New hues

Carol O’Callaghan says there’s nothing quite like a pot of paint for bringing a fresh new look to a room in your home

WITH the Christmas decorations packed away and the evenings starting to brighten, in just a few weeks we’ll have the western sun filling rooms with a lovely warm light in the late afternoon. Of course, it will show up every speck of dust and square inch of paint yellowed from fires burning throughout winter, and the urge to get out the paint brushes will kick in.

There’s nothing quite like a pot of paint for bringing a fresh new look to a room and, for 2012, there seems to be genuine innovation in the hues available. Lighter pinks have developed a sophisticated take, bearing no resemblance to the pinks that dazzle little girls’ bedrooms. New fleshy pink hues are fresh and clean, offering a subtle warmth that offsets beautifully against pale wooden furniture, touches of white and, rather surprisingly, black.