The Colour Mistake That Changed My Design Game Forever
Oh, to be 20 again — freshly graduated, full of enthusiasm, and blissfully unaware of the colour catastrophe I was about to unleash.
This mistake I made early in my interior design career had me completely shook. Honestly, I thought—am I even cut out for this?
Was I ever going to know how to create the perfect space for clients?
Did I have any taste at all?
Was I fooling myself into thinking I could actually design?
I questioned everything.
Looking back, 20-year-old me at least knew one thing: I didn’t know enough. And that mistake? Well, it pushed me to go back to school. So, I enrolled in a Bachelor of Design in Interior Design—because I needed to learn more. The only problem was that the degree taught me nothing about choosing colour. It was all about architecture, not decoration.
But let me tell you—this mistake I thought was a massive disaster at the time, really wasn’t. And now, I’m so glad I made it.
If you want REAL advice on how to choose colour confidently (and without the anxiety), come join my Colour & Materials Masterclass. I’ll share my 6-step process to make choosing colour easy, not overwhelming.
It’s happening in Melbourne on Saturday 22nd March—so don’t wait too long, spots are filling up fast!
So here’s my colour disaster story…
My boss (bless her) let me design a child’s room on a project. Easy, right? I picked a lovely wallpaper, then (logically, or so I thought) chose a bright blue from the pattern to paint the other walls. What could possibly go wrong?
WELL. The room vibrated. And not in a cool, fun, high-energy way. In a “this toddler will never sleep again” way. It was so bright, so intense, so ON, I half expected the walls to start humming. I hadn’t thought about how the room should feel, only about what matched.
Safe to say, lesson learned. I’ve never had to re-paint a room since. The key is all about asking yourself how you want the room to feel and then testing, testing and more testing. And I don’t mean by painting a patchwork of colour blobs painted on the wall! This is a steamlined process that I use time and time again.
And in the 20+ years since, I’ve picked up a few more along the way. Which is exactly why I created the Colour & Materials Workshop — to make sure you never have to experience a colour-induced existential crisis.
How to pick the right colour (not just the closest one in a wallpaper)
How to mix materials that actually work together
How to avoid the dreaded “why does this space feel off?” moment
So here’s to never re-painting a room ever again!
Spots are filling up, so come join the fun—it’s going to be memorable (in a good way, I promise). Sign up now!