How To Use the Dulux Visualizer App

Bring your colour scheme ideas to life before you commit to paint.

Red and yellow and pink and green...we can all sing a rainbow, so why is it so hard to choose the best colour palette ideas for the home? Usually, there’s the common issue of too many choices, along with uncertainty regarding the designs in your head. Will they translate to stylish interiors in real life? The Dulux Visualizer app lets you dive into the deep end of design with the craziest of ideas - and not a spot of worry.

How to use Dulux Visualizer app

The perfect interior design assistant is just a free download away, in the form of augmented reality technology. The Dulux Visualizer app gives you access to ready-made colour scheme ideas and hundreds of shades to play with. Not only that, but it’s easy to share your inspiration with family and friends.

Here’s how it works:

1. Take a photo or a video of the room you’d like to decorate.

2. Scroll through your favourite colours and tap the screen to select the ones you’d like to see ‘painted’ on the walls.

3. Save your photos and videos into a project.

4. Tap to post your colour creations on Facebook or Twitter and email them to friends, family or your decorator.

Once you’ve overcome the novelty of seeing your rooms decorated in colours you’d secretly love to use, but never would, narrow down your options and order paint testers straight from the app. Could it get any easier? Yes! When you’ve made your final decisions, you can order your paint with just a few taps on the app too!

OK, go ahead and download the app and let’s have some colourful fun.

Getting started with colour palette ideas

The first thing you need to consider is the mood you want to achieve throughout your home, which might differ from room to room. For example, perhaps you’d like the cool, relaxing quality of blue in your bedroom, the refreshing zing of citrus shades in the kitchen and warm, cosy creams for the living room.

When you consider how you’d like to feel in each area of the house, you’ve got the right foundation for your scheme.

If you’re starting with a blank slate, you might wish to choose paint colours before buying furniture to suit. However, when you’re revamping around fixtures, furniture and décor, take inspiration from what you’ve already got. Do you have artwork, large rugs, statement chairs or antiques? The colour-picker tool on the Dulux Visualizer app is there to give you paint suggestions to match, contrast, highlight and harmonise with your favourite objects.

Finally, if you have awkward spaces, small rooms or dark areas, you’ll be amazed at what colour can do to enhance the overall appeal. For example, deep shades can add depth to a small room, while bright white brings the appearance of space. Highlighting odd-shaped walls or ceilings with colour often creates an exciting feature of them. Keep playing with shades until you see the magical transformation you’re looking for.

Most popular living room colour scheme ideas

As the hub of the home, everyone’s likely to have an opinion about living room colour scheme ideas. The trusty app ensures everyone gets to have their say, but where do you even start? First, go back to the mood you’d like to create and consider the colour wheel.

Harmonious schemes use shades that sit close to each other on the colour wheel, like pink, purple and blue. Complementary or contrasting colour palettes make a bold impact by combining opposing colours, such as red and green. Monochromatic or tonal schemes involve layering different tones of the same colour or neutrals. No matter which scheme you choose, the key to balancing colour is sticking to two or three brighter shades with neutrals to avoid an overwhelming look.

At the end of the day though, the rules are entirely up to you to create in your living room! Consider layering shades of grey with splashes of white for a timeless, sophisticated appeal. Add a dash of feminine pink or bright mustard yellow for colour. For the ultimate in cosiness and depth, introduce rich, dark shades mixed with neutrals. Navy sings on a backdrop of white, deep green looks luxurious with cream and russet red makes natural wooden furniture pop. Cream and white living rooms are always on-trend and pastel greens, pinks, blues and purples help to create a relaxing haven with a touch of playfulness.

Test for success

Once you’ve used the Dulux Visualizer app to narrow down your options - and fended off well-intended suggestions from friends and family - order paint tester pots via the app to finalise your colour palette ideas. Depending on the natural and artificial light in your home, paint colours can change dramatically. So, tester pots give you the chance to see what they'll really look like, by painting pieces of paper to hang up at various points and checking them at different times of day.

Now, there's no reason why you can't sing a rainbow and confidently paint one at home too!