Using these color decorating tips will help you painlessly build a home color scheme

Proudly show off your creative skills and gain confidence in your ability to create beauty in your home

Color Decorating Tips

If Neutrals are your preference, go for it

If you are a novice in the decorating area and are nervous about using large areas of color, don't let anyone talk you out of using white or neutral colors if this is your preference. You can't go wrong with a neutral color scheme and everything goes with white.

Color Decorating Tip #2

Remember the importance of temperature

The important thing to remember is that all colors have temperature. They are either warm or cool. Do you have a really bright room or live in a warm climate? This should guide you if you are looking to cool down a room. Look for whites and neutrals that have a blue or purple cast. If you are looking for a warm cozy feel, the colors you choose should have a yellow or red undercoating. As I mentioned in Color Basics by putting white paint chips next to a pure white, you will immediately be able to tell a cool white(blue cast) from a warm white (yellow cast). Once you choose your colors from the same temperature family, you will find your neutrals work together. You can then go on to choose one or two brighter colors to create an accent or focal spot of color and bring the whole color scheme to life.



Color Decorating Iip #3

Consider Light When Deciding on Your Color Scheme

It is impossible to consider color without thinking about the affect light will have on it. You will know this is so if you have ever bought an item you thought was an absolutely perfect color in the store, only to bring it home or out into natural daylight and find it suddenly changed into a color disaster.

It is impossible to judge how an item will look in all light circumstances because of it's pigmentation. The item will also change according to the type of lighting used in the evening. Incandescent lights give off a yellow hue, while halogen lights are very bright and cool. Perhaps you have tinted bulbs, or "warm" fluorescent lighting. When you are choosing colors, place samples in the room you are decorating and check them at different times during the day or evening. The time of day when you will be using the room,(bedroom, study, living room, etc.) will also affect your decision about the final color choices.

Color Decorating Tip #4

Wood and Architectural Details Have Color

Cherry has a wonderful warm red coloring, while pine has a yellow cast. Oak can be either red or yellow, and walnut is a very dark brown. The colors of your wood furniture play a large part in your color scheme that you do not want to overlook. Be sure to take these colorings and add them to your color chart.

Along with the wood, architectural details should be observed. Do you have a fireplace in the room. Is is red brick, gray fieldstone, or perhaps have a tiled hearth? Do you have a terra cotta tiled floor, or Italian marble?

All of these details add color and need to be incorporated into your color scheme.

Color Decorating Tip #5

Create Harmony and Cohesiveness Throughout Your Home With Color

It is not necessary that all rooms in your home have the same color scheme. What is necessary is to have your rooms flow together with a natural color progression.

As you walk from one room to another, there should be one or two colors that should be common to both rooms. Suppose your living room is done in pale greens and shades of rose. As you walk into your home office from there, the room may be done in a darker hunter green and white, with pale green and blue accents, and maybe a touch of rose in the accessories. From there you could progress to your bedroom, where you and your spouse decided on a blue and white color scheme. You can see here the progression from a green and rose to a blue and white color scheme.

Another way of doing this is to use the same wallpaper but in different colors. In this way you will be adding some harmony, but still be able to use different colors.

Of course, if you want a room that is totally different, who's to say you can't have it. Most of my home is decorated in blue and greens. I have always wanted a room done in red, white and black. However, I don't think this is a color scheme I could live with in every room. Since I have a sewing room that is off by itself, I used this room to indulge my fancy, and I love it. If you really want something, go for it. It's your space and your life. Be creative, think about it, and you'll find a way to create your vision.

Color Decorating Tip #6

Don't Forget Pattern and Scale

One last subject I'd like to address before I leave the subject of color and color decorating tips is the importance of pattern and scale. There is a general feeling that it is improper to mix stripes and plaids, florals with geometrics, modern prints with traditional ones, etc. You will find that as you search decorating magazines and the Internet that this is a totally outdated concept.

The first thing to do, as I mention right along, is to answer questions about what you prefer. Do you like florals and dislike plaids? Do you like stripes but dislike geometrics? Write down your likes and dislikes on the color worksheet. However, if you find some pictures of color schemes you like, don't dismiss them just because they contain patterns you don't like. You may be able to substitute another pattern with the same color scheme, or maybe you'll even decide that even if you don't like plaids, this plaid works in this room. The one thing we want to do while working on our creative skills is to keep an open mind and really explore all possibilities.

Scale refers to the size of the pattern. Two large florals in a room would be overwhelming, whereas a large floral patterned fabric on the sofa could be used with a small patterned floral on the wallpaper. If you find you want to mix patterns in your room, put the samples out in the general area where they will be used. Leave them there a few days and live with them. Notice them when you walk into the room and make note if they clash with each other or jump out at you.

Color Decorating Tip #7

The final rule as always is: What looks good to you? What are you happy with?

If you want to mix this stripe with this plaid and it works for you, than do it. If you are nervous about mixing patterns, put together what you like and then ask for various opinions from people whose judgment you respect. However, in the end, it still boils down to your home, your life, and your preferences. What do you love and want to live with?

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