Patrick Mele is one of the interior designers who does not fear playing with colours and making bold statements by using daring hues and bright shades. He claims that he prefers to work with crisp colours rather than using muted tones or tertiary colours which office painters London may choose. His work portfolio is in line with his core beliefs and recommended practices.

We wanted to reverse engineer his technique and his methods, so we took a look at one of his latest works. We asked him to help us understand his choices and his decisions, and this is how we ended up with the following lessons. We do hope you will find them useful. Feel free to implement them into your next interior decorating projects to obtain outstanding results your friends will love.

1. Use Families Of Colours Rather Than Random Choices

Even though the home’s entryway looks like a rainbow, all you need is to talk with Mele to understand that he actually used a narrow palette. He explains that all that he wanted was a lot of white and then some orange and blue. Do you want to know the secret? You should use various hues within each of these two complementary colours. He used various colours from the blue family such as cobalt, turquoise, navy and delft. Within the orange family, he chose corals, tangerines and grapefruits. All these are rich hues that can make a powerful statement, provided that you know where and how to place them in a room.

2. Blue And White Go Well Together

Mele says that using blue and white together can never go wrong. This is a colour combination that can be as elegant or as casual as you want. For decorating the living room, the interior designer chose a denim like shade of blue on the walls. This choice made the white accessories and the various pieces of furniture really stand out. The interior looks polished but friendly and relaxed. According to the designer, blue and white is the less aggressive equivalent of black and white.

3. Choose Your Palette, Rinse And Repeat

A streamlined colour palette will add coherence to the rooms. At the same time, it will make the transition between rooms much smoother. When you stand in one of the rooms and you see the all of the other rooms at a glance, you’ll be pleased to rest your eyes on the same family of colours repeated in different variants. The walls of the kitchen showcase the same blue as the family room, but with a different texture. A simple spot of orange here and there, adds a powerful focus element.

4. Try Out Different Percentages

A small bunch of colours can take you a long way, if you know how to switch between foregrounds and accent colours. That is exactly what Mele did in the music room by using tangerine lamps and orange curtains, while wisely placing a blue and white armchair to fit in with the other rooms in the house. The main colours were still present in the room, but without the same emphasis they had in the kitchen or in the family room.

5. Use White For a Fresh Look

Mele loves painting things white. According to the designer, white furniture, especially, looks modern and fresh. White furniture will never go out of fashion, as it is classy and timeless.

6. Find The Right Compromise Between Colour And Pattern

Sometimes, dialing up the pattern calls for dialing down the colour to achieve a less dramatic effect. For the master bedroom, Mele decided to use a bold and striking pattern. This choice dictated the colour, or rather the absence of any colour. The designer wanted to avoid breaking the pattern with catchy colours or with other intricate patterns. This is why he left out all vibrant colours he had used for the rest of the house. This allowed him to create a calmer and quieter atmosphere without any sign of boredom or dullness.