Color Schemes for Interior Decorating
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, however, things turn the other way. For amateurs, enthusiasts and homemakers alike, this field appears a bit risky, with lots to lose – time, money and effort to start with, not to mention any redoing that might be required.
You don’t need to feel overwhelmed with the ordeal. To plan and co-ordinate color schemes for every room in the home, you can take it 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 complement 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; this will allow you to make a safe choice. On average, the color scheme on the walls helps you to determine the harmony between colors to be used throughout the decor. Color wheels are often used to determine complementary colors; you can do the accent furnishings (rugs, lamps, paintings) and furniture in the complementary colors. Some common schemes for selecting the best color for a space:
Monochromatic Color Scheme: The most common color scheme, this uses a single color in different shades, tints, values, textures and hues to bring harmony, flow and a sense of uniformity to a space.
Analogous scheme: This scheme uses adjacent colors on the color wheel, allowing you many possibilities within the warm or cool color categories. Plan the colors diligently, for it is important for them to come together in combination.
A complementary scheme: Here, one uses the colors opposite each other on the color wheel. This is a difficult task, as the balance of colors will take some careful thinking. It works well for bold and modern looks.
Triadic Color Scheme: This scheme uses three hues, each is placed consecutively or at equal distances from each other. For example, a yellow, green and red scheme would use their tones, shades and scales placed at equal distances from each other.
After studying the color wheel and learning about different color schemes, get a practical view and start planning. Here are a few steps for your consideration:
Once you have decided on the color palette for a room, it’s time to pick shades. Start with the lighter ones 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 shade on your color card.
Lighter shades like cream, whites, lemon and ivory can make a big difference in making a space look larger. Use a lighter shade as the base or neutral color, and play with contrast and bolder shades for rest of the decor.
You need to create an “eye resting point,” where all the colors break even. Nothing big or too loud, try a great complementary-colored vase, bowl or art piece that highlights the accents and harmonizes the interiors in a balancing art.
Usually, people use the 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 color 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 color.
This article was provided by Spacify. For more information about Spacify, visit their website at www.spacify.com . Spacify is one of the premier online resources for home furnishings and home decor. We source our products directly from the manufacturers to pass the savings directly to our customers. Since we don’t have a retail showroom, we can offer discount furniture to our customers. We have an excellent selection on bedrooms and dining room furniture.
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