I am an interior designer and student of personal growth. I would say that in the top ten lists of questions my clients ask me is “What colors do I use for the inside of my home?” “How can I make it fit my personality??
When I go into a home for a color consultation, I try to get to know my clients before I suggest any particular colors. For instance, are they energetic? Do they wear bold colors? Are they quiet and shy? If I went into their closet what would I find? These answers tell me a lot about their personalities and usually what they would like in their home. You should ask yourself the same questions. If you are energetic and bold, you may have an interest in colors as reds, yellows, purples, and royal blues. If you are quieter, soft greens, blues, pinks, creams are more your style.
It’s all about creating an environment that makes you want to come home to a safe haven. This is where you can plop down and be at your most relaxed and comfortable state.
So, the question is “how do I begin?” I begin with a color plan in which I start with the “givens”; the existing upholstery/furniture fabrics that you have, art work that may be on the walls, window covering fabrics, area rugs, flooring materials, cabinet and countertop colors and anything else that is staying in place that would have a contributing factor to choosing your colors.
From those existing fabrics, art work, or rugs, pick two colors that you just generally gravitate toward and enjoy seeing that will now be your base colors. Then pick your “passion or hot color” from those fabrics to be your accent color. This “hot” color is usually red, burgundy, deep rust or something similar. Your accent color is extremely important to give your home “life” or “excitement”. It will only be used in small doses as an accent, usually two to three times disbursed throughout the room. Now you have your color plan that you will use through the majority of your home. Bedrooms are the exception and can have their own entirely different color plans based upon the occupants desires.
You will use these colors in varying shades of lights and darks to give contrast. Interior design is all about creating interest. Interest is derived from contrasts. Light vs. dark, shiny vs. dull, texture vs. smooth, pattern vs. solid, just to name a few. These colors will be utilized throughout all your fabrics, art, rugs and accessories. Your accent color is the bright flower in a fabric or used in an accent like a candle or floral arrangement.
Keeping this unifying color plan will enable your home to flow freely from room to room. By using the varying shades of colors and accent color, this will give your room that wonderful feeling of warmth and interest in your home. Your wall colors are another subject entirely. Look for my next article on “Choosing the Right Wall Colors for You”.
About Author:
Sheri Falcone is a novice author, student of personal growth, interior designer and entrepreneur who enjoys helping others achieve their dreams, be it their homes or building financial freedom with her personal development business, www.setnolimits.info. Her enthusiasm is contagious and she believes laughter and appreciation are our emotional healers. If you live in San Diego and would like a color consultation, please call 858 577-0025.
Article Source: http://www.articleblotter.com/
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Showing posts with label Color Schemes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Color Schemes. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Taupe -- A New Neutral and Tricky Wall Color
Page through home catalogs and you see taupe. Check out the latest fashions and you see taupe. Cruise new neighborhoods and you see taupe. This brownish-gray color is the darling of the home and fashion industries. The popularity of the color is surging because there are so many shades of taupe. Do-it-yourselfers have picked up on the trend.
In response to customer demands, many paint companies have come up with shades of taupe. Behr paint, for example, has its White and Light Collection. This collection includes shades of taupe that go from Parisian Taupe, to Indulgent Mocha, to Pale Bamboo. Some shades have more brown in them, while others have more pink.
Glidden also produces various taupe colors and, like all paint companies, the colors have fantastic names like Meditative Moment and Bistro Beige. As descriptive as the names are, they may not help with your color choice. How can you find a shade that works for you?
Find the brightest spot in the store and look at a color swatch. Flourescent lighting changes colors, so take the chip outside and look at the color again. Bringing fabric and carpet swatches will also help you find the right shade. Buy a small can of paint and try it on a small section of wall. Since changing light changes the color, look at your sample paint job during the day, at dusk, and at night.
Your paint homework may not keep you from disappointment. The Home and Garden TV Web site has a message board and one home owner pleaded for help. He painted the walls of his renovated bathroom taupe and was dismayed with the result. "Every color I put up against the walls makes taupe come across as slightly mauve," he wrote. The home owner repainted the walls.
The Garden and Hearth Web site discusses taupe in an article titled, "Interior Design Colors: Taupe," by Sarah Van Arsdale. She describes taupe as a neutral color and a good choice for walls, but you have to choose the right taupe. "Be careful not to make a room too dark, " warns Van Arsdale.
A dark shade of taupe will make a small room appear smaller. Taupe also darken angular spaces. While taupe can be the basis of a neutral decorating scheme, Van Arsdale says you don't want your scheme to be bland. Adding textue with pillows and upholstery, plus colorful accessories, will keep this from happening.
Taupe is really a family of colors -- beautiful, rich, adaptive colors that go with all design styles. It's a great color choice if you're planning to move and a great color choice if you're planning to stay. With a little detective work you'll find the right taupe for you.
About Author:
Harriet Hodgson has been a freelance nonfiction writer for 29 years. She is a member of the Association of Healt Care Journalists and the Association for Death Educaiton and Counseling. Her 24th book, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief," written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from http://www.amazon.com You will find a review of the book on the American Hospice Foundation Web site and the Health Ministries Association Web site. Copyright 2008 by Harriet Hodgson
Log onto http://www.harriethodgson.com to learn more about this busy author and grandmother.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
WallDreams Paint Ideas!
Live with a color before making a final decision. You may be able to buy a small color sample (available from some paint manufacturers) and paint an inconspicuous wall area or sample board then live with the color for several days. A sample board should be prime base coated in a background as close as possible to the wall you are painting over to get the true color. Look at the sample at different times during the day. Notice how it changes in varying lights. See how it looks with how the rest of the room is decorated. Always remember the best time of day that you will be using the room the most also.
If small paint samples are not available, perhaps buy the smallest amount available to mix of that color, perhaps a quart.
Other colors that are "difficult" to work with as far as coverage and "getting it just right" are yellow and red. Yellow is one tough color, as it usually comes out far brighter than you will be comfortable with. Red can be difficult to work with as far as coverage and coats. A primer tinted in a similar color will help here.
In response to customer demands, many paint companies have come up with shades of taupe. Behr paint, for example, has its White and Light Collection. This collection includes shades of taupe that go from Parisian Taupe, to Indulgent Mocha, to Pale Bamboo. Some shades have more brown in them, while others have more pink.
Glidden also produces various taupe colors and, like all paint companies, the colors have fantastic names like Meditative Moment and Bistro Beige. As descriptive as the names are, they may not help with your color choice. How can you find a shade that works for you?
Find the brightest spot in the store and look at a color swatch. Flourescent lighting changes colors, so take the chip outside and look at the color again. Bringing fabric and carpet swatches will also help you find the right shade. Buy a small can of paint and try it on a small section of wall. Since changing light changes the color, look at your sample paint job during the day, at dusk, and at night.
Your paint homework may not keep you from disappointment. The Home and Garden TV Web site has a message board and one home owner pleaded for help. He painted the walls of his renovated bathroom taupe and was dismayed with the result. "Every color I put up against the walls makes taupe come across as slightly mauve," he wrote. The home owner repainted the walls.
The Garden and Hearth Web site discusses taupe in an article titled, "Interior Design Colors: Taupe," by Sarah Van Arsdale. She describes taupe as a neutral color and a good choice for walls, but you have to choose the right taupe. "Be careful not to make a room too dark, " warns Van Arsdale.
A dark shade of taupe will make a small room appear smaller. Taupe also darken angular spaces. While taupe can be the basis of a neutral decorating scheme, Van Arsdale says you don't want your scheme to be bland. Adding textue with pillows and upholstery, plus colorful accessories, will keep this from happening.
Taupe is really a family of colors -- beautiful, rich, adaptive colors that go with all design styles. It's a great color choice if you're planning to move and a great color choice if you're planning to stay. With a little detective work you'll find the right taupe for you.
About Author:
Harriet Hodgson has been a freelance nonfiction writer for 29 years. She is a member of the Association of Healt Care Journalists and the Association for Death Educaiton and Counseling. Her 24th book, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief," written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from http://www.amazon.com You will find a review of the book on the American Hospice Foundation Web site and the Health Ministries Association Web site. Copyright 2008 by Harriet Hodgson
Log onto http://www.harriethodgson.com to learn more about this busy author and grandmother.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
WallDreams Paint Ideas!Live with a color before making a final decision. You may be able to buy a small color sample (available from some paint manufacturers) and paint an inconspicuous wall area or sample board then live with the color for several days. A sample board should be prime base coated in a background as close as possible to the wall you are painting over to get the true color. Look at the sample at different times during the day. Notice how it changes in varying lights. See how it looks with how the rest of the room is decorated. Always remember the best time of day that you will be using the room the most also.
If small paint samples are not available, perhaps buy the smallest amount available to mix of that color, perhaps a quart.
Other colors that are "difficult" to work with as far as coverage and "getting it just right" are yellow and red. Yellow is one tough color, as it usually comes out far brighter than you will be comfortable with. Red can be difficult to work with as far as coverage and coats. A primer tinted in a similar color will help here.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Color Schemes For Interior Decorations
It is often easier to decorate around the house; there exist some amount of spontaneity inspiring you to plunge into your own styling. When it comes to wall color schemes, things turn the other way. For amateurs and enthusiasts and homemakers too, this field appears a bit risky, with lots to lose— time, money, and efforts to start with, not to mention the redoing it requires.
You don’t need to feel overwhelmed with the ordeal. To plan and co-ordinate color scheme for every room in the home, you can take one step at a time. Assess each room individually and make notes as to the amount of natural light it receives, the kind of lighting you have used and the color that will best compliment the natural architectural features of your home. It’s easy to estimate these details, if you have lived in the house for some time.
Before you decide, take a closer look at the existing carpeting, flooring and woodwork and it will allow you to make a safe choice. On an average, color scheme on the walls will helps you to determine the harmony between colors to be used throughout the décor. Color wheels are often used to determine the complimentary colors; you can do the accents furnishings (rugs, lamps, paintings) and furniture in the complimentary colors. Some common schemes for selecting the best color for a space,
• Monochromatic Color Scheme: The most common one, it uses a single color in different shades, tints, values, textures and hues to bring the harmony and flow, a sense of uniformity to a place.
• Analogous Scheme: This one uses adjacent colors on the color wheel, allowing you many possibilities within the warm or cool color category. Plan the colors diligently, for it is important for the colors to come out as a great combo.
• Complementary Scheme: Here, one can use the colors opposite each other on the color wheel, again a difficult task as the balance of colors will take some careful thinking. Considered bold and modern.
• Triadic Color Scheme: This one uses three hues. Each is placed consecutively or at equal distances from each other. For example, yellow, green and red, this scheming uses their tones, shades and scales in three hues placed at equal distances from each other.
On studying the color wheel and looking up different color scheming, get a practical view and start planning. Here are a few steps for your consideration,
• When you have decided on the color palette for a room, start with the lighter shades for walls, medium for furniture and windows (or contrasts), doors etc. If you don’t want to change the furniture, work around a wall color that is a shade lighter in the same order. Accessories may look great in the darkest of shade on your color card.
• Lighter shades like cream, whites, lemon, Ivory can make a big difference in making a space look larger. You can use a lighter shade as the base or neutral color; play with contrast and bolder shades for rest of the décor.
• You need to have ‘eye resting point’ where all the colors break even. Nothing big or too loud, a great complimentary colored vase or bowl or art piece or painting that highlights the accents, and harmonizes the interiors in a balancing art.
• Usually, people use boldest of colors on fabrics like cushions, curtains and mats. You can use harmonize fabrics by using colors as accent fabrics on chairs, decorative pillows, tablecloths and mats.
• Repeat each colors in an equal proportion throughout the room, and in at least 3-4 places. The best color ratio: Divide color use to approximately 60% of the room in the background (lightest) color, 30% in the mid-tone color, and 10% in the brightest, accent colors.
Play within the color rules, but when it comes to creativity, don’t overlook your own power. You can do wonders with pieces and bits within the arena and create a space that reflects your taste, your individuality.
About Author:
Amanda Somers is a free lance writer who writes for on-line design magazines and furniture retailers. For more reference log on to: www.spacify.com/interior-decoration-color.htm
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
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