Choosing the Right Colors

Q: What's the most important role color plays in a room?

A: It sets the mood for a room. The color you choose is really about what you want the room to feel like.

Q: Do you tend to use one color scheme throughout the entire interior, or mix it up room to room?

A: In general, I feel it's important to have continuity throughout the entire house. I'll use one or two colors throughout the house, and then mix in other accent colors. That gives continuity, but at the same time allows the various rooms to have different personalities.

Q: What kind of classic color combinations do you think work best?

A: Blue and white, yellow and green for a kitchen, red and black for a very formal dining room. For a library, I would suggest chocolate brown and camel or dark green and navy blue. I like burgundy and khaki, navy and khaki, or dark green and khaki. And grays and blues look really great together.

Q: What kind of guidelines would you suggest if someone wants to use bold colors?

A: You need to be aware that you will likely get tired of bold colors very quickly. If you really want to incorporate a strong, bold color, use it as an accent. Bold colors are often attractive because they are the color of the moment; this can quickly date a room.

Q: How should the homeowner account for different lighting in choosing colors?

A: Select three shades of the color you want: where you think you want to be, and one shade lighter and one shade darker. Do this with paint, wallpaper, or fabric swatches. Put the samples in two places: next to the window and in a darker corner. Look at them at different times during the day and at night. Then make your decision.

Q: Is a neutral color scheme always appropriate?

A: No. It totally depends on the house, the location, the architecture, and the personality of the homeowner. It's about trying to keep a balance. An entire neutral house can be boring.

Q: How do you use color to affect relationship and the relationship with other decorative elements?

A: Color is key to how the decor is perceived. If it's a big room, paint it a brighter, warmer color to bring the walls in. Paint a smaller room a cooler color to push the walls out. Color also establishes visual weight and balance. If you put a bold primary-based piece of art in a pastel room, it's probably not going to seem right. The colors of the art should balance the colors of the space.

Q: What are the challenges homeowners face in choosing colors and color schemes?

A: Sometimes people are scared of color, especially dark colors. Ultimately, people should really follow their heart: If they love a color, test it, and like it in place, they should not be afraid to choose it.

How To Choose The Right Colors for Home.

How to Choose a Color Scheme

Discover your color preferences with eight tips for picking perfect color palettes.
 Pick a color, any color.
If only choosing a color palette for your interiors was that easy. It can be, thanks to designer Mark McCauley. The author of Color Therapy at Home: Real Life Solutions for Adding Color to Your Life, he offers eight tips to help you discover your color preferences and take on white walls.
Tip #1. Choose a color scheme from the largest pattern in the space.
If you've got patterned upholstery, an Oriental rug or large piece of artwork, pluck colors you like from the pattern. For a neutral wall paint color, look to the pattern's whites and beiges.
Tip #2. Start with the formal areas of the house.
Specifically, the living room, dining room and entry way. Choose a color scheme for those areas first, then pull one color from the scheme. For example, take the red sofa and tone it down (say, to burgundy) for an accent in more private spaces such as the den, office or bedroom.
Tip #3. Decorate your space from dark to light, vertically.
A real "cookbook" way to make any space look good without much risk, McCauley says, is to use darker color values for the floor, medium color values for the walls and light values for the ceiling.
"Any interior space replicates the outside world," he says. "The exterior environment is generally darker below our feet (the earth itself), medium-valued as you look straight ahead (buildings/trees) and lighter values skyward."
Tip #4. Study the color of your clothes.
Most people buy clothes in colors they like to wear and think they look good in. Similarly, you should decorate your rooms in colors you look good in. "If you don't wear yellow, don't get a yellow sofa," McCauley says. "You're going to look sickly on it."
 Tip #5. Use the color wheel.
In general, analogous color schemes — colors next to each other on the color wheel, such as blue and green — are more casual and relaxing, and work best in informal or private spaces. This is a good strategy for a bedroom, where you want to rest and recover.
Whatever color scheme you choose, McCauley advises to put something black in every room. "The black clarifies all the rest of the colors in the room," he says. Try a black lampshade, a black vase or a black picture frame.
Tip #6. Use the rule of 60-30-10.
"When decorating a space, divide the colors in the space into components of 60 percent of a dominant color, 30 percent of a secondary color and 10 percent of an accent color," McCauley says. The walls will most likely be the majority, the upholstery would represent the secondary color and accessories such as a floral arrangement or throw pillows would make up the rest. "Works every time!" he says. "The colors are properly balanced and there is a shot of color (the 10 percent color) for interest."
 Tip #7. Go with the architecture.
If you have a small room in your house, don't paint it white to make it seem bigger. Instead, cozy up to its architecture with a rich, warm color scheme. Let your big rooms expand with light, and your small rooms wrap you up and nurture you.
Tip #8. Follow your personal style.
If you decorate honestly, other people will appreciate it because it's you, even if they'd never decorate their own house in the same way. That means if you want to make every room in your house red, white and blue, go for it. You can make any color look good as long as it's your taste.

Find the Perfect Pillow for your Bedroom

Ensuring you have a good nights sleep is an easy way to increase your physical and mental health and have you bouncing out of bed in the morning ready to face the day.
Many people realise the quality of their bed is important feature of a good nights sleep, but not many think of their pillow.
Like a bed, I cannot tell you which one is best for you, as we all like them different. So instead, here is a summary of the different types of pillows to aid you in your choice.

Types of Pillows

Latex Pillows

Latex pillows are the firmest of pillows, so if you like a soft, squishy pillow steer away. They often come moulded to a certain shape for added neck support and to reduce points of pressure.
So if you suffer from neck and back pain, it may be a good idea to investigate one of these. Latex pillows should all be hypo-allergenic, as it is almost impossible for dust mites and mildew to live in them, ensuring a healthy, clean nights sleep.
Latex pillows hold their shape very well so look good in pillowcases as well as being comfortable. Some latex is designed to be porous so air will flow through the pillow, increasing circulation and comfort.

Wool Pillows

Are a long lasting, healthy pillow that are also wonderful for allergy suffers. While I like a relatively firm pillow, when buying wool I always choose a softer fill then normal as it can be rock hard if tightly packed.
But in saying that, wool pillows do hold their shape very well. Wool pillows are very well ventilated and their circulatory qualities ensure your body temperature is regulated throughout the night, meaning they are great for people who experience night sweats or wake up uncomfortably hot during the night.
Cotton Pillows
Cotton pillows have similar hypo-allergenic and ventilation qualities to wool pillows but are much softer. They also compress quickly so are good for people who like flat pillows or who scrunch theirs up into all sorts of shapes.

Down or Feather Pillows


Down or Feather Pillows are as divine as down duvets - soft, comfortable, breathable and available in a range of firmnesses. They can come as down or feathers alone, or a combination, but down is the softest.

Down and feather pillows are easily molded to find a comfortable shape, but watch out for the cheaper ones as the feathers can often be left with sharp bits on them which may inadvertently stick you in the neck. The only negative is many people are allergic to this type of pillow, mainly due to the dust left in the feathers during processing. However, there are new hypo-allergenic fills coming on the market that offer the same sensation as down but with more allergy friendly qualities.

Dacron Pillows

Dacron pillows are filled with a synthetic fibre that doesn’t offer many good qualities apart from price. They aren’t very comfortable as the fibre has a tendency to bunch up in areas and leave you with a bald patch.
As they are synthetic, they also don’t have much ventilation and airflow. Dacron pillows are not recommended for sleeping on but are great for cushions and ornamental pillows as they can go into the washing machine should they catch a stray cup of tea.

That brings me to an important point on pillow care.
Always use a quality pillowcase, as these protect the pillow from the oils and dirt on your skin and are easy to wash.

Fluffing pillows daily (or as often as you remember) will help them keep their shape longer and break up any lumps of fibre that can form.
With the exception of Dacron, don’t wash your pillows in the washing machine.
Spot cleaning for small areas or dry cleaning is recommended.
So there you have it, a variety of pillows for all different people. Take a little bit of my advice, and a little bit of your own preferences and you should have no trouble choosing the perfect pillow for you.