Colour Your Space
11/18/2011 
Colour does not stand alone.
 
Colour and how it affects us is a topic that could take a lifetime to learn. I will give you only the very tip of the tip of the iceberg to consider when choosing colours for your home.
 
Colour affects people physiologically and psychologically. A person’s cultural background, religion and history can also affect how they react to colour.
 
Different colours have different associations with interiors so with such a plethora of choice what should be done in the home? There are no hard and fast rules but there are some tips that can help you make your choices.
 
Tips for colour choices in your home
 
  • When choosing colours for your home, consider the people using the spaces and what the spaces are being used for. Is it a place to sleep, study or eat? Certain colours increase appetite and activity while others are more restful.
  • What vistas can be seen? What can you see from the window? Are you in tune with the external colours or working against them?
  • Warm colours such as red, orange and yellow come towards you and have the effect of “wrapping you up” or cocooning you and make the space look smaller. They also evoke different feelings such as hunger and energy.
  • Cool colours such as white and blue recede and make the space look bigger.
  • Work out the orientation of the home. In a light bright casual space such as the north side of the home where you spend a lot of time you can afford to use cooler colours. You may not want to use a cool colour such as a blue on the south side of the house as a colour in shadow will become a darker, greyer version of the original colour.
  • Complimentary colours which are contrasting and directly opposite each other on the colour wheel are the most vibrating and energetic of colour schemes. Theses colours can provide more balance in a space.
  • If you are painting a white interior pick all your other colours first to see if the white will go with them. There are whites and whites, some cool some warm.
  • Beware of choosing a paint colour by its name. What the name implies and what the colour actually is can be two entirely different things.
 
It is well known that pleasant surroundings inside and out speed up the healing process. Your home is your haven and creating pleasant surroundings through your colour choices goes a long way to making it a place that you want to return to. If you don’t have positive feelings when you enter your home then ask yourself does it need a different colour scheme or a new family.
 
Remember that painting is one of the cheapest ways to give a home a facelift so spend a bit of money on sample pots and paint them on large cardboard sheets and move them around the home looking at them at different times of day and night before finalizing your choices.
 
Still confused then contact Kate and let her take the con out of confusion to create your next colour scheme in your home.