Own the Room with Claire Vallis

#OwntheRoom with HARLEQUIN

Claire Vallis, Head of Design for Sanderson Design Group, talks us through #OWNTHEROOM, and Harlequin’s mission to put the power of self-expression squarely in your hands.

Q: Tell us about #OWNTHEROOM.

A: #OWNTHEROOM is all about you. Your space, your style, your choice. At Harlequin, we believe that our best interiors are created when they reflect who we are. Unreservedly and unapologetically. #OWNTHEROOM, then, is about empowering everyone by giving them the tools they need for true self-expression.

Q: What role does colour play in helping people to #OWNTHEROOM?

A: It’s no secret that the colour choices we make in our interiors have a dramatic effect on how we feel. But while we all know the benefits of a carefully considered palette, how do we go a step further and connect spaces with people?

In a specially commissioned Harlequin White Paper, Professors of Colour Science, Stephen Westland and Soojin Lee of Leeds University, joined Harlequin in revealing the importance of colour-choices in shaping and expressing who we are. 

Their findings reveal that colours in any interior have both physical and emotional effects on an individual. Given that colours have a critical role to play in nourishing both our emotional and physical wellbeing, Harlequin has been hard at work devising innovative ways for you to ‘Crack Your Colour Code’, and balance the two…

Q: Balancing the emotional and physical benefits of colour in an interior scheme- how does that work?

A: Enter, the Own The Room Quiz! We took the White Paper’s key insight and produced an engaging questionnaire, helping you to find the look that’s uniquely yours. 

With questions that reflect the emotional and physical importance of colour across Harlequin’s portfolio of wallpaper and fabric, the Own The Room Quiz will direct you to one of 4 ‘looks’ - Rewild, Renew, Retreat, Reflect- best suited to your personality. Why create someone else’s perfect look, when you can #OWNTHEROOM?

Q: Tell us about the campaign imagery.

A: We wanted to visualise what it looked like for three very different people to completely occupy the space they were in. How you #OWNTHEROOM will be different for every person, but Harlequin holds the belief that everyone can feel they’re in a space which reflects and embodies who they are. 

Q: What’s your personal ‘look’, and how do you apply it to your spaces?

A: I’m a Rewild, through and through! I love pattern and colour and use fabric and wallpaper to add drama and personality to my home. I’m a bit of a collector and so have lots of ‘things’ - I love art, ceramics and glassware and like nothing better on a Sunday afternoon than rearranging my collection! I often use colour as a backdrop to highlight my collection.

When redecorating I start by gathering the things that I want to keep in the room, taking photos and collating them on a mood board. I then order my samples, adding them into the mood board. I adore seeing it all come together, building up the colour story. By using a mood board you can get the perfect balance between pattern, for interest, and plain, for harmony.