Put some colour in your life, says Lanassir Lawes, our expert interior designer from Bressingham

Entrance halls are often left until last for practical reasons when decorating a whole house but it is certainly not a space that should be forgotten – it is the first impression that visitors see when you open your door and set the scene for the other rooms.

Not one to shy away from colour, I wanted to create a bright and beautiful entrance to our home. The colour selection of turquoise and mustard was inspired by a painting my partner had recently purchased as one of the focal points. These colours can look fun and childlike, so in order to create a sophisticated feel luxurious textures were carefully selected.

Faux Shagreen wall covering by Osborne and Little has been applied to the blocked fireplace chimney breast wall giving a shark skin texture as the backdrop to our existing sofa that was reupholstered in an Alhambra fabric that is a blend of turquoise and fuchsia that also appear in the window blind fabric. This fabric is printed velvet by a local fabric design company just 10 minutes from my showroom across the border in Suffolk, called Parris Wakefield. Their designs are graphic, colourful and a little bit different – I love them so much that I have used four of their designs throughout my house.

The head sculpture is carved from blocks of wood and has a very geometric feel that has been tied in with the geometric rug. A vase of faux flowers in an entrance hall always look cheery and they are maintenance-free – perfect if you lead a busy life like me!

The beamed walls and ceiling have been painted in Hammock by Little Greene as it sits well against the limestone floor and keeps a feeling of calm in a colourful space. Even though it is only a hallway I really enjoy sitting there and reading as it has a really relaxing ambiance.

We can get stuck in a rut with the colours that we choose and it is a really rewarding part of my job when I introduce clients to colours that they would not

normally choose. This can range from adding a couple of mustard cushions to painting all of the walls in a large garden room in a dark green called Invisible Green by Little Greene – my clients needed my help to gain the confidence to take the leap but now that it is done it looks fabulous with green wool herringbone sofas, reclaimed wooden table and other eclectic pieces.

Forget Grey, think 50 shades of colour!