Colourphobia is on the way out! We said this for the beginning of summer and it’s here to stay; the only difference being is the tones become more saturated as the days shorten and the weather starts its inevitable turn.

Terracotta is the new kid on the block and can be seen as the link between the inside and out. It’s soft, warm, stony browns work beautifully with the navy’s and indigo’s that are coming through this winter. I’m not a great taupe or beige fan, but I have to say it is a super combination when you put these three together.

Copper is also showcasing its self this year, we have already seen a big surge of rose gold and brass metal, but copper with its red and orange tones is playing right into the earthy notes of this year’s winter palette. That’s not to say brass is gone, it’s just having to share the lime light and is competing well with a more muted, antiqued variation of what we’ve been seeing.

Forest green and saturated yellows are part of this year’s palette, just be mindful to use these as accents. Start small with colour if you are experimenting, and see how you visually react to it as it’s easier to change out a cushion that repaint every wall!

Lilac grey is a beautiful option for those who want that sophisticated hint of urban cool, but still require warmth and depth in the colour palette. The addition of lilac makes greys warmer, it’s subtle enough for you not to tire of it easily and is a great neutral for all seasons.

If you’re wanting to redecorate for the upcoming cooler months, our friendly sales staff would love to help! Head into your local store or fill in a free measure and quote form and we will be in touch.

Our Design Ambassador, Jane Carolan from Venia Design, tells us about an exciting new hardfloor range.

With the summer we have been having, and the hottest March on record, the doors will remain wide open and floors will still be covered with all the trappings of outdoor living for a while longer yet, and while we make the most of these sun drenched days, we can firm up new flooring decisions.

For some reason I end up with a flurry of calls at the end of summer from clients wanting advice on new flooring choices – I’m not sure if it’s because they are noticing their flooring has been thrashed over summer or if it’s the thought of seasonal change that brings on this particular cyclical trend.

If you are thinking about giving new life to your floor do not dismiss the new hard flooring from Malmo, truly giving you the best of both worlds, style and durability, something we all strive for but rarely manage to land on.

The first thing I ask my clients is “what do you want and what do you need” ….. before they understand the vast array of choices there is a pre curser of imminent sadness as they think durability will narrow their choice significantly leaving them with a fear of not being able to have want they want.

However, this is not the case and now Malmo has stepped in and given us not just one, but three hard flooring options that are stylish, timeless and very cost effective.

But how do you make the right choices to remove all of life’s challenges and protect one of your most expensive interior decisions? Review your givens; children, small and large; pets, shaggy or clawed; husbands, messy or tidy!

Your light source is also an important factor, how much light do you get and do you need to protect your flooring from it. We have exceptionally strong UV light in New Zealand that can fade and distress products but, Laminate is second to only ceramics for best fade resistance.

When reviewing durability, I can only suggest that anything natural will wear more so than something manmade – “eeek” I hear you say, “plastic and vinyl flooring should only be in a motel”.

The explosion of love towards hardwood flooring created a market for companies to develop products that are price sensitive, effective, durable and stylish and Laminate has grown in strength due to all of these reasons. Most of these new Malmo ranges have a feature called EIR which is when the embossing of the top surface of the Laminate is registered to the picture beneath giving a natural wood grain. Shine and matte finishes have also been strategically placed to give the perfectly imperfect wood-look floor.

Laminate flooring combines attractive décors, a hard wearing and scratch resistant surface on a high density core board. These man made products provide a level of durability and stability that a natural wood floor can only dream of while remaining a great option while on a budget. It’s a total solution to your wants and your needs!

The décor layer is infused in melamine to stabilize the depth of colour while the top most layer of aluminium oxide (known for its toughness) creates an extremely hard wearing finish giving peace of mind regardless of your children, pets and husbands! These are laminated to the high density core board with a final balancing layer of melamine on the bottom providing structural stability for our ever changing climate.

Mammuts extra-long boards are also extra hard, accommodating the toughest needs and have an authentic natural look and feel to them which is perfect given our love of all things texture. The colour range is spot on with a concise selection ranging from soft grey to warm natural oak which is perfectly on trend, and with a new Moisture Protection it’s certainly a more stable product than natural timber and can be laid quickly and cost effectively.

If for some reason you can’t find what you are looking for in the Malmo Mammut range, then check out the Malmo Exquisit range, which is more focused on diversity and individuality offering a range of patterns and hues giving you a floor which is as natural as wood. Its comfort and warmth offers all the features we want in a wood floor and is a true representation of natural timber, comfortable and with a sense of pure solidness. The matte surface finish feels authentic and replicates a typical floor board look and feel. This is not suitable for wet areas but is extremely durable and perfect for the rest of your home. The colour selection is great for our southern hemisphere light and the range covers everything from dark and moody to urban greys and soft pines.

Laminate flooring is truly revolutionary as it’s an engineered timber at a much lower cost. The beauty is, the engineered or man-made component of the product has mitigated issues such as bowing, buckling and warping between boards and has allowed us to use it basically anywhere with confidence.

Malmo has taken the best of this European made product and selected a well thought out colour range offering all the natural components of wood strengthened with man-made technology giving us flooring solutions that fulfill both our wants and needs!