Alyce Tran shows how to add colour to a white home without repainting

Founder of The Daily Edited Alyce Tran added colour and personality to her ‘blank canvas’ home without lifting a paint brush thanks to this one simple rule.

If you’re keen to add personality to your home, an all-white interior is never going to cut it, says design entrepreneur Alyce Tran.

Tran delights in the colours of her Sydney terrace home and, for those wanting a similar look, says the rules are quite simple: if your first attempt doesn’t succeed, “you just need to keep moving things around until you find the cohesive look you’re after”.

“Even just restyling a shelf with colourful books can work and make your home feel really fresh,” says Tran, who admits some of her reading material was bought specifically for the colour of its spine or cover.

Tran added colour and personality into her white-painted home. Picture Darren Leigh Roberts.

When Tran, co-founder of the hugely popular accessories label The Daily Edited and premium tableware brand In the Roundhouse, bought her inner city home a little more than a year ago, it came with a monochrome palette – an ideal blank canvas to style as she pleased.

Keen to ensure the internal fit-out matched the home’s classic architecture, Tran looked to designer and custom furniture in shades of pink – her favourite – as well as yellow, blue and green.

The terrace has plenty of character. Picture Darren Leigh Roberts

“I do love colour,” she says. “I haven’t done anything crazy, like paint the walls, but I just added a lot of colour in the accents.

“It’s a little hodgepodge, but I think I’ve managed to create a nice environment.”

Among the home’s highlights are an iconic Togo sofa, bought from Domo in a cheery yellow hue, and stunning 1970s pink chandeliers, made from Murano glass and reminiscent of bunches of hanging arum lilies.

And a leafy garden.

The dining table, designed by friend Lucy Kluver, looks soft and pretty in a delicate shade of pink that belies its concrete form.

It’s surrounded by Daniel-Emma “soft chairs” that blend mint-coloured steel frames with a mustard print fabric.

Outside, the colour continues with a green-edged pink umbrella from the Original Parasol Co providing a shady spot for an afternoon drink.

It now has a colourful interior. Picture Darren Leigh Roberts.

However, Tran is keen to point out there are also affordable items that provide refreshing pops of colour, such as cushions, throws and art.

“Art definitely doesn’t need to be expensive,” she says.

“You can get nice things that bring colour into a space at a reasonable price.”

The end result – a home bursting with colour but still tranquil and calm – has even Tran surprised.

Pink is one of her favourites. Picture Darren Leigh Roberts.

With only a couple of pink chairs that made the move from her previous home, she bought everything else during Covid lockdowns and is thankful her eclectic purchases have worked so well.

“I basically bought whatever was on hand,” she says.

“It was either take what’s in stock or wait a year (for other items) – and I don’t think I did too badly.”

“I don’t think a keen interior stylist – someone that did this for a living – would be happy, but I’m happy with it, so that’s all that matters.”

Originally published as Alyce Tran shows how to add colour to a white home without repainting