Muddy Stilettos


<p>We’ve all been there. Standing in the middle of a room holding 14 tester pots, questioning every life choice that led us here. Should you paint over the pine? Is the avocado bathroom secretly cool? Why does every white paint suddenly look pink/yellow/grey once it hits the wall? And how exactly are you supposed to make an open-plan space feel cosy without building an actual maze?</p>



<p>Luckily, <a href="https://duluxheritage.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dulux Heritage</a> Creative Director Marianne Shillingford has answers – and, refreshingly, they’re not all “rip everything out and start again”. In the third of Muddy’s Live decorating Q&amp;As, founder <a href="https://www.instagram.com/herobrown_muddy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hero Brown</a> put readers’ real-life decorating dilemmas to Marianne, who delivered practical, confidence-boosting advice for awkward layouts, clashing colours and homes stuck in another decade.</p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-want-to-make-a-small-room-feel-bigger-stop-painting-it-white">Want to make a small room feel bigger? Stop painting it white</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="940" height="788" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/473417550_965152325534249_6729980056329655426_n.jpg" alt="Dulux Heritage @nospacelikehome.uk" class="wp-image-139863" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/473417550_965152325534249_6729980056329655426_n.jpg 940w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/473417550_965152325534249_6729980056329655426_n-600x503.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: @nospacelikehome.uk | Dulux Heritage</figcaption></figure>



<p>This might be the most surprising tip of the lot. According to Marianne, the biggest mistake people make in tiny rooms is automatically reaching for brilliant white paint. Yes, it reflects light, but it also exaggerates clutter, sharpens corners and can make a room feel stark rather than spacious.</p>



<p>Instead? Commit fully to one pale colour. Walls, ceiling, woodwork – the lot. “It removes the edges of the room visually,” Marianne explains. “Suddenly the space feels seamless and much bigger.” The trick works particularly well with soft chalky shades, pale blues, muted greens and warm off-whites that gently blur the boundaries of the room instead of boxing them in.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-you-don-t-need-to-rip-out-dated-features-you-need-better-paint">You don’t need to rip out dated features, you need better paint</h3>



<p>Inherited orange pine doors? Peach bathroom tiles? Full avocado suite straight out of 1976? Before you start budgeting for a full renovation, Marianne has good news: paint can rescue almost anything.</p>



<p>Her first move would always be calming visually “busy” elements first – particularly pine doors. Painting woodwork in an off-white or the same tone as the walls instantly modernises a room and allows the shape and architecture to shine through instead.</p>



<p>As for old tiles? They’re fair game too. With the right multi-surface primer and a roller (not a brush), Marianne says you can completely transform dated splashbacks or half-tiled bathrooms for a fraction of the cost of replacing them. </p>



<p>And the avocado bathroom? Surprisingly chic again. Apparently Gen Z is actively hunting them down now, which frankly feels like revenge on everyone who spent the early 2000s ripping them out.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-warm-and-cool-colours-together-absolutely">Warm and cool colours together? Absolutely!</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2-2.png" alt="DULUX HERITAGE " class="wp-image-139859" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2-2.png 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2-2-600x600.png 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2-2-300x300.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2-2-500x500.png 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: @_itstartedwithacushion  | Dulux Heritage</figcaption></figure>



<p>If you’ve spent years believing interiors should stay firmly within one “tone family”, prepare to have your mind slightly blown. Marianne is a huge fan of mixing warm and cool shades together – because opposites create energy.</p>



<p>Think:</p>



<ul>
<li>deep blue walls with terracotta accessories</li>



<li>warm clay tones with teal accents</li>



<li>olive greens with blush pinks</li>



<li>cool blues layered with warm brass and caramel</li>
</ul>



<p>“It’s like salty and sweet in food,” she explains. “Opposites just work.” The key is balance. Warm colours stop cool schemes feeling clinical, while cooler shades prevent warm palettes becoming too heavy or overwhelming.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-secret-to-making-period-homes-feel-fresh-without-ruining-the-character">The secret to making period homes feel fresh (without ruining the character)</h3>



<p>One of the trickiest decorating balancing acts: how do you modernise a Victorian house without making it feel soulless? According to Marianne, people lean too heavily into “period” decorating – dark colours, heavy palettes and overly traditional schemes that end up feeling oppressive rather than elegant. </p>



<p>Her fix is surprisingly simple: lighten the palette. Soft teals, cleaner blues, warm chalky neutrals and fresher greens instantly lift ornate features like cornicing, ceiling roses and sash windows, allowing the architecture to stand out rather than disappear into dark walls. “Those details suddenly come alive,” she says. It’s the decorating equivalent of finally opening the curtains.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-white-paint-rule-that-saves-endless-regret">The white paint rule that saves endless regret</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1-1.png" alt="DULUX HERITAGE @twodogsandadesigner" class="wp-image-139860" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1-1.png 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1-1-600x600.png 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1-1-300x300.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1-1-500x500.png 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: @twodogsandadesigner | Dulux Heritage </figcaption></figure>



<p>No Muddy interiors feature would be complete without a mild existential crisis about white paint. Marianne’s golden rule is surprisingly straightforward:</p>



<ul>
<li>north-facing rooms = warmer whites</li>



<li>south-facing rooms = cooler whites</li>
</ul>



<p>Cool natural light can make stark whites look grey and flat, while warmer whites soften darker rooms and stop them feeling clinical. And whatever you do? Paint a&nbsp;<em>big</em>&nbsp;sample first that you can look at throughout the day. Because nothing humbles a person faster than discovering their “timeless soft white” turns peach at sunset.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-best-decorating-advice-of-all-stop-worrying-about-trends">The best decorating advice of all? Stop worrying about trends</h3>



<p>At the end of the session, Hero asked Marianne for her one golden decorating rule. Her answer had absolutely nothing to do with colour charts. “Think about how you want to feel,” she said. Not what’s trending. Not what Instagram says. Not what will supposedly help resale value in 2031. Just: how do you want your home to feel when you walk through the door? Calm? Cosy? Uplifting? Cocooning? Energising? Because the homes people love most are rarely the most perfect. They’re the ones that feel personal.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><a href="https://duluxheritage.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">For more decorating inspo, head to duluxheritage.co.uk</a></p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-the-mood-for-more">IN THE MOOD FOR MORE?</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://muddystilettos.co.uk/national/dulux-heritage-interior-paint-colours-improve-mood-feeling/">Feel better! The paint colours in your home that make (or break) your mood</a></li>



<li><a href="https://muddystilettos.co.uk/home/interiors/5-clever-decorating-tricks-interior-pros-swear-by-and-they-actually-work/">5 clever decorating tricks interior pros swear by (and they actually work)</a></li>



<li><a href="https://muddystilettos.co.uk/home/interiors/timeless-decorating-trends-2026/">Interior trends you won’t be ripping out next year</a></li>
</ul>


Decorating dilemmas solved: the genius paint tricks you need to know

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