Take a moment and envision. What do you see when you visualise colour? How does colour make you feel? When it comes to designing a home, colour is a powerful element that inspires contemplation.
The prismatic nature of colour influences how we perceive and respond to it, both emotionally and physically. Capturing the essence of colour will assist in choosing a scheme that reflects how you desire your space to feel and how you desire to feel in your space.
Here is a guideline for creating a colour scheme – with your vision in mind!
You can start by asking yourself the following questions: “What is my vision for this room?” “What am I seeking to achieve in my overall design?” Contemplate on your vision and allow it to unfold, flow and evolve. Creating this visionary moment will help guide you in colour direction.
When decorating from a blank canvas, you can start by envisioning colours that most appeal to you. If at a loss for colour ideas, inspiration can be found through exploring what’s trending in colours! For example Italianbark sums up nicely the colour trends seen at the Stockholm furniture fair. In your search for ideas, seek and you will discover expressions of colour bursting from the beauty of nature. Admiration can come from colours displayed in architecture or artwork that’s beckoning you to take notice. Colour ideas can also be woven from a brilliant textile or the mere simplicity of a single porcelain vase. Keep your vision open for ideas just waiting to express! Use online resources like this InstaColor tool provided by Dunn-Edwards, to help you to choose colours.
The next step in planning your colour scheme is to define the room’s purpose. Determining the function of your room will help in narrowing down your colour options. Will you need a space for quiet relaxation, active family gatherings, casual or formal entertainment or any other functions? Also, decide whether your space will serve as a dual or multi-functional room. Once you’ve decided on how your space will be utilised, colours can be chosen to support your vision.
Observing how colour plays on your emotions is an important step in developing your scheme. What colours most appeal to you? Softer and lighter hues infuse a sense of calm and rejuvenation. Hues in darker tones can mindfully be chosen to create a feeling of intimacy in the room. A person characterised as an extrovert may feel more at home with bright colours and bold patterns to reflect and recharge their energy. On the contrary, a person characterised as introverted, quiet and reserved may feel a sense of comfort with lighter hues, neutrals and fine prints. Colour choice should not be restricted to “rule of thumb,” but based on how it inspires and makes you feel. You can use the colour wheel as an effective tool to guide you along the journey. You can also test what colour palette suits your personality the best. For example Quizmeme offers one test like this.
In designing around an existing decor, it’s important to ensure that the colours you choose are complementary to furnishings you plan to maintain in the space. Make a visual note of these items with its corresponding colour(s). Among your furnishings, pull out one colour that you especially love and introduce it as a base colour. You will then add the other colours in your furnishings to create balance and harmony in your scheme. For further ideas, check out this inspiring blog Design Seeds dedicated to colours and shades.
In planning your colours, it’s important to take into consideration the number of windows in the room and the direction they face. Pair up samples of your colours and observe them under the room’s natural light. Observe your colours in the morning, noon and night. View your colours within the room’s artificial lighting at various times of the day. If your room is dark and void of natural light, consider selecting lighter colours or neutrals to brighten and expand the illusion of space. In a room that’s expansive with a significant amount of natural light, you can work with moderate, dark or bold hues without reducing the visual appearance of space. Rooms that are long and narrow can be shortened visually by implementing a split colour scheme where only the end walls are painted. Shorter walls can be lengthened visually by painting them, along with the ceiling in one continuous colour.
It is interesting to study the basics of the complementary colour models. This might give you understanding in how different colours behave in the presence of others.
When choosing a colour scheme, keep in mind that your adjoining rooms represent integral parts of the whole. If you can view areas from the room you are decorating, it’s important to create continuity and flow throughout the space. You can achieve this by pulling out one to two colour accents within the colour scheme to complement and unify connecting rooms. Integrate neutral colours to the arterial veins of your home as those of the entry, staircase and hallways. This will allow the eyes a chance to rest as colour beautifully transcends your space!
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