How to Use Colour to Enhance Your Home

Colour is a key component in interior design. If you want a beautiful home that has a real “wow factor” then you need to have an understanding of colour and how to use it. This article aims to give you an insight into the different types of colours, highlighting those that work well together. It also looks at how to create colour schemes that produce the desired ‘mood’ and suit the particular space. With these tips you’ll able to use colour with confidence to bring about a really beautiful home.

Colour can be broken into 2 categories: Primary – red, yellow and blue; and Secondary-green, violet and orange. The following primary and secondary colours are known as ‘complimentary’ colours: blue and orange, red and green and yellow and violet. However, in their purest forms these colours combinations will create ‘visual discomfort’ because they will compete with each other for attention. The most successful way to utilize these colour combinations is to use darker or lighter (i.e. toned down) forms of the colours. Another way to use complimentary colours is to introduce small amounts of one of the colours, for example, a few orange accessories in an otherwise blue room.

For a more gentle, less dramatic look you could adopt a ‘toning scheme’. This is using different shades of the same colour. For instance, you could have pale blue walls, a darker blue sofa and soft furnishings in other shades of blue. If you choose this type of scheme, you need to introduce a good variety of shades and/ or patterns to avoid monotony. Using colours combinations that allow the eye to travel easily from one colour to the next can bring about a ‘harmonious’ colour scheme. Using colours that are quite similar to each other such as red, orange and yellow creates this scheme.

Another look is the ‘monochromatic’ scheme, i.e. the use of just one colour. Neutral colours such as cream, beige and white (which is not really a colour but a tone). This scheme can produce a real sleek, modern space but you need to make sure that you select a colour that works well with the soft furnishings, fabrics and flooring in the room.

Colour can affect our state of mine, therefore, it’s really important that you think about the kind of mood you want evoke in particular areas of your home. Pastel colours create a peaceful, soothing mood and, thus, work well in children’s rooms. Bright colours exude vibrancy and are really effective in busy areas of your home. Deep colours can seem somber but they’re actually very restful and are good in areas of the home where you want to relax. Darker colours, however, work best in areas where there is plenty of light.

Colours can be used to create ‘optical illusions’ that make your home look different than it really is. A low ceiling can be made to look higher by painting it a lighter colour than the walls. One wall painted in a lighter colour than the other walls will make the room look longer. A room can be made to look more spacious by painting the walls and ceilings the same light colour.

This article has highlighted the importance of really thinking about what you want colour to achieve in your home. It has outlined some of the colour schemes that can be used to create certain looks and moods and has touched on some of the many techniques in which colour can be used to make your home look different than it really is. With an increased awareness of how to use colour more effectively, you should be able to create areas in your home that define the functionality of the space, evoke the right mood and look great.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Interior Design

If you are looking for a Toronto Colour consultant, please call us today at
416-800-0436 or complete our online request form.