The Lust-Worthy Art of Luxury Design: Creating a Luxurious Home with Dark and Moody Colours
Interiors and Design, Colour Penelope J. Herbert Interiors and Design, Colour Penelope J. Herbert

The Lust-Worthy Art of Luxury Design: Creating a Luxurious Home with Dark and Moody Colours

You’ll love creating a luxurious home with dark colours! Dark colours have long been misunderstood in the realm of home design.

Too often, they’re seen as sombre, drab, or even oppressive. However, when used correctly, dark hues will infuse a home with elegance, luxury, and a sense of dramatic sophistication. Let's explore how you can transform your living spaces with rich, dark colours, creating a stunningly chic and inviting atmosphere.

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Adopt This White Paint Guide; Your Walls Really Need It!
Colour, Interiors and Design Penelope J. Herbert Colour, Interiors and Design Penelope J. Herbert

Adopt This White Paint Guide; Your Walls Really Need It!

In this white paint guide, we'll delve into the nuanced world of white paint, exploring the differences between various shades, how to test them on your walls, what to watch out for, and ultimately, how to select the perfect white paint for your home.

We demystify white paint and help you find the perfect shade for your home renovation. Adopt this white paint guide; your walls really need it!

White paint may seem like a straightforward choice for your walls, but any experienced interior designer will tell you that not all whites are created equal. The subtle nuances in undertones and finishes can drastically alter the mood and aesthetic of a room.

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The Free E-Book That Will Change How You Use Colour in Your Home (Not Just on Your Walls)
Interiors and Design, Colour Penelope J. Herbert Interiors and Design, Colour Penelope J. Herbert

The Free E-Book That Will Change How You Use Colour in Your Home (Not Just on Your Walls)

When you walk through your front door, do you feel something? Or do you feel… nothing? The interior design equivalent of a firm handshake. If that's your home right now, I wrote ‘Colour Without Apology’ for you.

Colour Without Apology is my free, complete colour guide — and I want to be clear about something from the start. This isn't just a paint guide.

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Room Decorating Ideas for Small Versus Big
Colour, Interiors and Design Penelope J. Herbert Colour, Interiors and Design Penelope J. Herbert

Room Decorating Ideas for Small Versus Big

When it comes to room decorating ideas, most people want to know how to make a space appear either bigger or smaller. That's the way of the world so I've got a few tricks up my sleeve for you.
Successful decorating often revolves around trying to trick the eye. This includes visually manipulating the size of rooms and to hide architectural features or perceived defects.

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Why We Love Living Room Fusion… and You Should Too
Colour, Interiors and Design Penelope J. Herbert Colour, Interiors and Design Penelope J. Herbert

Why We Love Living Room Fusion… and You Should Too

Living room fusion is what happens when you stop apologising for having more than one taste. Hollywood Glam and Art Deco in the same room? Absolutely. Southern California ease layered with ornate antiques? Why not. The design world will tell you to "pick a style and commit" — which is useful advice if your personality fits neatly into one box and wildly unhelpful if you're a more interesting person than that.

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The Biggest Interior Design Mistake You Don’t Even Realise You’re Making
Interiors and Design, Colour Penelope J. Herbert Interiors and Design, Colour Penelope J. Herbert

The Biggest Interior Design Mistake You Don’t Even Realise You’re Making

Your home is not a waiting room for the life you're planning to live one day. It's not a showroom for buyers who might come along in seven years. It's not a safe, inoffensive backdrop designed to offend nobody and delight nobody in equal measure.

It's where you live. Right now. Today. And it should feel like the most honest room in your life — the one place where nobody else's opinion gets a vote.

The biggest design mistake is choosing everything from fear. The fix is choosing one thing — just one thing — from joy instead. Start there. See what happens.

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Tips for Creating A More Luxurious Bedroom
Colour, Interiors and Design Penelope J. Herbert Colour, Interiors and Design Penelope J. Herbert

Tips for Creating A More Luxurious Bedroom

A more luxurious bedroom may not make you sleep better, but it will make you feel better abut being awake. A luxury bedroom is only a few designer tips away. Intimate and highly personal, your bedroom is the perfect sanctuary for luxurious and relaxing touches. However, a more luxurious bedroom should be personal, restful and functional. No matter the size of your bedroom, try these interior design tips for a luxe look.

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How to Choose a Sofa Colour That Won’t Bore You to Tears
Interiors and Design, Colour Penelope J. Herbert Interiors and Design, Colour Penelope J. Herbert

How to Choose a Sofa Colour That Won’t Bore You to Tears

Forget “safe” grey. Here’s how to choose a sofa colour with personality that actually works in your real-life living room.

It’s the colour of safety, of “good taste,” of not offending anyone. And yet, have you ever sat in a beige room and felt your brain quietly fall asleep? Here’s the uncomfortable truth: your beige sofa might be gently murdering your creativity.

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The Easy Secret Ingredient of Homes That ‘Feel Right’
Interiors and Design, Colour Penelope J. Herbert Interiors and Design, Colour Penelope J. Herbert

The Easy Secret Ingredient of Homes That ‘Feel Right’

Ever walked into a room and felt instantly at ease—like it just got you? And then walked into another that looked perfect on paper but felt... sterile? That’s the difference between a home that has soul and one that’s just been styled. The easy secret ingredient isn’t expensive furniture, a high-end paint colour, or getting the cushion arrangement just right. It’s emotional design—spaces layered with memory, mood, and meaning.

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Taj Mahal Quartzite: The Stone That Makes Everything Else Look Like It's Trying Too Hard

Taj Mahal Quartzite: The Stone That Makes Everything Else Look Like It's Trying Too Hard

I'll tell you a little secret about being an Adelaide interior designer who's specified Taj Mahal quartzite on more projects than I've had flat whites this year: it never disappoints. Not once. Not even slightly.

And in a world where "safe" has become the default setting for most residential interiors — where people are still choosing tiles by squinting at a 50mm sample under fluorescent showroom lighting and hoping for the best — Taj Mahal quartzite is the stone that walks into a room and makes everything else look like it's trying too hard. So a hi-tech porcelain alternative is precisely why I sat up and paid attention when Beaumont Tiles released their Oyster Taj Mahal collection as their 2026 Tile of the Year.

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Wallpaper On Every Surface: The All‑In, No‑Vanilla Guide To Rooms With A Pulse

Wallpaper On Every Surface: The All‑In, No‑Vanilla Guide To Rooms With A Pulse

Wallpaper is my second weapon in a five-part war against boring finishes — and yes, I’m coming for your “safe” walls next. This series is all about giving your home a pulse, not a polite little heartbeat, and wallpaper on all five walls is where we stop flirting with bold and actually commit. If you missed part one on tiles (where I banned basic splashbacks and exposed my tile obsession), you can catch up here: read the first instalment on tiles. Now, let’s talk wallpaper, pattern, and why your ceiling is absolutely not exempt from the fun.

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Tiles With A Pulse: How To Use Bold Tiles On Floors, Walls, Curves And Splashbacks
Wet Areas, Renovating and New Homes, Colour Penelope J. Herbert Wet Areas, Renovating and New Homes, Colour Penelope J. Herbert

Tiles With A Pulse: How To Use Bold Tiles On Floors, Walls, Curves And Splashbacks

Stop playing it safe with white subway tiles and start using tiles as architecture, artwork and attitude.

Tiles are where the renovation stops being polite and starts being interesting. Forget “just a floor” or “just a splashback”—tiles are architecture, artwork and attitude rolled into one. In this first installment of five in our finishes series, we’re turning tiles into the main character of your home, not the understudy.

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Why “Cloud Dancer White” Isn’t the Future We Ordered
Interiors and Design, Colour Penelope J. Herbert Interiors and Design, Colour Penelope J. Herbert

Why “Cloud Dancer White” Isn’t the Future We Ordered

The 2026 interior trend ‘Cloud Dancer White’ claims to be calm and timeless — but it’s really design-on-autopilot. Here’s why this overused neutral needs a rethink, and how to create richer, warmer spaces with real personality. White has quietly become the answer to everything: calm, resale, minimalism, safety.
But here’s the truth — at this point, white isn’t a design choice. It’s a design default.

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2026 Interior Design Trends: Neo Deco, Cool Blue and Opera Aesthetic for No-Vanilla Homes
Interiors and Design, Colour Penelope J. Herbert Interiors and Design, Colour Penelope J. Herbert

2026 Interior Design Trends: Neo Deco, Cool Blue and Opera Aesthetic for No-Vanilla Homes

The 2026 interior design forecast is full of noise, but three 2026 interior design trends have real staying power:

Neo Deco, Cool Blue and Opera Aesthetic interiors. Used well, they are bold, liveable and fiercely anti-beige—and they play beautifully in Australian homes, from city apartments to Adelaide Hills retreats.

2026 Interior Design Trends: Neo Deco, Cool Blue and Opera Aesthetic for No-Vanilla Homes

If 2025 was the year people finally admitted they were bored of beige, 2026 is the year they actually do something about it.

“Safe” interiors are quietly dying; homes with backbone, glamour and personality are stepping into the spotlight as the new standard, not the exception.

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Did I Make A Mistake Painting My Walls White?
Colour Penelope J. Herbert Colour Penelope J. Herbert

Did I Make A Mistake Painting My Walls White?

White walls have long been hailed as the epitome of chic, timeless interior design. They're clean, versatile, and can make spaces feel larger and more airy. But as any seasoned interior designer will tell you, the choice of wall colour is a deeply personal one.

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