Daylight saving is drawing to a close, the temperature is starting to drop and stew is back on the menu- it's time to begin preparing for winter.

Though piling on the blankets and pulling out the heater is necessary, it's also important to create a sense of warmth in your home.

One of the least expensive and easiest ways to do this is by changing your interior paint colours. Even when you include the cost of hiring professional painters, it can still be a cheaper option than buying the latest furniture or a state-of-the-art technology.

Nick Hatzistergos, owner of Covered in Paint, says a good paint job is worth every cent. "Painters are now charging professional rates and rightly so," he says. "There's often a lot more preparation work than most people realise. With paints you get what you pay for and with a quality paint you're getting value for money."

Nick's company makes and supplies more than 15 different types of paints in multitude of colours. He says this season's paint colours are all about developing a relaxed but sophisticated style that's not just easy to live with but imbues a home with its own character and vitality.

Take it up a notch

Most people are still choosing neutral tones but have turned the volume up a level, says Nick."They're still maintaining the neutral aspect but they are shifting the colour up," he says. "They're similar colours but people are choosing something with a bit more substance. We're seeing a lot of olive and mushroom tones."

He says Dirty Window (Olive), Quilter's Thread (dark neutral) and Antartic Predator (soft neutral) are popular choices. And yes, they make up their own colour names.

Lucy Southerland, marketing manager at Porter's Paints, says many of her company's clients are experimenting with darker tones such as chocolate, soft charcoals and even blacks. "People seem to be much more comfortable using darker tones to add a sophistication to their homes, such as a black tone in a bedroom or formal area combined with touches of metalic silver and shades of white," she says.

"We're much more educated on colour trends and combinations and as a result are becoming bolder in our use of colour. But white and neutrals do still rate as the most popular colours in homes."

Her company has built a reputation for supplying a range of traditional and contemporary paints, with finished ranging from low sheen through to metallic, rust and stone.

Testing textures

Colours are given greater substance through texture, says Lucy. "Texture will be very important, with stone finishes, matt paint and chalky distempers used to soften the whole look." Add a chandelier to a room with a metalic feature wall and the possibilities of texture and finish begin to open up. The importance of texture becomes more apparent as the light moves through a room, says Nick. "We have a product called Eggshell, which has the capacity to change in different light," he says. "That's why it's a good idea to view different colours day and night because they tend to shift around".

Living in Harmony

Although homeowners are becoming more adventurous with colour, most are taking the gentler option and choosing different strengths of the same colour or those next to each other on the colour wheel.

Linda Brander, spokeswoman for Bristol Paints, says it's a policy that works well no matter how strong the colour. "It is all about tone on tone," she says.

"Even if you go with the reds or berries, they tend to work well."

Bristol's colour forecasts for this season are warm and earthy ranging from from Racing Orange and Boysenberry through to the deep red of Wodonga and Frog Prince's earthly green.

Nick says more people are taking the idea even further and painting their ceilings in a half-strength colour."We're seeing a lot more coloured ceilings in soft pastels to give a room more warmth," he says.

This is consistent with the return to a more feminine style of decorating.

"Colours and textures that conjure up a sense of nostalgia will make a return as a soft pretty way of decorating that merges the old with the new," says Lucy.

Colour cues

The combination of pastels with darker neutrals is one of the new colour trends according to colour and communications manager of Dulux, Andrea Lucena-Orr. "The big trend at the moment is to combine patterns and colours," she says. "Where traditionally we would not have seen the colours we're now seeing pastels mixing with different colours. "As well as touting the ever-popular neutrals, Andrea also predicts mid-browns and turquiose blues will come to the fore this season.This flexibility can be attributed in part to the way colours and textures are being used in fashion and commercial interiors, says Andrea.

Linda agrees, adding that homeowners are watching retailers for cues on how to marry the different elements."People are becoming more confident because they are seeing more colour in shops and window displays," she says. "Theres a trickle-down effect".

What if you're looking to lease your home?

Colour advice for people looking to sell or rent their home used to be simple - keep it neutral.

While this still generally holds true, Andrea Lucena-Orr, colour and communications manager for Dulux, says it pays to be different.

"People selling a house are beginning to understand that colour can help sell a house," she says. "They're using a feature wall as a focal point to help people rememeber the property.

"When people are inspecting houses they might see eigth houses a day and it's hard to rememeber every one of them but colour can help refresh their memories."

Lucy Sutherland, marketing manager for Porter's Paints, agrees a neutral backdrop will appeal to the widest number of buyers, but says well-placed colour will have the eye-catching impact.

"The safest bet is to use some colour to give the house impact, such as clever use of the neutral palette with a dash of colour to the bedroom walls such as soft greens, deep chocolate or blackened charcoal." Back