I taught a class many years ago on Choosing Colors for Your Home. Here is a little outline of the class I taught. I hope you will find it informative as you go about decorating your home.
I love color and using it in my home as a way to express a feeling and show my own personal style. Hopefully this post will help you in choosing colors for your home and reflect your own personal style.
Choosing Colors for Your Home
Look in your closet – And ask yourself these questions. What’s the color you see the most? Why does that color appeal to you? How do you feel in that color? Decorate your rooms in colors you look and feel great in. Those are the colors you usually feel calm and comfortable around.
Choose a color scheme from a pattern you love – It could be from a piece of fabric, a pillow, a dish or even a rug. Take your favorite colors from the pattern and use them in your space. Look for the white, beige or gray in the pattern for your neutral color.
Look at paint chip samples – Compare them against your fabric in different light and at different times of the day. Narrow down the colors by comparing them to one another, to another color you want to use or by checking the undertones. It’s very important to look at colors in different light throughout the day to make sure it’s exactly what you want.
Start with the formal areas of the house – Choose a color scheme for the public areas then take a color or 2 and bring them into the next room as an accent color. This will make your home flow and feel more cohesive from room to room.
Use the color wheel – Monochromatic – different tones of the same color. Analogous – color adjacent to each other on the wheel. Complementary – color opposite each other on the wheel. Triadic – 3 colors equally spaced around the wheel. What color pattern appeals to you? Don’t be afraid to experiment and find what you like best.
Put something black (or white) in every room – It clarifies the rest of the colors in the room and gives your eyes a place to rest. Use a chair, vases, lamp, frames or candlesticks to achieve this look. If you’re like me you won’t have any problem adding white or black to your home.
Use the rule of 60-30-10 – 60% dominant color on the walls, 30% secondary color on the upholstery, 10% accent color on pillows, vases, throws. By following this rule it makes it easy to follow color trends by changing your accent pieces if you like. There’s nothing wrong with following color trends but it can get expensive if you use it in major pieces.
Go with the architecture – If you have a small room paint it a warm color to make it feel cozy and inviting. Let your big room go light and expand the space. Bring out architectural details with paint. Sometimes a dark color in a small room can give it the cozy feeling you’re going for. It’s just paint so experiment as much as you want.
Follow your personal style – What appeals to you? What do you want your room to say? If you love a color use it in your space. Decorate honestly and people will feel and appreciate it. Your home should reflect your family’s personality and interests. You don’t need to follow trends to make your home feel warm and inviting.
Feel comfortable in your decorating, but don’t be afraid to be a little adventurous every once in a while. Use a new color on something small and see how it makes you feel. When it comes right down to it, it’s your home and you need to decorate for you and the people who live there. Trends can be fun but if it doesn’t appeal to you don’t push it. Have fun and enjoy your space!
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LOVE all these tips! We are closing on our new home tomorrow so I will have to save this for later when I start decorating.
My previous home was done in the Tuscany style and colors. Olive greens, burnt Orange and mustard yellow. Now dh and I want to incorporate more blues…teals and such. How can we do that and still use the the colors I have? Love color but I’m not the best at adding outside the box so to speak. Thanks!
Hey Leanne, I had no idea about the 60-30-10 rule! I’m definitely going to implement it as you’ve described it in my upcoming home renovations. Thanks.
It’s interesting to know that using warm colors in a small room can make it look cozy and inviting. My daughter had been asking us to re-paint her room for a change and I said we’ll do it this summer. It might be a good idea to drop by nearby stores and see what shade of paint would look best, given the available area.