How to choose the colour themes for your home or rooms? | Colour is the first thing you notice when you enter a room. It creates mood and atmosphere, and allows you to transform your home quickly and cheaply with stunning results.
When we come to choose colours, most of us are aware that dark colours will make a room look smaller, and pale ones make a room seem more spacious, but colour, together with pattern and texture, are far more versatile than this. Paints, wallcoverings and fabrics can be used to create a variety of impressions and, armed with just a few basic facts, you will be able to make them work for you in many different ways.
Red or pink tones look deeper and richer in artificial light, but blues and greens can look washed out. Keep this in mind when choosing colours for a room that will be used primarily in the evenings.
Colours have characteristics that can affect our mood and make the same room appear completely different, simply by the way it is decorated. So before you begin to think about colours, take a good look around the room and make a note of how much natural light it gets and what you like or dislike about it.
Warm colours such as red, orange and yellow are 'advancing' colours which appear to draw surfaces closer, and create a sense of cosy comfort. These are lively colours, which make them a good choice for gloomy rooms facing north or east which receive little natural light, basements, and rooms heavily shaded by trees.
Cool colours such as green, blue and violet are 'receding' colours which maximise space, and make a room feel fresh and airy. These are relaxing colours ideal for sunny rooms facing south and west, or anywhere there is abundant natural light.
Neutral colours such as cream and beige are useful for toning down more adventurous colours but, used in their own right, will allow attention to be focused on the contents of a room, rather than the room itself. They also complement natural woods and cork well.
Some colours evoke a definite mood which makes them a good choice for particular rooms. Pinks and red-blues, for example, have a romantic feel that is perfect for dining rooms and bedrooms, while fresh outdoor colours like yellow and green are best suited to busy daytime rooms.
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