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| Living Room Colour Schemes |
Using Color Architecturally
One of the most effective ways to use color to transform a room is to play up its architectural features. Molding, mantels, built-in bookcases, arched doorways, wainscot, windows, and doors all offer an opportunity to add another layer of interest to colored walls.
For a bolder approach, try using two different colors in the same room. For example, paint a built-in bookcase or niche a shade of green in a room with blue walls, which will highlight the items on the bookcase or inside the recessed area. Of course, architectural elements can also provide continuity throughout a house if they are painted the same color in every room. Starting in the Federal period and continuing today, white and off-white have been the traditional choice for molding, windows, and doors.
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| Blue Collage |
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| Monochromatic |
A room containing wainscot provides a good opportunity for a contrast between light and dark. A dark wainscot below a bright wall will draw attention to the upper walls, while a bright white wainscot next to a colored wall will focus the eye on the wainscot. You can also use paint to create the effect of wainscot where it doesn't exist by covering the bottom third of the wall in one color and the upper walls in another; then place a piece of flat molding along the intersection and paint it the color of the lower wall to reinforce the wainscot look.
If drama is your goal, you might rethink the entire notion of painting a wall from corner to corner,and you'll create an architectural emphasis where one doesn't exist. Moving around the room in a clockwise direction, try painting a third of one wall and two thirds of the adjacent wall, wrapping the corner in color. Then paint the last one eighth of the second wall and three quarters of its adjacent wall, covering that corner. Another bold play: Take a big wall and, working in from both corners, paint it almost to the center, leaving an 18- to 20-inch vertical line of white space, and hang artwork down the center.
Consider the ceiling the fifth wall of a room. Though sticking to "ceiling white" generally makes a space feel airy, a similar effect can be achieved by painting the ceiling a lighter shade of the wall color. Just take the paint sample card that has your wall color as the middle choice, then go one or two choices lighter for the ceiling color. The result will be a room that appears larger, because the contrast between wall color and ceiling color has been softened. In a small room, such as a bathroom, the ceiling can even be painted the same color as the walls to make it look bigger.
Choosing Colors You Can Live With
In a world where thousands of colors can be yours for just $25 a gallon, it pays to consider the advice of architectural color consultant.Once you have your colors in hand, consider the finish you'll be using. Though today's flat paints have increased stain resistance, conventional wisdom has long held that a satin (also called eggshell) finish is best for walls because it is scrubbable and doesn't draw attention to imperfections. Semi-gloss and high-gloss finishes, it was thought, were best left to the trim, where they could accent the curves of a molding profile or the panels of a door. Today, however, finishes are also being used to create visual effects on the entire wall. Paint one wall in a flat or satin finish and the adjacent wall in a semi-gloss, both in the same color, and when the light hits the walls, it creates a corduroy or velvet effect.
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| Double Complement Room |
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| Split Complement Room |
Similarly, you can paint the walls flat and the ceiling semi-gloss to achieve a matte and sheen contrast. (The ceiling will feel higher the more light-reflective it is.) Keep in mind that the higher the gloss, the more sheen and the more attention you draw to the surface. Used strategically, color and gloss together can emphasize your interior's best assets.
5 Common Color Mistakes
1. Being afraid.
The world is divided into two groups—the color courageous and the color cowardly.People who live in colorful interiors have gotten over the fear of making a mistake.The best way to get over that fear is to always start with a color you love—from a rug, a painting, a fabric. Then test it on the wall. If it's too strong, consider asking your paint store to formulate it at "half-strength" to lighten it or to tone it down by adding more gray.
2. Putting too much on the walls.
Be aware of the intensity of the colors in a room. If you have an Oriental rug with five or six strong colors, don't paint the walls in equally strong hues. Let the rug be the focal point and the walls a lighter color.
3. Putting too little on the walls.
If you think your room is boring, look at it in terms of the 60?30?10 rule that designers employ: Sixty percent of the color in a space generally comes from the walls; 30 percent from upholstery, floor covering, or window treatments; and 10 percent from accent pieces, accessories, and artwork. Translation: Liven up those white walls.
4. Rushing the process.
The best way to find a color you can live with is to paint a 4-by-4-foot swatch on the wall and live with it for at least 24 to 48 hours so you can see it in natural and artificial light. Taking the extra time to do the swatch test is worth it to find a color you'll love living with for years.
5. Forgetting about primer.
When changing the color of a wall, primer (white or tinted) is vital to getting the actual color you picked out. Priming ensures there will be no interference from the previous wall color.
