A color scheme is basically an arrangement of colors. Throughout history the decorative style of certain times and places have become a standard. Think English manor, or country French. When you use the colors associated with these styles in your own home, you create a space which reflects the ambiance of those specific period.
Below you will find descriptions of several color styles which have developed throughout history. By understanding the way certain colors create these types of spaces, you can gain a deeper and more meaningful understanding of how color affects your life.
You can also copy the color styles below to create a novel decorative theme, which captures the spirit of a specific time and place.
Coastal / Beach Life Color Schemes
This color style invites the spirit of coastal life into your home. Blue, white, and tan, the colors of beach and bay are the predominant tones in this space. The ocean often meets the shore across the ceiling and walls of such a space. Furnishings tend to be rustic wood, unfinished or treated, to simulate outdoor beach chairs. Touches of actual coastal life, sea shell ashtrays, nautical décor, and brightly patterned blankets add a depth to the colors which gives the theme an added dimension.
Rustic Cabin Color Schemes
This color style is dominated by rustic earth tones, with deep reds, and blues or greens acting as accents to the color. Wood is a predominant tone, as well as a good texture for a cabin décor. Southwestern tones such as adobe pottery can give the room more of a dessert theme. Color patterns often include Native American styles, with deep maroon or brown, interlaced with dark navy interplays.
English Manor
This style is dominated by vibrant reds, yellows, blues, greens, purples and oranges, melded together in an explosion of color. The tones often resembled gemstones, which collude in a chintz style that is almost gaudy. These powerful colors are generally arranged in floral patterns, which give the overwhelming colors of the space an anchor in reality.
Country French
Vibrant earth tones abound in interplay of the dazzling and the subdued. White plaster is the traditional backdrop, against which colors such as mustard, rust, and indigo are placed. A calico pattern tends to dominate fabrics and upholstery in this style.
Country Cottage
A sweet and feminine style, the colors are generally pastels, in both warm and cool tones. Light blue, white, and pink, tend to form in floral patterns throughout the space. Accent colors are generally used in decorative frills such as bed skirts, trim, and ribbons.
Shabby Chic
This style is dominated by the color white. Think an old and distinguished southern manor. Most of the interest lent to this style is done by using texture, on walls, ceilings, and especially in trim, pieces and molding. Paint chips, and faded colors also add to the details of the space. Accent colors should be used sparingly, in strategic and clever locations.
City Chic
This style uses neutral colors throughout a space. White, black, beige, or anything which is unassuming can work in a shabby chic color scheme. Interest is added to the space through the use of texture and materials such as copper, chrome, steal, and shimmering hardwoods. The effect is a room which balances soft and hard elements to create a powerful space.
Color Schemes For Websites
Among interior design circles, the power of color is no secret. It has been shown to have profound effects on mood and reflects personality and style, as well. Interior designers utilize this powerful connection to design beautiful rooms every day. However, you don't have to be a professional to unlock the mysteries of color to decorate your home. Here are some industry secrets about using color with style:
Get Inspired!
Home d'cor magazines are a great place to get inspired by color combinations. There are a variety of online color tools that will also help you as you choose the perfect colors. BlindCrafter.com has a Virtual Decorator, which allows you to mix and match colors to find a style and color combination that is right for you. Or check out BlindCrafter.com's MyStyle, an online guide to design styles, complete with color recommendations.
Trends
While it is important that your home reflects your unique personality, it's always important to consider current color trends. Browns, oranges, and other warm colors are resurfacing right now, after a long period of absence in home decorating. Greys, blacks, and other darker, more mineral-like tones are also popular, as well as jewel tones with deep hues of teal, navy, green.
Consider the Room's Natural Qualities
Work with each room's natural space and function. Is the room small but you want it to feel larger? Or is it a family room that you want to have a cozy feel? Colors can help you achieve both of these: light colors can make a room appear larger, while darker colors can exude warmth and intimacy.
Specific colors can foster specific feelings, as well. Oranges and reds are warm, inviting colors that can enhance social interaction and even improve appetite (think about the success of McDonald's red and yellow decor)! These are great color ideas for your kitchen or dining room, where you want to bring people together. Of course, the right color combinations can be used to avoid giving your home ?fast food? feel.
Cooler colors, like blues and greens, are ideal for rooms with less activity and more relaxation, like bedrooms and bathrooms.
Using a Not-so-Blank Canvas
You may be ready for big changes, but some colors are already established, like the colors in your furniture. Unless you want to buy all new furniture, you can make this work for you by pulling your new colors from the patterns and colors that already exist, whether from your upholstery, or other ?anchor? items in your home.
Go Bold (even if just a little)
So you're not ready for red walls. It's okay to go neutral. When you do, try throwing in a few vivid shades to keep things interesting and liven up your room. Add teal throws, pillows, and decorative accents to a room of neutral tans and off-whites, and you'll find the new bursts of color will bring the room to life!
Colors: More than Paint
Paint is the quickest, and often least expensive way to change the look and feel of your home. But it's not the only way to change your colors. Accessories, throw pillows, candle holders, picture frames, lampshades, any other decoration can be a key part of your color scheme. Of course, accenting window treatments can also offer the perfect home makeover accessory, by adding new color and style to the room.
You are what you wear
A new trend in color selection? Looking to your wardrobe. People are naturally attracted to colors they like and think are flattering. Look in your own closet; you may be surprised to see definite personal trends and preferences. Why not decorate with that same color scheme in mind?
Factor in the Light and Test your Ideas
So you've picked out the perfect deep wine color for your walls, only to find out it looks more like a bright purple when the natural sunlight shines into the room. To avoid this situation: be sure to look at your color choices in different lighting, over the course of a day and night. This is important because the artificial light from your indoor lighting that is used in the evening and at night can make some colors appear completely different.
So, whatever room you're looking to decorate and whatever design style that you encompass, these tips will help you find and design a color scheme that beautifies your home with personality and style.
Both Joey Lewitin & Stacey Wiktorek are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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