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Picture a world without color -- a
very drab and depressing place. Now, imagine that world as it really is --
with beautiful colors everywhere. Much better, right?
Color is the least expensive way to dramatize,
stylize or personalize your home. It can hide a structural flaw or
completely alter an appearance. Homes that aren't blessed with interesting
architectural features can be transformed into decorative showplaces with
the imaginative use of color.
Because of its versatility, paint is ideal for
introducing color into your home -- it's economical and available in
practically limitless shades. You can paint frequently to update the
appearance of a room, create a mood, suit a season or express a
personality. If you're tired of your color scheme, change it -- quickly
and easily with paint!
Selecting a color scheme for your home with
coordinating paint colors is not difficult if you equip yourself with some
basic information about color and its effects.
COLOR CREATES A MOOD
Blue Monday, green with envy, in the
pink -- colors are often associated with moods and emotions. Colors do
affect us psychologically -- a fact that should be considered when
decorating.
How you respond to certain colors can be a good
guide for deciding how to set a particular mood in your home. With the
help of the color wheel and these basic color tips your choice may be
easier:
Yellows, oranges and reds are warm colors. The
hues opposite them on the color wheel -- greens, blues and purples --
are cool colors. Consider the temperature of a color if you want to
warm up a room on the shady side of the house or cool off a room with
a southern exposure.
Light colors such as white and yellow are airy,
expansive and cheerful. Use them in small, dark areas that you want to
appear larger and brighter. Dark colors such as navy blue or brown can
create a cozy, sophisticated feeling in oversized rooms.
PAINT CAN STYLIZE A ROOM
Aside from being a mood-setting
device, color can be used to stylize any setting. With the right painting
techniques you can accentuate good architectural features and camouflage
unattractive ones, on both the interior and exterior of your home.
These color styling tricks may help you with your
particular decorating demands:
Contrasting colors emphasize a handsome piece of
furniture or a beautiful art object can be accentuated by placing it
against a wall painted a contrasting color. Attractive architectural
features such as molding can be emphasized by painting them a darker
or lighter color than the walls.
Color can establish a focal point or create
interest where there is none. For instance, a perfectly square room
can be made more interesting by painting one wall in an accent color.
Using the same color or a slightly different
shade of the same color will have a unifying effect. For instance, the
exterior of a home made with different materials (brick and wood) can
look pulled together if one color paint is used on the entire house.
Color can create the appearance of heightening or
lowering -- using information when dealing with a too- high ceiling or
exaggerated roof. A dark color paint on a high ceiling will make it
seem lower. An exaggerated roof will be minimized with a dark color.
Color can alter the proportions of a room. A
long, narrow room can be made to appear wider by painting both shorter
walls a darker color than the longer walls.
SELECTING A COLOR SCHEME
The process of selecting a color
scheme for your home is a personal matter. There are no strict rules
governing the selection of a color scheme, but there are some harmonious
combinations inspired by the color wheel.
The monochromatic color scheme is a popular one
today because, by using various intensities of one color, it lends
continuity and spaciousness to small or crowded spaces. It is one of
the simplest schemes to use, yet it can produce very sophisticated
results. Simply select a color you would love to surround yourself
with and use it in different shades to decorate the room.
A complementary color scheme combines colors
opposite each other on the color wheel, such as green and red, or blue
and orange. At its best, the complementary color scheme produces a
lively, gay effect. But color shades should be chosen carefully to
avoid a jarring effect.
By combining any three colors equal distance
apart on the color wheel (or shades of those colors) a triad color
scheme will be the result. A combination of purple, orange and green
may sound outlandish, but subtle shades of those colors used in
varying amounts can be an attractive scheme. Choose on shade as the
predominant color, another as a secondary color and the third shade as
an accent color.
An analogous color scheme uses neighboring colors
on the wheel, such as green, blue-green, and blue, for a particularly
harmonious effect. To avoid a static effect, use more of one color
than the other.
Here are some additional color scheme tips suggested
by interior designers:
The first step in selecting a color scheme
usually is to decide on the main color to be used in the room. If you
don't know which colors you're happiest living with, glance through
your wardrobe. If you don't see any red, you probably wouldn't like
living in a room decorated in a red color scheme.
You can get the inspiration for your color scheme
from an Oriental rug or a favorite painting. Either may suggest a
pleasing color combination and could then help tie together the colors
in the room.
Proportion and balance are important to any color
scheme. After you decide which color will be dominant, add other
colors in unequal amounts. One guideline is to select the dominant
color for use in about two-thirds of the room and to use the other
colors in lessening amounts.
Whether you're decorating your entire house or
merely redoing one room, be sure to maintain a certain amount of color
continuity throughout the home. Develop an overall plan and then
decide how each room will be integrated into it.
In some cases, you may want to make your wall
treatment the focal point of the room. For instance, a dramatic accent
wall, stenciling or a supergraphic might dictate what other patterns
and colors can be used in the room.
The floor covering in a room is often the only
part of the decor that home redecorators don't want to change. If that
is the case, the floor covering color must be a consideration when
selecting a color scheme. Whether a room is colorfully carpeted or has
hardwood floors will obviously influence what other materials are
selected for that room.
Remember to consider the effect texture and
pattern will have on your color scheme. Both can alter how a color
looks in a room. For instance, a sofa covered in a blue silken
material will lend a cool, luxurious feeling to the room, whereas a
sofa covered in a nubby textured material the same blue color will
exude warmth and comfort.
SELECTING PAINT COLORS
Ideally, you should coordinate paint colors at
the same time you are selecting your carpeting, upholstery and drapery
fabrics. When you make your initial visit to your paint dealer, take
samples of all materials to be used in the room -- carpet, fabrics,
wallcoverings and accessories.
Select several paint chips that you think
will work well with your furnishings, keeping in mind that the color
will be much more intense on a large wall than on a small paint chip.
When studying paint chips, be sure to mask
other colors on the same paint card. Otherwise, your eyes will tend to
blend them all rather than see them individually. Take the chips of
several possible colors home and examine them in the room you will be
painting -- under both natural daylight and artificial night lighting.
Hold or prop them up in a vertical position, as they'll appear on the
wall. It is helpful to compare colors in a way that shows an equal
amount of each. Mask off parts of each color with black paper if
necessary.
If the color match must be precise, or if
you're still unsure about your color choice, buy the color that seems
best in the smallest available quantity. Brush out several 2 foot x 2
foot samples on the walls of the room you will be painting. After
they've dried, study the samples in daylight and under artificial
lighting, next to other materials that will be used in the room.
When you're sure about your color choice,
buy all the paint you will need for the project at the same time to
ensure color consistency. (Your paint retailer can help you estimate how
much you'll need.) If possible, when finishing one can of paint and
starting with another, begin and end at a corner so that any color
differences will be unnoticeable. One alternative is to ask your paint
dealer to give you all the cans from the same batch. (All cans of paint
have batch numbers.) Or mix the cans of paint in a large pail before you
start.
If the paint you select will be used in a
room exposed to a good deal of sunlight, be sure to choose a light-
stable brand to prevent fading and ensure color permanency.
Now picture your world filled with color. Then make
it that way with carefully selected paint!
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