Choosing Color Schemes to Decorate Your Home in Style

Color plays a huge role in not only in the beauty of your home, but the atmosphere as well. Many people don't realize just how much color affects mood, relaxation and ambience. In this article, you will find ideas and information that will help you create color schemes that make for an inviting, comfortable home that your family and friends will love.

Basic rules for creating an appealing color scheme

Keep in mind when choosing colors for a room to use only 2 or 3 total. One color should dominate the room, while the other two will complement or contrast with the dominating color. This makes for rooms that are beautiful, colorful, and anything but bland.

Many people use neutral colors, simply because they are so easy to accessorize. Also, it's easy to refresh the look without buying all new furnishings and accents. If you prefer a bold, elegant look, consider using black and white with a few interesting splashes of red.

Neutral colors are chic and simple

When you think neutral, consider shades of black, white, gray and brown. You can choose any variations of these colors, such as cream, beige and gold. Incorporating these colors into your decorating is simple, as these shades blend easily with most furnishings, especially those that are made of wood or leather. Always make sure that darker shades and lighter ones are well balanced, so that the room doesn't appear too "heavy" or too "light."

Also, make certain that you vary sleek, smooth textures with nubby or rough textures to add interest and depth to the room.

Warm colors invite relaxation and make a room look rich

If you love rooms that are rich and relaxing, warm colors are the perfect choice. Take your cue from the colors seen in the fall, when leaves are golden, orange and russet; forest greens and brown tones add to the comfortable, inviting atmosphere.

Many people who decorate their homes in country or western style decor incorporate these colors into their rooms. A wall may be painted cream and trimmed in russet, or vice versa depending on the size of the room. Dark walls are fine for large rooms, but tend to make a small room appear even smaller.

Accents such as throw pillows and area rugs should be rich in color; plaids and stripes of forest green, russet and gold add bold splashes of texture and color.

Color is an integral aspect of interior decorating. Colors affect mood, and create a certain type of atmosphere. In a home office, you may want to use colors that make you feel more energetic; in a bedroom, relaxing colors such as soft lavender or pastel blue invite sleep. Consider the room you are decorating, and the effect you want to create when choosing colors.

To help you choose the perfect colors for your home, pay particular attention to the colors of nature; the skies, forests, mountains and fields offer up plenty of ideas. Put these tips to use in your home, and you will have rooms that are not only appealing to the eye, but appealing to the senses as well.

Home Decorating Ideas - Decorate Effectively With Neutral Colors

Some people just don't like to be overwhelmed with color. Usually their home has beautiful white walls, and their wardrobe consists of wearing khaki on a daily basis. Although some people will immediately think of 'dull and uninteresting' when presented with the idea of neutral colors, a neutral color palette can be very comforting, uncomplicated, sophisticated, polished, and more. Decorating with neutrals can take a variety of directions and the result is anything but boring.

Your decision to decorate with a neutral color palette means that you will be working primarily with white, off-white, khaki, tan, beige, gray and black. So now that you have made that decision, what is your next step?

You should first determine the two or three main colors for your decorating project, and then select a fourth color as an accent. This is where the design decision becomes interesting. For example, you may decide that your main three colors will include off-white, tan and black. The accent color could be a deeper shade of the tan that you selected (or several shades of tan) and use it on accent pillows, in a patterned area rug, artwork, sculpture, etc. By using lighter and darker shades of tan, you keep the decor interesting but still quite neutral. Black can be quite striking and not overwhelming if used in small quantities.

Or, you may decide to go down a different decorating road and introduce a burst of cherry red in very small and select amounts as your accent color with the palette as described above. Imagine this home office decor: light wood floors with an area rug that has an overall black and off-white pattern. There is a loveseat upholstered in tan with black piping. The windows are dressed with off-white plantation shutters and the wall color is medium tan. The office furniture has a light wood finish, as does the end table next to the loveseat. There is a very simple silk floral arrangement on the end table with bright red flowers in it. On the wall is a contemporary picture framed in black that is neutral overall, with cherry red accents, and on the desk is a sleek, bright red clock. The overall effect is neutral, but striking and memorable.

Texture is another aspect of neutral decor - on the upholstery, walls, window treatments, floors, etc. Using a variety of textures is an effective way to maintain interest and variety in the room along with color choices. If you have carpet, think of using a berber or frieze; a textured paint product could be interesting on the walls; select a knubby window treatment fabric; use a contrasting upholstery fabric such as leather to offset other texture selections in the room; find a lamp shade with an interesting shape and texture. Remember that your goal is to maintain a balance of color and texture in the room, so don't get too carried away with the 'texture' idea. You don't want the result to look thrown together and uncoordinated. If you think that adding another texture to the room might be too much, it probably is.

So go ahead and plan for your neutral decor. There are many ways to create a neutral color environment that run the spectrum from soothing and quiet to surprising and bold, so your room will be anything but dull and boring!