Use dashes of colour in unexpected ways. An office-supply pinboard was given a facelift with Resene Vesuvius Flat Finish paint, $36.82 a litre. Whether you have one board per household member or a trio painted in contrasting shades, pick the right size to suit your needs and know that the colour will take care of the rest. For true “pop” effect, use something high-impact like tangerine or red – pastels are more likely to pale on the wall.

Sitting pretty

Placing printed cushions on your existing couch is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to achieve an instant interior update. Here, a Nu Stripes cushion and a Toulouse cushion, both from Kas Australia, sit strikingly with the tangerine of the couch and the room’s wood tones. The cushions add both colour and comfort.

Colourful crockery

Most of us have the obligatory white dinner set. It serves us well, but come summer, when the entertaining factor is high, inject some colour and life with acid-bright platters, plates and bowls in plains and prints. No need to buy a whole set – just choose a few shapes and sizes to intermingle with your existing barbecue ware.

Super sheets

Banish the plain white quilt cover to storage for a while and slip on some bedlinen that’s contagious with colour. This room is for your eyes only, so go out on a limb and combine spots, stripes and prints – just pick a common colour theme in all patterns so they don’t clash too much. Instead of laying the whole bed in one print, introduce a block colour drawn from the hues within the print, like the tangerine here.

Tabletop tickle

Flowers come and go, but feathers never die. Choose bright feathers of the same size to make a posy, then pop them in coloured glassware of similar tones. They look amazing on the mantel or as a tabletop display. The best news? Feathers are inexpensive. Great for bedside or dining-table centrepieces as well.

Child’s play

Kid’s rooms are the most obvious places to experiment with colour – and rightly so. Enjoy the advantages of indulgent kindergarten hues in all their glory. Cleverly following the one scheme of red and white, red is seen here as the hero colour, even though it’s in small doses. A mix of old (an antique cupboard) and new (the wardrobe) works well, as does the adult chair. Flexible storage is best because the items can move around the house as your child grows.

For more great ideas and practical solutions for your home see http://www.reallivingmag.com.au/