Did you miss KLD’s monthly colour blogs, or need help figuring out what colours work best in different aspects of interior design?
Well, you’re in luck. This summer, KLD is bringing back Colour. Every week this summer, we will be focusing on a new colour family. Our focuses will be based around naturally occurring gemstones or minerals. and picking out our favourite shades from Fleetwood, so that you at home can use these colours to brighten up your household.
Ruby & The Red Family
Considering July’s birthstone, it seems over fitting to make our first focus the same as that gem: Ruby.
Ruby’s colour is within the general colour family of red, which is well known for being a colour of strong emotions and amazing possibilities within design.

While many shades of red tied to rubies tend to be deeper, both bright and pale reds are also connected to this stone.
Using deeper wine shades of red give a more rustic, elegant tone to a space, while brighter reds make an area feel more energetic and vibrant. Think about what the mood is for the room you are designing before picking your shade of ruby reds, as picking the wrong shade can make a drastic difference.

Tips
One of the best ways to use this jewel tone is through utilizing it as an accent colour. Reds make the perfect accent for almost any space, from dining rooms to bedrooms, from front doors to rugs.
Reds work best when paired with more grounded shades, such as neutrals. Utilizing red as an accent is an amazing way to bring more life into a space.
We suggest the classics when it comes to ruby reds:
- Accent furniture, such as ottomans, side tables, or lamps sprinkled throughout a space
- Painting an accent wall to draw attention to the space with becoming overbearing (less is more, sometimes)
- If wanting to make a more bold statement, balance it with other strong jewel tones such as sapphire or amethyst within a space

Paint Options by Fleetwood
Here at Kingston Lafferty Design, we use Fleetwood paints for our work. Here are our favourite ruby-red shades from their line!
Darker shades like Blarney Stone Kisses and Winchester make for amazingly rich accents throughout an otherwise one-dimensional space. We recommend pairing these types of shades with more neutral colours, such as taupes and pale pinks.
Note: Colours may appear differently on screen than in person. We always recommend looking at a physical paint sample prior to selecting a specific paint colour.