Welcome to 2014 everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful time relaxing with family and friends. It’s back to work now and we have some exciting things lined up for you this year.

Let’s start with some colour inspiration. Pantone have recently launched the Colour of the Year: Radiant Orchid. I was quietly surprised when this was revealed as I always like to try and make an expert guess of my own. It might also have something to do with the fact that I am not the biggest fan of this colour and was in a little bit of denial when I heard it was going to be purple! I have now come to terms with it, however, and will embrace this colour when thinking about my own projects. It is always great to have a challenging colour to work with.

After doing a bit research into this controversial hue (and finding out that it’s not just me who doesn’t like purple) I have discovered that this colour will play a very important role this year. The colour Radiant Orchid is a softer purple tone made from a mix of fuchsia pink undertones. This colour offers a more promising outlook for 2014 compared to last year’s Emerald Green which was about growth and renewal.

Radiant Orchid is going to help us get organised and gain more insight into what we believe. The underlying pink tones bring a sense of strong feminine energy that will encourage us to open up to our more loving, gentle and caring qualities. The purple tones in this colour will help us to think big and take action. It’s about finding that spiritual connection within ourselves in order to really achieve what we dream.

The psychology behind this mystical colour stimulates imagination and dreams. Purple promotes mental balance and stability and links the spiritual with the physical. In health, purple helps to improve memory, enhance vision, protect against heart attacks, act as anti-inflammatories and even helps to control weight.

So now you will be wondering how we will use this colour in our interior spaces? Well, you could just make one big bold statement by painting a room in this lively hue and then pare it back with olive green accents and neutral grey tones to make it more sophisticated.

Personally, I would use this bright tone in small doses to really do it justice, for example painting dining chairs in Radiant Orchid and keeping the base furniture and walls more neutral. Soft blues such as aqua, mint green and pale yellow tones also work really well with this purple – particularly in tableware and accessories. If and when you do use this colour in your home, make sure you use the same intensity of tone to compliment it. This will make it look more balanced in the space.

Whether you are pro-purple or not, it is now up to you to embrace 2014’s Colour of the Year. Remember, just because a colour is on trend does not mean you have to go out there and buy a house full of it to make a stylish impression.  I believe you have to love a colour if you want to live with it.