Mustard: the hot shade for cosy interiors this winter

Rich yet vibrant, mustard bridges the gap between muted earthy browns and sunshine yellow. It’s often seen as a tricky colour to wear but in home design it’s a different story. Full of warmth, it makes rooms feel cosy and inviting.

In homeware this season, mustard is as hot as the condiment, ranging from the darker browns of French mustard to the more zippy yellows of its English counterpart.

Lighter mustard veering towards custard yellow looks funky and pop paired with fuchsia and turquoise. Teamed with smoky grey or midnight blue, playing up its rich luminosity, mustard looks truly contemporary.

Thanks to their geometric patterns, Welsh Blankets’ mustard cushions look crisply modern, while the new Harvest home range from Sainsbury’s includes knitted wool cushions and a tray adorned with midcentury-style wheat stalks and poppy seedpods.

Lighting is one area where mustard is much in evidence. Habitat’s Tommy light, Hand & Eye Studio’s Bright Things pendant lamp and Wild & Wolf’s globe and task lights all come in a shade that’s as searingly sharp as Colman’s mustard.

In flooring, Ben Pentreath’s Quirky B carpeting for Alternative Flooring is heavy on the mustard, while La Manufacture Cogolin’s Variamen Marelaggi rug comes in a strong, saturated version of the shade. Floors — or walls — can be covered with Tile Trader’s La Fayette glazed porcelain tiles in mustard, blue and grey.

Wallpapers with bold prints make a strong statement, from Cole & Son’s Delano design to Wayne Hemingway’s Do the Stretch paper for Graham & Brown.

The trend also applies to paint colours, from Everlong’s chalk paint, Dijon Mustard, in a dinky pot recalling a mustard jar, to Neptune’s new Mustard shade. Mustard and grey is a beautiful, very modern coupling.

Mustard also works well as an accent colour in furniture or accessories. Amy Somerville’s Marlenaz desk has a mustard leather top, and Jaime Hayón’s Favn sofa, from Aram, pays tribute to Fifties Danish design. Used sparingly, mustard still adds pizzazz, as Vanderhurd’s mustard and fuchsia Flower Cut Out cushion and Oiva Toikka’s glass birds from Iittala prove.