My tip? Choose a blue with a warm undertone, it keeps the space balanced and inviting.
And then, there’s the joy of pairing. Blue looks incredible alongside its complementary tones, think burnt orange, soft rust, even a mellow warm yellow. Those combinations bring energy and life into the space, proving that calm doesn’t have to mean quiet.
Make it personal
The biggest mistake we make about calming colours is assuming they look the same for everyone. For some, calm is bright and breezy; for others, it’s dark and enveloping. For some, it’s earthy and grounding; for others, cool and expansive.
That’s why I always ask before we even talk about paint, what does calm feel like to you? Where have you felt it before? What colours were around you? What textures, what light?
So this week, I want you to pause the scrolling and instead, notice what brings you calm, what makes you light up, in your morning coffee, your evening walk, or that golden patch of light across the sofa. Because that’s where your dream home begins.
With love,
Tash x
P.S. If today’s letter has got you thinking about colour in a new way, you’ll absolutely love my online colour confidence courses. I dive much deeper into colour psychology, how to find your palette, and how to design a home that truly feels like you. You can explore them here; they’re full of tools and exercises to help you bring more calm, joy, and confidence into your home.