Choosing Colors for Your Home
Interior Decorating Using Colour Schemes, Paint and Accessories
Sep 2, 2007
Colors influence our moods on both a conscious and subconscious level. Some energize us while others have an opposite, tranquilizing effect. Hence, consider the mood you wish to instill in your home when choosing a color scheme. Bear in mind, too, the different functions of each room. To illustrate, the color blue, which promotes relaxation and self-expression, may suit a bedroom, but may not be fitting for a home office.
Also take into account your home’s interior decor. For example, while loud jewel hues add a much-needed touch of drama to a carefree Bohemian Chic or eclectic home, they may jar in a Zen or minimalist environment unless injected in small doses as accents.
Finally, it is important that your color scheme complements your personality, so that you will feel comfortable and at ease in your home. Our personality plays a large role in the colors we are drawn to. As such, extroverted, assertive characters will be instinctively attracted to bright, vibrant hues, while quieter natures find solace in pastel, muted or oceanic shades.
Once you have decided on the colors you want, the next step is to allow them in!
Paint
Paint is a comparatively cheap and easy way to put color on your walls. It also allows for loads of creative possibilities! Decorative painting techniques such as colorwashing, ragging, glazing, dragging and strippling achieve tone-on-tone or layered surfaces for an interesting, textured effect. Or, instead of painting the whole interior in a dark hue, which can be claustrophobic in compact spaces, have a rich color on only one wall to create a focal point for the room. For adventurous souls, a mural painted on a feature wall makes for a truly unique look. Murals run the gamut from quirky, caricature-like figures to scenes from bygone eras to whimsical fantasy landscapes.
Mosaics
Mosaics are a wonderful way to add bright splashes of color and embellishment to an interior. The tiles come in a variety of materials, ranging from earthy stone and ceramic to glittery glass and metal. Even discarded objects such as broken china, mirror shards, seashells and fossils make eye-catching accents in a mixed-media piece. Mosaic designs come in realistic pastoral or marine depictions as well as abstract patterns. Floor designs may be structured and geometric, or a random arrangement of multi-colored tiles. On walls, mosaics are lovely on a feature wall complemented by paint techniques, or in a frienze running the length of a room. As accents, they can be put on coffee tables, countertops, mirror frames, trivets and lampshades, among others.
Accessories
And lastly, accessorize! Little details bring color to your home in subtle but effective ways. Placing a vibrant artwork or print on a blank white wall does wonders in enlivening the space. Alternatively, a length of fabric as wall-art provides textural contrast, as does a Manila shawl draped over a chair. A gorgeously gaudy folk-art box to stow your knick-knacks in is useful as well as provides color. For kitchens, try lively tiles patterned with flowers and farm animals on the backsplash, and put bright, cheery accessories such as hooks, toothbrush holders and soap holders in the bathroom.
