Designing With Color

Color is a crucial part of any interior design project. It impacts a person’s mood and sets the tone for a room. Using color in decorating means you need to understand what feelings it evokes, and this often takes practice.

Many people fall back on neutral tones for their interior decorating projects. The simple colors go with everything and won’t evoke strong emotions. Unfortunately, sticking with beige, taupe, and other neutral tones can also make a home seem drab and impersonal.

Decorating with color can seem less intimidating when you start small with a single room or an accent piece.

Open Up a Space with White Walls

Whites with blue or grey undertones brighten up dark rooms and gives the illusion of more space. It is an easy way to redesign a room, without worrying about choosing a bright or pastel color.

Consider painting the walls and ceiling white in a dedicated movie projector room. The space will look brighter and more welcoming making you want to stay and watch movies with friends and family.

Stay away from whites with yellow bases. It will give the room a warm feeling, but it will also make the space seem smaller.

Use a Color Wheel

Picking complimenting and contrasting colors isn’t always easy. Novice home decorators often stick with colors in the same family to avoid clashing. This method works fine, but you are missing out on style and texture.

A color wheel is a handy tool you can find at any paint or home improvement store. Spin the wheel to see which colors go with your primary one. Did you know reds and blues mix great together? You get a feisty feeling red that is soothed by calming blue shades.

Brighten Up a Small Bathroom

Not all bathrooms are spacious, especially ones designated for guests. The small space is also a great place to start experimenting with color.

Try adding bright-colored wallpaper above the railing. You can find peel-and-stick wall treatments that go up in minutes without using messy paste. Painting the lower walls to compliment the wallpaper will give the small area a fresh, new look.

Don’t be afraid to add accent colors. Look for bright-colored towels, soap dishes, and dispensers. If you want to be adventurous, switch out your white toilet seat for a colored one.

Use Dark Colors to Shrink a Large Space

You don’t want to paint the walls a dark brown in a large room unless you have plenty of large windows. The goal is to make the space seem cozier, not give it a cave-like feeling.

Replacing light-colored furniture with darker pieces will also help anchor a room, along with adding floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Use a mix of books and decorative objects to fill the bookcase, it will add more dimension to the room. If it’s possible, place the bookcases against the wall opposite the doorway. It is another way to anchor a space.

You can also use dark colors in smaller spaces if your goal is to create the illusion of a cozy boudoir. This tip works great in confined bedrooms, especially if there is plenty of light.

Don’t Forget About the Exterior

Don’t forget to include some of the colors used inside on the home’s exterior. You don’t need to repaint the entire house, but you do want it to compliment the interior.

Sometimes adding colored pots to porches and walkways is enough to bring the house together.

Decorating with colors can be daunting, but it gets easier with practice. When you are ready to update your interior, contact Krystin Krebs Interiors and get started on your decorating project with a free 15 minute discover call.

Designing with Color