Colour is a language worth speaking

Why understanding colour reveals something about ourselves and our homes

By Marta Rossato, Marta Rossato Interiors

Colour is often treated as the finishing touch. The decorative layer added around other important decisions, often reduced to questions of preference.

Do I like this shade? Will it work with the sofa? Is it on trend?

Those questions are understandable, but they rarely get to the heart of what we are really trying to achieve.

I think of colour as a language. Like any language, it communicates, highlighting what matters, it helps us connect with others, revealing something about the speaker.

When we create calm or energy, intimacy or brightness, we are shaping how we want to feel and we are saying something about ourselves.

This is why “What colour should I paint the hallway?” is rarely the straightforward decision people expect it to be.

When clients come to me for a colour consultation, they say they are looking for a paint recommendation. It soon turns out that instead, they are looking for certainty. They feel stuck between endless options, conflicting inspiration and the fear of getting it wrong.

My role is not to choose a colour for them. It is to help them translate how they want to feel into the space around them.

Here, I am sharing the actual thoughts and observations I return to again and again when working with colour, both in my own homes and with clients.

Start with the feeling, not the colour

Most people think they are choosing a colour. In reality, they are trying to create a feeling.

I notice the temptation is often to begin with a favourite shade, a trend or an image saved on Pinterest.

I know this might feel strong, but to me, initially, your favourite colour is almost irrelevant. And the reason for that is, that if you remain at that surface level, the answer is likely to come from autopilot.

So you buy into trends rather than embodying personality. Or, you simply lean into what you already know.

I have found that the shift happens when I ask “How do you want the room to feel?” and encourage answers that are specific. Calm. Grounded. Sophisticated. Energetic. Bold. Cosy. Not simply “happy”.

Then, I ask “Is there already a corner of your home where you feel this way?”, “What is special about it? What creates that feeling?”.

THEN, we look at colours WITH that emotion in mind.

The colours we love are not always the ones we expect

One of the most fascinating parts of my work is helping bridge the gap between what people think they like and what they actually respond to.

A client might confidently tell me they dislike red. A few weeks later they are completely in love with a deep mulberry velvet sofa.

Or they tell me they want blue showing me a straightforward navy. Yet, the colour they end up choosing is rarely “straightforward”.

Because for me a blue is never just blue. A red is never the obvious red. The colours I find most interesting are often the ones that sit slightly outside our usual comfort zone, yet feel unexpectedly right. This exploration outside what is “safe” is where I lead my clients to.

Inspiration is everywhere if you know where to look

Clients often arrive with dozens of saved images and very little clarity. I notice image references are often very different, if not conflicting in style and emotional tone.

Experience tells me their problem is rarely a lack of inspiration. Way more, it is knowing how to interpret it.

Rather than searching endlessly for more references, I encourage them to look at what they already have around.

Their wardrobe. A piece of artwork. Flowers in their garden. A room they love. A favourite scarf. The colours and materials we choose instinctively often tell a more honest story about who we are and how we want to live than a collection of images curated by strangers online.

Colour is rarely what it seems

This is where things become interesting.

The colour you see on a paint card is not the colour you will experience in the room.

Because light changes everything. A warm white can suddenly appear grey. A green can read blue. A soft terracotta can become surprisingly orange.

My background in photography taught me to pay close attention to light long before I became an interior designer. The temperature of light, its direction, its softness and intensity all influence how we perceive colour.

Interiors behave in exactly the same way.

This is why I never rely solely on paint cards, online renderings or beautifully styled photographs. Colour always needs to be experienced in context.

Give colour time

One of the biggest mistakes I see is making a decision too quickly.

Colour is never static. It changes between morning and evening, responding differently when curtains are open, when lamps are switched on or when the sky is overcast.

Whenever possible, I encourage clients to live with samples for a few days. Move them around the room. Observe them in different conditions. Allow yourself time to notice what keeps drawing you back. The right colour rarely needs to shout for attention.

More often, it just feels right.

Colour is not decoration. It is architecture.

This is perhaps the most important shift of all.

Colour is often treated as the final decorative layer. For me, it is part of the architecture of a space. It can draw attention to beautiful details. Soften awkward proportions. Create intimacy. Expand a room. Define areas within an open plan layout. Or bring an entire scheme together.

Long before it had a name, I was using what is now called colour drenching, carrying colour across walls, ceilings, woodwork and details to create spaces that feel connected and enveloping.

The result is that a room becomes something you step into rather than something you look at.

Final thoughts

Ultimately, the challenge is understanding which colour belongs in your home, with your light, your materials and where you are in life right now. So much more than “simply” finding a colour you like.

And, since for this reason, colour is so personal and deeply connected to how we experience space, I approach colour with clients in a structured yet highly individual way, creating a clear direction that feels genuinely aligned with them and their space, rather than simply selecting paint shades.

If you are standing in front of dozens of paint cards and feeling more confused than when you started, I want to reassure you that you are not alone.

Together, we can explore how you want the space to feel, what is already working, what is not, and build and build a colour direction that’s yours.

Sometimes one confident decision is all it takes to unlock the rest.

Find your True Colours is a focused 1-2-1 session where we do exactly this. You can book a complimentary Discovery Call here.