The art of compromise for colour conscious couples

“My spouse and I have completely different decorating tastes. How can we agree on a colour scheme?”

According to our global survey, almost one in 10 people are put off decorating when they move into a new home for one simple reason: they just cannot agree with their spouses on which colours to choose.

“Moving in to a new home is an exciting time but it’s not without its stresses,” says clinical psychologist Corinne Usher. “The whole upheaval of the move makes it a highly emotive time and expectations are high, which means differences about decorating and design decisions may escalate out of all proportion.”

If you and your loved one do find yourselves falling out over your colour choices, take a deep breath and read through Corinne’s expert tips to help you achieve domestic and decorating bliss.

Before you start: download the ICI Dulux Visualizer app.

1) Paint the easy rooms first

Take stock of all the rooms you’re going to have to make decisions about. Are some easier to reach decisions on than others? If so, start there.

2) Be practical in your choices

Think about the size of the room, the type of flooring, pieces of furniture you want to have in the room and any contrasting colours you have to match. If you let these factors be your guide, you’ll limit the number of decisions you have to make based on personal choice.

3) Make sure you both have your say

If you’re too busy talking over one another, you may fail to pick up on the fact that you actually do have more colour choices in common than you thought.

4) Score you colours from 1 to 10

If you have wildly different views, scoring the colours you like from one to 10 can be really helpful. If your partner scores a colour significantly higher than you do, can you give in on that area and perhaps have your say in another room?

5) Think about colour intensity

If you can’t compromise on the colour itself, perhaps you can agree on the properties of a particular colour. For example, you might not like bright orange on your walls, but how about a more subdued terracotta shade?

6) Don’t be afraid to experiment

If one of you is struggling to imagine what a colour will look like on your walls, try it out before you buy anything with the handy ICI Dulux Visualizer app. This will help you to see how different colours will look at the push of a button – and hopefully reach a decision! Click here for more details /en/articles/ici-dulux-visualizer-app

Top tip

Go for grey – it’s highly versatile and works just as well in classic as in contemporary schemes. Worried grey’s a bit drab? Jazz it up with a bright accent colour, such as yellow.

Which paints? Try 10RB 49/062 with 60YY 62/755.