Many people are perplexed about how to create a color scheme. Your scheme can start in a variety of ways. It can be based on a painting, a piece of cloth or fabric, a carpet, a flower, a bowl of fruit, a hand-painted fan, or a screen. The success of the color scheme you choose will depend on the colors you choose and the way you combine them.
Using Color as a Tool
Color is the greatest single factor in decoration. Over the years color has invaded the American home from cellar to attic. You can cook in a pumpkin colored casserole, sleep on pale blue sheets, and bathe in a pink tiled bathroom. Color is the handiest tool for changing the look of things.
But it is not always easy to know how to combine colors, or how much of one color to use in a given scheme. Successful fashion designers and interior decorators can give an old color a new twist by using it in fresh and different ways. However, the amateur decorator cannot (and should not) try to compete with them. You should be content to create a color scheme which you find pleasing to live with. Achieving the best results with any color scheme depends on how effectively the colors you choose are combined and on the proportion of each color you choose to use.
Using Color Palettes
-One simple option that is a great tool in helping you to make your choices is to coordinate your color scheme with the colors in your favorite painting. In addition to providing an interesting palette of colors, the painting will give help you in deciding to what degree you use each color and the shade or hue you should use. Based on the colors in the painting you can make decisions on the colors you use to paint your walls, the colors you use in the window coverings you have, and even the colors you choose for your furniture.
You can create an effective color scheme with comparative ease by using a single color in varying intensities. It is of utmost importance in planning such a scheme, of course, to choose a color that you find especially agreeable. In general, the palest hues of your chosen color should be used for the walls, ceiling, and woodwork; the deepest hue on the floor (to “anchor” the room). Varying shades from light to dark may be used for upholstery and draperies.
Decorating Ideas – Guide Lines
These are not unbreakable rules, but useful guide lines. Red, green, yellow, blue, and orange are all used successfully in the monochromatic schemes illustrated here. The possibilities for a successful scheme based on your own favorite color are legion. Depending on the color you choose, your room can be dramatic or subdued, cool or warm in tone, cheerful and gay or restful and relaxing. Don’t hesitate to add touches of gray, black, and white or other accent colors. Consider, too, the many possibilities in patterns and varied textures.