Using Color

Color is everywhere – in nature, in architecture, in food. It is all around us all the time. We are surrounded by color. Think about the different places you love the most. These places may seem like polar opposites, but there is quite likely one element that ties them together. That element is almost always color. We are drawn to color whether we realize it or not. When it comes to decorating with color, looking for that jumping off point can be easy for some and quite difficult for others. Here are some common and possibly not so common places to look for color inspiration.

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Color Inspiration

The natural starting place for selecting a new color palette would be a piece of fabric, an area rug, or a favorite painting. Simply pull colors from these items as a basis for your color scheme. If you don’t have any these items to start with, this is when you turn to some of your favourite things or places for ideas and inspiration: chocolate, the beach, your favorite sweater, or those never-to-be-parted-with brown leather shoes.

Chocolate - dark, velvety, mysterious. Pair it with pink, pale blue, or green.

Clothes – when shopping for clothes, there are always certain colors that just pop to the forefront. They seem to speak to you. If these are the colors that you feel good in, there’s no reason to believe that you won’t feel good surrounded by them too.

The beach – you love the sights, the sounds, and the textures. It’s where you go when you want to get away from the daily grind. Bring the beachy blues and tans into your home. This is a perfect color palette for a room that you would like to use as a retreat.

Shoes – those comfortable, beautifully broken-in brown leather shoes. Translation: comfortable brown leather club chairs that will only get better with time.

Because color is everywhere, the inspiration for choosing color is everywhere too. We just have to learn to recognize it. And if all else fails, there is always the paint department at your local home improvement store. It’s a terrific resource for color decorating ideas. Stop in and collect a handful of sample paint cards that display multiple coordinating colors on each card. Choosing a color from a tiny little sample card can be difficult, so most paint and decorating stores and home improvement stores now carry extra large sample cards or small tester pots of paint available for purchase at a minimal cost. A larger sample will give you a more accurate view of how a color will look in your home.

Using Color

Designers use a storyboard to create a mock up design of a room. Create your own storyboard using pictures or clippings from magazines that illustrate designs and colors that you like. Add to this your paint chips, fabric swatches, floor plan, photos of accessories and any other decorating and remodeling ideas you would like to use in the space. Pooling these items allows you to see how they will all work together.

Add color with paint, wallpaper, fabric, flooring, furniture, art and accessories. Keeping in mind considerations like a room’s exposure and the influence of color, which were both discussed in Decorating with Color – Understanding Its Influence and Making It Work, select a color/colors and decide how they will be combined. Will it be monochromatic or contrasting? If you decide on a monochromatic scheme you can select a wall color from the various tones of your main color. Other tones of that color will then be used for furnishings, flooring and accessories. Monochromatic color schemes can be given extra life by adding texture like a soft, fuzzy throw and shimmery fabric on accent pillows. No matter what type of a scheme you choose, make sure you are comfortable with your choice for the walls. They provide the largest surface area for color in any room. If you want to be daring, but still feel hesitant, try a color in the mid-range of the tones. Or, if you want a dramatic shot of color without committing it to the entire room, create an accent wall.

If money is not an issue, feel free to purchase or re-upholster large furniture pieces in today’s trendy colors. Otherwise, choose neutral colors for these major items and save the splashes of trendy or bold colors for inexpensive, interchangeable items like pillows, throws, and other accessories. A slipcover for your sofa or chair is an ideal way to make a quick change. And just as you would slip cover a sofa or chair, you can also slip cover accent pillows.

Most importantly, unless you are remodeling for the purpose of selling your house, choose colors based on your personal preferences. After all, you are the person who will be living with them.