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Dulux. You've almost definitely heard of this paint brand if you live in the UK. You may (or may not) have heard about their recent announcement for Dulux Colour of the Year 2021 being... *drum roll please* Brave Ground.
You can usually find lots of articles and (sometimes heated) conversation surrounding the infamous Colour of the Year focused on home interiors, so I've decided to put a commercial interior design spin on it. I'm not personally a massive follower of colour trends, but I wanted to have some fun exploring this paint colour and its potential by creating a few hotel room design ideas and inspiration for you.
So, what colour is Brave Ground exactly?
"Dulux Colour of the Year for 2021 is Brave Ground – a warm, natural neutral that’s an enabling and stabilizing colour." ~ Dulux.co.uk
I would essentially describe it as an earthy beige-brown that manages to slot itself in with the neutral shades. As Dulux themselves describe it, Brave Ground is a colour that can be used as the foundation for an interior design scheme, or used alongside other colours to strengthen and support them in the overall design scheme.
So keep scrolling to see ideas on how you can incorporate Brave Ground into your business' hospitality interior design concept.
Hotel Room Idea No. One
Okay, so for this interior design concept I've used Brave Ground as the only finish to the bedroom walls, and then layered up from this with rich tone, mid-century inspired furniture. This scheme has a masculine feel to it but the lovely earthy, rich tones in the headboard fabric and rug helps to add warmth and soften the overall aesthetic. Curved shapes found in the wall lights, bedside tables and even the artwork further soften the interior.
You could use Brave Ground on all the walls in this hotel room to create a cosy, almost cocooning feel in the evenings with some moody low lighting. Or if there's a concern that it might look 'too brown' you can use a lighter neutral shade on the other walls and keep this as a kind of feature wall with the bed. Personally, I think this would look great in a hotel based in the city.
Hotel Room Idea No. Two
Doing a 180 on the first Brave Ground hotel room idea, I now give you: boutique hotel mixed with fancy countryside hotel room. The Artemis wallpaper by House of Hackney that I've used here (above the wall panelling painted in Brave Ground) stops this interior design scheme from being on the wrong side of kitsch and maintains a grandeur feel.
Unlike its use in Idea No. One, Brave Ground is not the focus. Instead it's used as a supporting base colour to the vibrant wallpaper and upholstered bed frame. It works in this interior scheme as a calming neutral tone that gives balance to the patterned wallpaper. I've chosen a wallpaper with a blue background, but this interior can easily be re-imagined with a different wallpaper colour or floral pattern (as long as it complements the Brave Ground base).
Hotel Room Idea No. Three
Onto the final design idea, I've gone for a more Scandi inspired, paired back feel to this hotel room that focuses on lots of lovely textures and where Brave Ground acts as a great colour backdrop. I've added in some warm, earthy colours via the artwork and bed throw which helps bring out the warmth and comforting tone of Brave Ground, as well as adding more colour to the overall bedroom scheme. The other walls in this hotel room can be painted in Brave Ground to create a cosy and homely feel, or go a few shades lighter to keep this wall with the bed as the focus.
Unlike the other design ideas, this hotel room doesn't have a typical headboard that fits the bed frame, instead I've shown a pale timber cladding finish that stretches the whole width of the bed wall. I've shown the cladding projecting off the wall a bit here, so you can have a narrow shelf/lip on top to place artwork and plants etc. Or you can keep the cladding flush/flat to the wall and hang any artwork on the painted wall above.
So there you have it, some interior inspiration on various ways you can use Dulux Colour of the year 2021 i.e. Brave Ground in your hotel interior design project.
If you have an upcoming hospitality project that I can help with the interior design scheme on, such as a boutique hotel, a B&B or a holiday rental space please do get in touch.