Jazz up your home with colours that reflect your personal taste

Have you just moved into a house and are keen to jazz it up? Or are you currently living in one that is a bit uninspiring and in dire need for some excitement and energy?

Friday, August 20, 2010
A living room arrangement with a complementary colour scheme with a neutral base

Have you just moved into a house and are keen to jazz it up? Or are you currently living in one that is a bit uninspiring and in dire need for some excitement and energy?

The secret to liven up any home is in finding a great colour scheme that brings the space together cohesively. In most cases, imagining a colour scheme and actually seeing it in are two different things. It’s nice to think that you can get away with any colour combination thinkable but sadly this is not the case; the colours you use will either enhance your home or cause it to become a non-inspiring mishap.

Colour is the most versatile element of interior décor. The idea is to choose the right colours for your personality and to create the moods you want to trigger each time you walk into your home. Colour can be brought into any given room through different elements, such as paint, art, and fabrics that include curtains, cushion covers and throws.

Before you get started, ask yourself what kind of effect you want to achieve and what kind of impression are you looking to make. Do you want something peaceful and harmonious or bold and bright? And are you going to live in the house forever or are you renting it? If you have any plans to paint the walls a different colour, it may be a good idea to talk to the landlord first.

A neutral colour pallet works well to create a calm and stylish home, and can act as an effective base when decorating. A neutral pallet includes colours such as beige, brown, ivory. They can create a calm and harmonious backdrop for the decoration of any of your rooms, adding brighter and bolder colours to these neutrals can be incorporated  to express your personality however these should be used in moderation since bright colours tend to be overpowering.

You can get more creative colour schemes for your home through inspiration from fabric designs, photographs, paintings, nature and so on.

Discovering colour schemes

Choosing a colour scheme can be daunting, however it is not as complicated as it may seem. There are numerous colour combinations available, however there are three basic schemes that are guaranteed to work. They are the analogous, complementary and monochromatic colour schemes.

An analogous color scheme consists of using colours that are next to each other on the color wheel. One example of this scheme would be to use the warm colors of red, red-orange, yellow-orange and yellow.

Another choice might be choosing cooler colour tones, such as blue-green, blue, blue-violet and violet. Although there is no high contrast in this scheme, using analogous colors in your home can make it feel very luxurious and harmonious.

Complementary colours are the colours that are opposite on the colour wheel. Combinations include blue and yellow or red and turquoise. A complementary colour scheme offers a bold contrast and visual interest.

A monochromatic colour scheme is one that consists of different tints and shades of the same colour. For instance, a palette of burgundy, red and pink is a monochromatic scheme. A monochromatic design within a room will make it feel soothing and balanced.

When choosing colours and tints for a room, it is important to keep personal taste and preference in mind. You can transform the entire appearance of your home with a well thought out colour scheme- the key is in knowing which colour combinations are right for both you and your home because at the end of it all, the way you choose to decorate your flat is really down to what feels right for you.

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