colourcourage Paint from B&Q

Morning folks, hope you’re all well? Today, I wanted to share with you all some beautiful images of a new paint range available from B&Q. colourcourage is a gorgeous new paint collection by one of my very favourite designers, Lars Contzen. I’ve been an admirer of his work since I first discovered him back in 2008 and I have done a couple of interviews with him since then. (You can read them here, here and here.) And now he’s back with yet another fantastic new collection that can help colour lovers and those who are slightly more colour cautious to bring their homes to life with some seriously dreamy hues. 

The colourcourage paint collection started life back in 2013, when Lars Contzen began travelling throughout Europe in his “colour search van” full of his professional photography equipment and various painting-utensils, in search of the perfect palette of paint colours. When he spotted that illusive colour, often brought about only when the lighting conditions were ideal, he captured the moment on camera. Then on site, he mixed oil paint with meticulous accuracy, until he managed to create and reproduce exactly that shade. All the colours have a lovely story behind them too and I have picked out a small sample of my favourites for this post, but it was so hard to choose. The one you see above is called Barca de Lago and describing the inspiration behind this colour Lars says:

On the shore of Lake Maggiore, Italy, I discovered an old light blue rowing boat. In the breath-taking scenery of the sea and the mountains, the already faded coating of the boat hull developed a very special charm. The blue fit into the landscape quite naturally and did not at all seem like a foreign body in nature. In combination with the sunlight, the weathered surface of the hull created a blue that appeared to be at home here. Therefore, it got the name BARCA DE LAGO.

Retired Buoy is a beautiful burnt orange colour that was inspired by Lars’ travels through Scandinavia. He says:

On my journey through Scandinavia, between colourful fisher huts, I found an old buoy. It was lying in front of a shadowy wall painted in dark green and was intensively illuminated by the flat afternoon sun. Its orange surface had many traces of usage and quirks. The buoy seemed to be discarded, but I thought that it had found a nice place for its retirement. I named the deep orange colour of its worn surface RETIRED BUOY.

Oro Antico is a beautiful golden hue that was again discovered in Italy. Lars says:

On a round-trip through the region of the Italian Lakes, again searching for the perfect colour, I found an impressive shade at the Lake of Lugano. Placed on an observation platform with view on the lake, there was an elaborately produced old display board. It showed the surrounding mountain peaks and their heights. The information was engraved in a big, round brass plate. With strong backlight, the patinised brass just looked like dark, old gold.

Morning Melon was inspired by an early morning shopping trip. Lars explains:

During my journey in search of the perfect colour, I went shopping by bicycle one morning. Among other things, I spontaneously took a water lemon with me on my shopping tour. Together, along with the other items I purchased, I put the melon into the bike basket in front of the handlebar. Consequently, the melon was in sight the whole time on the way back. Only then I noticed for the first time that the dark green of a melon is quite an intriguing colour. I have now added it to the collection under the name MORNING MELON.

Royan Rock is a lovely soft shade of grey that Lars discovered in France. He says:

In Royan, at the French Atlantic coast north of the Gironde estuary, I was impressed by those many gigantic rocks at the seashore. Their colour is characterized by the interplay of light and dark shades of grey, however, the overall impression is warm coloured. Under the name ROYAN ROCK I have summarised this interplay in one single grey tone. Its strength lies in its very natural appearance.

Berry Boom is a warm red shade inspired by Lars’ travels through a coastal town in Denmark. He explains:

On my journey through Denmark, in the coastal town Hvide Sande, I noticed an area with small colourful fisher huts. All of them were extremely weathered and partly ruined. Yet, their bright colours spread joy. The low-lying evening sun illuminated a weathered, red wooden facade in yellow-orange. The combination of sunlight and old coating created an intensive berry-colour. This shade received the name BERRY BOOM.

I am totally in love with the new colourcourage paint range, as I am with everything that Lars does. The whole execution of it is just so well done. I adore the story behind the collection and the fact that Lars travelled around Europe in search of the perfect colours. I love the colours themselves and the names that he has given them. I love the fact that he has chosen perfect colour pairings so you know what colours go well together, which is great for those of us lacking in colour confidence. The photography is just outstanding and the branding and packaging is also second to none.

Lars himself seems such a great character too. If there was one designer I’d really like to meet in person I think it would have to be Lars Contzen. I’d love to visit his studio in Germany and watch him at work. He is such a talented guy and his work looks like so much fun. I wish I had known about his travels beforehand, I see he was in Cornwall which means he probably travelled through Devon. I’d have happily invited him in for a cuppa and a cream tea. Another time maybe. I’ll leave you guys with a little video that shows Lars’ search for the perfect colour. Enjoy and let me know if you’ve used this paint and what you thought of it!