Structural colours emerge due to the interaction of light with micro- or nanoscale structural inhomogeneities in materials. • Photonic glasses made of spherical particles are among the most promising systems exhibiting structural colours, due to their abundance, low cost, and broad range of tuneable parameters. Light propagation in these structures is described by single and multiple scattering, with short-range order and interference effects playing an important role. This leads to wavelength dependent transport properties, where the non¬iridescent colours emerging from such samples stem from the interplay between scattering and absorption. After introducing the main concepts, the first part of this thesis, presents a Monte Carlo method developed to simulate light transport through multiple scattering events, with the aim to account for a samples structural correlations upon propagation between successive scattering events. The second part focuses on structurally coloured ceramic glazes and the development of broadband absorbers capable of withstanding high temperatures.