Summer

Close to nature, blues and greens are important in the Summer palette, with blue often being the favourite colour perhaps contrasted with soft pinks and yellows. Oranges are banished from the palette – too hot to sit comfortably with the cool palette. The Summer palette is subtle. Primary colours are greyed off eliminating the clean brightness of the original hues. Neutrals are drawn from soft greys, taupes, oysters and whites for a cooling touch. Creams are too warm to suit the summer palette. Decorating is cool, elegant and understated.

Combining with the softened palette, furniture and furnishings have curved edges. Patterns are subtle, if present at all.

Summers are the perfect host, calm and collected, with everything planned down to the minute details – events at a Summer home will generally be elegant and run smoothly. Summer homes are usually tidily kept and are more formal than a Spring home because of the perfectionist tendencies of Summers. Lofty ceilings, well proportioned rooms and careful architectural detailing including coving between floor and ceiling are considered important. Dark beams running across a ceiling or low ceilings will make a Summer feel boxed in. Balance and order is important in colour selection, room detailing and accessory positioning.

Summers are nurturing, comfortable looking after guests and family, possibly appearing cool to outsiders until they are part of the circle of friends. Highly perceptive they will notice small details that others may not and act as natural peacemakers working in the background to keep harmony. Practicality mixed with a reserved nature means that classic elegance, traditional decorating, antiques, fine china, music and the arts is more comfortable to a Summer than modernity and sophistication. The appreciation of these elements will be incorporated into a Summer's home in hanging embroidery works, musical instruments, such as a piano, and so on.

The touches of formality lend an overall air of elegance – quiet and restrained. Delicate luxurious fabrics and vases of traditional roses or fresh summer flowers reinforce the elegant atmosphere.

Colours to try:

Summer quick check:

• Elegant, classic, antiques, touches of formality, reserved.
• Well proportioned spaces, architectural detailing and finishing touches important.
• Everything has a place.
• Softened palette influenced with undertones of grey to cool the hues.
• Furniture – formal and classic, draws on the traditional.
• Accessories influenced by the past with traditional styled glass, ornaments and lamps.
• Artistic – impressionist paintings, traditional works, fine china.
• Window treatments are traditional, decorative, often encompassing trimmings, pelmets, tiebacks.
• Textures are delicate, luxurious quality silks; patterns may be floral or scenes.

Mixed seasons

Living alone you can decorate everything true to your season, but what happens when you live with others who may have completely different colour personalities?

Ever seen a couple trying to redecorate their home and select colours? If they both agree readily on the same colours they will generally share a common colour personality, which means that the combinations that appeal to one will generally appeal to the other. If they both can't agree on anything, chances are they have different colour personalities. If this sounds like your household, don't despair! Accommodating the personalities of different family members is easy when you know how:

• Allocate each family member a favourite room, such as their bedroom, and let them select furnishings and colours for that space that suit their colour personality. That way in at least one part of the house they will feel truly at home in. Bedrooms are an ideal room for this.

• To incorporate the seasons of other family members accessorise the room with one item from each family member's dominant season. For example, to appeal to an Autumn personality in a Spring room you might add an ethnic artefact to reinforce their dominant personality.

• Colour personalities do overlap. Look for the common ground and use that as the basis for your colour scheme. For example, Springs and Summers both like curved shapes, Springs and Autumns both like warm palettes, creams, ivories and wooden furniture, Springs and Winters like large windows with simple window treatments and cool palettes, Summers and Autumns like mid toned woods and share taste in mellow muted colours, while Autumns and Winters enjoy intense dark colours and opt for textures rather than patterns.