How to Add Color To Your Home' s Decor | Adding color to your home' s existing decor or redecorating your home with color adds positive energy and cozy feeling to your home. If having a home with color is a important to you but you do not know where to begin, consider the following steps.
Things You'll Need
Pen and paper to compose your design.
Home design magazines or books to peruse for ideas.
Consultation with an interior designer or store consultant
Choose a color palette. Consider selecting colors that you like or find soothing or energetic, depending upon the mood you want to create in your home. For ideas, look at the clothing in your closet or some of your favorite items. It is more than likely that you have chosen colors that look good on you or inspire you for those items. Also, take a cue from the artwork or posters you have placed on the walls of your home. You can use the colors used in your artwork for inspiration.
Consult magazines and decorating books for ideas. Focus on the color schemes used in the rooms featured and not the furniture. You want to choose colors that you like, the furniture and shape of the room will come later.
Use the color wheel for inspiration. Color wheels can be found at any home design store and are very useful in choosing colors for your home' s design. Use colors next to each other on the wheel to create a feeling of warmth, serenity and coziness to your room; colors such as orange and yellow. Complementary colors are located on the opposite ends of the color wheel; colors such as orange and blue. They provide a feeling of excitement and energy and are great for entertaining.
From your color palette, focus first on your living areas and then choose one or two colors from this palette to carry on to another room in your home. You can also use this color in another shade or tone instead for variety.
Considering using one color for the majority of your room for the floors (carpet), walls, furniture and artwork. Then choose accents of two other complementary colors for a soothing effect with a splash of color that will really "pop." Contrary to belief, soothing rooms can and should use color.
For a similar effect, you can also use neutral colors for the walls, drapes, and lampshades and then use a cool or soothing color (such as blue or green) for the furniture (upholstery), rugs and accessories.
Consider using the 60-30-10 rule for dominant, secondary and accent colors. Use a dominant color for 60% of your room, a secondary color for 30% of the room and an accent color for 10% of the room. Dominant colors are used on the walls, while the furniture and accents are the secondary and accent colors respectively.
Or use the Dark-to -Light approach. The dark colors are used on the floors and lighter colors are used on the walls and ceiling with the ceiling having the lightest color.
Use color to infuse moods into your home. When you bring color into your home you bring the opportunity to reflect your own personal moods through your rooms creation.
Think about the overall feeling you want to have in your home' s living and sleeping areas. Do you want your living and dining areas to feel formal and sophisticated or inviting and casual to your guests? Do you want your sleeping areas to feel bright and full of energy or do you prefer a warm and serene room? Or do you prefer neutral colors that are calm and easy on your eyes?
Contrasting colors offer a contemporary look and work well with rooms that offer pure white and wood trim and molding. Contrasting a brilliant and sparkling color such as a jeweled green or blue with a room with wainscoting, crown molding and intricate woodwork creates a very charming but contemporary feel. Consider painting one wall a bold color for a strong accent that contrasts with the other softer colors used on the other walls.
For a more modern approach to color and one which combines color with a neutral or light colored walls and floors, consider using a darker color for your furniture and adding splash of color with your accents. This is a great way to infuse color into a modern design.
Tips & Warnings
Be sure to use the color black somewhere in your room to anchor all of the other colors used in your room. It does not have to be something huge, it can be an accent such as picture frames, the base of a lamp or chalkboard.
Draw out your room and design of your furniture on paper. Make copies and play around with different color combinations using colored pencils, markers or crayons.
Do not be afraid to use color. If you make a mistake or choose the wrong color, it is OK. Consult an interior designer or your local home design store and ask for help choosing materials to correct this.
By:njoli
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