Designer's Collection
Edward Bulmer
Edward Bulmer is an interior architect, color designer and pioneer in the harmonious use of natural colors. As a leading British architectural historian, he specializes in the restoration and decoration of historic buildings. His passions are art, architecture and ecology. He is lucky enough to be able to pursue his passions at work. He founded the company Natural Paints and wants to reform the conventional paint industry with his natural paints. As one of the early pioneers, he now talks about sustainable alternatives.
AURO is delighted to be working with Edward Bulmer. He developed the special AURO color card Designer’s Collection, carefully selected. The COLOURS FOR LIFE shades have been carefully selected and compiled for AURO customers to significantly enrich both living and working spaces.
AURO interview with Edward Bulmer
What counts in interior design? Is it your artistic talent or your passion for your work?
Successful interior design is about achieving harmony and balance. This is achieved by using complementary colors in equal weight. This can be achieved with selected colors that are painted in the rooms, but also with a selection of natural materials and furnishings.
Where do you start when it comes to designing a room and what do you want to achieve with it, any tips?
Always start with what you already have, for example a wooden floor. It will have a tonality that requires certain shades and will define your palette even if you choose shaded whites.
What was your approach when you started selecting these 96 shades for the Designer’s Collection color chart? What makes the 96 shades so special, why did you choose them?
COLOURS FOR LIFE offers a comprehensive palette of nearly 800 shades. That can be overwhelming, so I’ve filtered it down to a good range of everyday colors that work well in many types of buildings. It’s a selection of tones that will make a good backdrop for all kinds of interiors and lifestyles.
Which of the colors can be combined particularly well in the color chart?
There are a few rules for combining colors, but not many. The most important one for balance and harmony is that the colors contrast with each other. Because of their opposing relationship, they complement each other on the standard color wheel. Green complements red, blue complements orange and purple complements yellow.
Which color tones go best with which areas of the house?
Choose neutral tones for connecting flows such as hallways and corridors and then use more color in the rooms where you live, but choose the intensity that suits your preferences and lifestyle.
Why do you use natural colors for your color scheme?
My work as an interior designer takes place in valuable historical buildings. The paint coating must not suppress the dynamics of the building, and the most important thing is breathability. Natural binders outperform modern petrochemical paints with very impressive Sd values. These properties and the careful selection of natural ingredients also mean that they do not contribute to poor air quality for my customers.
What should be considered when designing the color scheme in rooms? Which colors are best suited to small rooms?
Daylight is an important part of interior design! When it is strong, it has a bright but cooling effect, and so it is important to look at color swatches in the room before confirming your choices. If the room is always used with artificial light, then stronger tones can be very successful even in small rooms.
What are typical mistakes that customers make when buying tinted colors?
A big mistake is buying colors based on what they look like on a computer screen or trying them out in the room without a swatch. I usually use sample spreads on sheets that I put on different walls and I would always judge them by a door or door frame, not in the middle of the wall.
You have used your very extensive knowledge as an interior designer, architectural historian and color artist in many beautiful historic building projects for more than 30 years. How can you bring together the preservation of the old and modern design in interiors?
Humans have been using color to decorate for 40,000 years and some things never change. Paint still consists of binder, pigment, filler and thinner. Traditional and natural ingredients have always provided the most suitable materials to protect buildings, health and our planet. These needs are both ancient and modern. Artists in ancient times created a palette of pigments that is as useful today as it was then. AURO has continued to develop these to enhance their properties, continuing to spin the cultural ‘golden thread’, as AURO is the only paint manufacturer still using only real earth and mineral pigments.
What are your favorite interior design tips when a customer asks you?
When in doubt, use bold colors in fabrics or artwork and keep the wall colors softer and more subdued.
