CREATE A MOOD
Colour is the easiest and most effective way of instantly creating a mood for your pub. Try using warm, advancing colours in areas where you want people to feel welcomed. Decide the mood of the pub using a little colour theory. The value, lightness or darkness of the paint colours will make a difference in how the colour combination is perceived. Paler colours will have a quieter, calmer effect and will reflect more light in the space. Darker colours will give the illusion of depth and saturation, absorbing more light; however, this does not necessarily make the area smaller. Deeper colours create a feeling of coziness and can actually make a pub seem boundless.
WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE
It seems obvious but people still forget it. Take a look at your wood colour, light fittings, flooring and fabrics. What is the basic palette? Find inspiration in beloved objects. Pick out a highlight colour from a picture or a feature piece of glass and elaborate on that. Look for a favorite fabric swatch, painting, or piece of clothing that you are always drawn to. Use that same colour scheme to enhance the neutrals in your pub.

COLOUR WHEEL
Do it by the book — or by the wheel. If you follow colour theory as illustrated by the colour wheel, you will probably not make a mistake. Using complimentary colours, which are across from each other on the colour wheel, or next to each other, is guaranteed to make sense.
Contrast has to do with how colours, in varying hues and tones, relate to each other. Complimentary colours will automatically contrast because they are literally opposites (red and green.) Lighter colours will contrast with darker colours. Warm colors will contrast with cool colors (yellow and blue.) The more contrast in a pub, the more visual interest and energy. The lower the contrast, the more relaxing the pub will be.
COLOUR SCHEMES
For best results, choose one of the following schemes.
1.    Tonal – use just one colour but varying tones of it throughout your pub or use more than one colour but all with the same depth of tone.
2.    Harmonious – pick colours next to each other or near each other on the wheel. These schemes generally give a look that’s easy to live with and are tranquil and restful.
3.    Complementary – or ‘contrasting’ colours lie opposite each other on the colour wheel. Complementary colours generally inject some life into a scheme, are more daring and will make more of an impact but might not be so easy on the eye.
TAKE A HINT FROM MOTHER NATURE
Look around outside or at photos of nature and borrow the faultless color combination of a butterfly or an ocean view. Nature proves that blues and greens can be perfect neutrals.
Flowers are perfect for studying complimentary colours. Look at the delicate mauve of a crocus bulb paired with its opposite colour of vibrant yellow on its stamens, or consider the vibrant red berries nestling beside a glossy, green holly leaf.
Nature demonstrates how a toning scheme never needs to be dull. Think of the several different shades of green leaves, grass and trees beautifully co-existing.
If you want a harmonious colour scheme, study the myriad shades of golden yellow and russet reds slowly turning into copper on an autumnal day, or look at a garden border to see how the pinks of lupins graduate into the bluey mauves and purples of delphiniums and foxgloves.
To use beach influences, copy the perfect neutrals of slate grey pebbles mixed with the muted browns and caramels of driftwood and sand.
NEUTRALS
Neutrals are one of the easiest groups of colours, or non-colours to work with and are very in fashion with pubs at the moment. They don’t appear on the colour wheel and include Black, Grey, White and sometimes Brown and Beige. They all go together and can be layered and mixed and matched. No neutral colour will try to dominate over another.
ACCENT COLOURS
An accent colour is a colour used in quite small quantities to lift or to add punch to a colour scheme.
•    It works best if it’s a bright, vibrant colour. Accent colours are perfect if you’re scared of using strong colour – simply add a splash of an accent colour with a cushion, a vase or a lamp.
•    Keep most of your pub in shades and variations of one single colour. Choose a number of items in a harmonious colour. Then pick out just a few objects in an accent colour.
CLASHING COLOURS
To use clashing colours is thought to be a no-no. At weddings, everyone is worried that the mother of the bride will clash with the mother of the groom. But in the pub, if they are used carefully, they can look fantastic.
If they are of equal tonal strength, you can mix them together. Don’t stop at two, you could try three or four. But if one is paler or weaker than the rest it will get lost in the overall scheme.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Consider your pub’s architecture when choosing a colour palette.
Think about when and how the natural light expands through your pub. Light will change the tone of your colour choice as it moves.
Pick a colour family with the same weight. You’ll notice how heavy or light a colour feels when placed next to other swatches in the same or different weight.
For a more relaxed and closed-in vibe, consider using warmer colours like red. Want a more formal feel? Go with cooler tones like blue.
Using one colour in a pub can make it feel bigger and open.
Colour choice can change the actual shape of a pub. If you want your pub to feel bigger, use a lighter color. If you want to advance a space to make it feel cozier, use a dark color!

If you have any ideas leave a comment, I would love to hear your ideas about colour.

Here’s to your colour coordinating success!!

Fionuala