Answers To Common Colour Questions
It's important to think about the mood of your room before you start. A living room or dining area might be a place of laughter with family or guests and so a bold bright colour scheme using warm colour tones like red, orange or yellow might be ideal. Whereas a bedroom, especially for a child, might need to be a calming, peaceful place; to encourage a good night's sleep, so cool tones like green, blue and even purple might be best. Another tip to remember is that colours on opposite sides of the colour wheel are complimentary colours and therefore work well together when used in combination with one another.
On the whole, hues are usually used as accent colours or for small areas and pale to medium tints and shades as neutral colours; not just beige or white. One advantage of using neutral colours is that the focus is not on a wall but can be directed as you choose.
- Stick with your favourite colours - use colours that you already tend to choose in your wardrobe, furnishings or other possessions
- Use existing furniture as a guide - pick out hues and use them as accent colours and use shades of these or complimentary colours for large surface areas
- How big do you want the room to feel - ligher colours give the feeling of openness and space, while darker colours can make a room feel closer and more cozy
- Think about the whole home - there should be a flow or continuity from one space to an adjoining space, particularly where walls meet
- Lighting can affect colour significantly - natural light shows a true colour, flourescent light tends to a add a blue tone, while incandescent light adds yellow
- Consider the finish; silk or matt - the level of gloss or sheen will also determine how much light is reflected and therefore how bright or how dark a room appears
- Get a sample of your chosen colours - paint a portion of the wall or better still, a small piece of plasterboard which can be moved around the room to different locations
