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.
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The Joy of Colour
White: a nice colour that stands for purity and innocence. But too much white might cause headaches; it might also make you nervous and restless. Therefore, white alone is not a very happy choice for interior decorations, although plenty of interior decorations magazines and TV commercials show us spotless white interiors. Is that so? Why don’t you take a second look to note what other colours are there used to complete the picture?
In most cases white is used a background colour. We see often brightly coloured paintings hanging on white walls, red roses on a sparkling white piece of furniture, other coloured accents here and there to complete the interior design, to give it meaning, balance or strength. White walls are a blessing in tropical areas. White’s freshness is perfect for a Mediterranean look, for a home in sunny Tuscany, for your beach house or for other such residences. But if you don’t live in such an area, choose your colours carefully. Remember that colours influence your life, your behavior and your mood. Choose a wrong colour and you might live an uneasy time without even knowing what bothers you. But don’t ever believe that neutral colours are ideal colours. Do you live a neutral life? Do you lack personality? No. You don’t! So don’t be afraid of colour.
So far you know that white is classic but too much white might cease to be neutral and become and element of stress. The good news is that white goes well with any colours. A spot of red or orange to stimulate your appetite in the dining room, some blue or green accents to calm you down in the living room and bathroom, orange and yellow for your kitchen and pastel colours in your bedroom; these are the colour arrangements generally recommended by interior designers. But in your home, you are the interior designer. You should choose the colours according to your personality and your feelings.
It’s maybe time for a bolder colour combination? A mixture of bright and wild colours like turquoise and orange or violet and lime? Take a look at the colour wheel and choose either colours that are opposite in it or that sit next to each other. Opposite colours are complementary colours and neighboring colours provide for colour harmony. You can find a colour wheel easily online, even virtual colour pickers, but pay attention when you choose your colours based upon such tools, as monitors’ resolution may show colours slightly distorted than in reality.
Walls alone don’t make interior decorations. Accents on the walls are nothing more than that: accents. The art of interior decorations sees your living space as a whole. So choosing colours refers not solely to walls and accents, but furniture and lighting as well. If you are not skilled enough to do this on your own, if you are not bold enough to experiment, then you should probably let a professional interior designer take a look at your home and decorate it accordingly.
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.
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The Meaning of Colour
We live surrounded by colors, shades and light. Each tone and sometimes we don’t even notice it, influences our mood, each colour has a meaning and intertwines with our frame of mind. There is nothing arbitrary in this world: it’s all harmony. Have you noticed? There are days you feel like wearing black and days you feel like adding colour to your life, spicing it up a little by wearing an orange top or a lime green scarf, or a mysterious dark red evening dress. You can choose the colors for your wardrobe according to your mood and change them as often as you like, but you cannot change the colors of a room so easily. When you start decorating a room it is very important that you choose the colors right.
You should find a way to balance the tones, to create the mood you long for. You want a room full of energy, use orange. You want passion – red is the answer. You want to chill – take blue. So let’s see what each colour means, for colors are not given the same meaning all over the world.
Red is for many the colour of passionate love: a red rose, a red box of chocolates on Valentines Day, a red heart, but in South Africa red means mourning. Red is also the most common colour found in national flags. That is because in ancient times flags were usually used on the battlefield and red gave the signal for battle. Red is also the colour of blood – red eggs at Easter symbolize the blood of Christ and good luck. Red is good luck also in China, where it is also used as wedding color. If you like red, creating an interior decoration with a Chinese theme is a perfect choice.
Green is the colour of nature. You find it everywhere: in trees, grass and even some fruits. It relaxes and inspires. In ancient times green was the colour of honor and victory. In Ireland, this is still the colour of good luck. Choose an Irish theme if you like dark green. Blue is the most common colour used in interior decoration – it relaxes and refreshes, it provides for a feeling of safety. This shouldn’t be a surprise: as you know blue is also the colour for police uniforms. If you choose blue for your home, you cannot go wrong. But blue is a cold color, so balance it with orange or yellow.
Purple is a royal color. In ancient times purple was difficult to obtain – the colour was extracted from Purpura snails. This is also the colour of inspiration, so if you are an artist, a room with purple accents might stimulate your mind. As purple is believed to help kids develop imagination, it is often used to decorate children rooms.
Yellow and orange are extremely warm colors. They are usually associated with the sun and with tropical fruits (oranges, bananas, lemons). Both have a positive impact, however yellow could be taken as a symbol of jealousy and deceit and let’s not forget that some time ago, in Spain, executioners wore yellow. Take care how you use orange and yellow in interior decorations: both stand out and tend to dominate the room. Black and white are neutral. Both symbolize mourning, each for different civilizations. But hey, almost each colour symbolizes mourning for some: red for South Africans, blue for Iranians, purple for women in Thailand, yellow for Egyptians, white for Chinese and Japanese, black for Europeans and Americans. But black and white are both very elegant and, while you should not paint your walls black, you could choose black furniture to give your interiors a feel of opulence and strength. White is purity, kindness, peace and loyalty.
If you are looking for a Toronto Colour consultant, please call us today at
416-800-0436 or complete our online request form.
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