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Your walls can set the tone of your home, transforming it from an empty shell to a comfortable haven – and much of it has to do with colour. From powder-puff pinks and fresh honeydew greens to bold oranges and rich burgundies, every shade on the spectrum can project your walls in a different avatar. Wall palettes can be broken down into neutrals and colours. While neutrals are shades that are not on the colour wheel, such as white, beige, ivory, taupe and grey, colours are those on it (light or dark), like blue, green, red and orange; the whole shebang. Whether you’re a lover of neutrals or a connoisseur of colour, consider this your bible for choosing the perfect palette for your walls.

Coloured walls
If plain whites and neutrals are too mellow for your eclectic, colour-happy soul, consider bolder, brighter hues. Crimson, periwinkle, lime and aqua are some colours that can be the perfect solution for walls thirsting for colour. A zingy palette can also amp up the atmosphere in a room, lending excitement and energy.

Pros:
Visual stimulation
Colour can be a treat for the eyes. Better still, it can calm stress, promote creativity, foster visual thinking and rewire the brain. Consider a standalone colour palette or go for two or three complementary shades.

Colour associations
While colour psychology is still debated for its therapeutic properties, it’s well accepted that colour plays a role in influencing your mood. Blue is associated with tranquility, purple with royalty and romance, yellow with inspiration and optimism, and red with excitement and energy.

Less focus on decor
Colour can turn your walls into focal points. This way, you can scale down on accessories and keep your decor muted and minimalistic, to allow your walls to shine.

Cons:
Possibility of an overpowering effect
Too much colour can swallow your space, stealing the limelight from other elements in the room.

Limited decor options
A fixed colour palette can severely restrict your decor choices, leaving you to force-fit your furniture, fixtures and accents into the colour scheme.

Difficult to do over
A colour palette gone wrong can be a challenge to set right. Unless you go for a repainting job right away, that is.

Consideration of room size
Unlike neutrals, which deflect light, darker colours tend to absorb it, leaving your room looking darker and smaller. If you plan to splash a small space with colour, consider using lighter hues. For a larger space, you can turn your attention to a bolder palette – for all the walls or for a single statement wall.

Trial and error
Knowing which colours do justice to your wall can take a fair deal of trial and error – costing time, energy and money.

Neutral walls
If you prefer a pared-back, peaceful space, perhaps you’re meant for neutrals. Craft your wall palette in tones like ivory, blush pink, pale gold or biscuit. Perhaps add a highlight – pick a piece of furniture in a bolder colour to add a pop of cheer to your restrained look.

Pros:
Safe bet
You can’t really go wrong with neutrals, so you can take heart in knowing that whatever palette you’ve picked is likely to sit well on your walls.

Decor flexibility
Neutrals can give you free reign over the look of your room, leaving you the option of updating your aesthetic over time and swapping out accents, fixtures and furniture within the same shell.

Versatility
A light wall can be a blank slate for decor experimentation and can do equally well to highlight furniture, or blend in with it.

Neutrals work together
If you want to mix things up with a few different shades but still want to play it safe, neutrals are your answer. Neutrals usually complement each other and can give you several shades to work with. For example, painting three of your walls a daisy white gives you the option of an accent wall in light beige or brown. Plus, it saves you the time and trouble of laboriously comparing shades to ensure their compatibility.