What was the starting point for your most recent decorating project? The colour combinations in a favourite patterned fabric or the shades of a much-loved painting maybe? Chances are, it was a colour or two that got the scheme going, with the furniture shapes, textures and accessory choices following later.

Landing on your chosen shades is the first step in putting together a scheme, but the key to success is considering how to apply those colours. The rule of thumb used by the designers at Neptune is the 60:30:10 ratio – a base colour (usually a light or dark neutral) that represents sixty per cent of the scheme, one or two complementing accent colours which account for thirty per cent, and the final highlights (usually a bolder or brighter shade) making up the last ten per cent.

It was this ratio that guided our autumn palette, a contemporary take on the refreshing colours of the early twentieth century that balances warm neutrals with sophisticated soft shades and touches of strong colour. This decorative shift came about as a reaction to the darker, more sombre shades of Victorian interiors, with the new era celebrating cheerful and fresh palettes using warm whites, sage and olive greens, mustard, terracotta, soft blues, and deepest pinks. Interpreting these colours for today’s homes means dialling up the whites to pale beiges, introducing colourful hues with enough black in them to feel refined rather than sweet, and adding a shot of energy with our new orange-brown shade, Bracken.

THE NEUTRAL BACKGROUND
Sixty per cent

Pick a warm, pink or yellow-tinged white or cream as your base colour. You could try:

Salt, a creamy off-white with a comforting warmth
Silver Birch, a pale creamy-grey, almost an oatmeal shade
Driftwood, a classic putty colour that feels calm yet cosy
Orkney White, a fresh, soft white that adds subtle warmth

THE MID-TONED LAYER
Thirty per cent

You could take two routes here: a softer palette of Cactus, Flax Blue and Lead Light; or a darker one of Constable Green, Navy and Clove. Both work well with the warm neutrals. You could consider:

Cactus, a deep, relaxing green with a gentle grey coolness
Flax Blue, a hazy blue with a touch of grey that’s muted but deep
Lead Light, a soft khaki; an earthy brown with a hint of green
Constable Green, a rich, inky green that feels enveloping
Navy, a deep, dark blue that feels fresh against white
Clove, a sultry natural shade hovering between deep plum and soft brown

THE FINISHING TOUCH
Ten per cent 

Bracken, a vibrant, warm orange-brown that brings energy
Blakeney Blue, a fresh, true blue with an underlying warmth