Dulux 2011 Colour Forecast

Re-vive is a fresh new palette from Dulux that focuses on the yellow greens that are the darlings of all decorators for the coming season. It's designed to go with our green mindset and the continuing appeal of natural materials.

There's a suede finish Pistachio Mousse, a rich Tibetan Silk,  a pale, pale Spring Fever that could replace white and biscuit as your basic colour for plain walls, and warm golds -- the new neutral.

The challenge with this palette: can you use these shades without completely redecorating?

Since they're designed to suit natural materials, you can certainly use all these shades in rooms with natural leather, rattan, wood, and natural fibers. If your furniture uses these materials, redecorating will simply be a matter of removing the ornaments and artwork you've been using, and bringing pieces back in thoughtfully. This is a good thing to do at the beginning of a new season in any case. Our eyes become accustomed to the objects in our rooms and we can actually stop enjoying them. Clear the room for painting, and then bring back just the elements that work with the new colour, and you'll have a new room.

What about rooms where the upholstery and window treatments make their own strong statement? If you have traditional patterns in your furnishings, you'll have to choose carefully to bring this palette in without having a clash. These shades are showing up in striking new marriages with spicy pinks and oranges, but it may take your eye a bit of time to become accustomed to that combination: paint a good-sized board with your chosen colour and let it spend some time in the room you're thinking about, to make sure the look will work for you.

And remember that you don't have to redo your entire house with the season's new colours to get the freshness of the new palette. Begin with a bedroom, a powder room, or the kitchen if it's visually separate from the living room. Make sure that you carry one colour through into adjoining rooms to avoid a visual shock. For example, if your living room is a traditional bottle green and burgundy and you'd like to do your kitchen in Plaintain and Warm Wollen, you could use a deep, rich brown in both rooms to help the transition.