The magic of colour (Part 2)

Solid Ground


In the end, the only appropriate basis for choosing a colour is that you feel good about it and it suits your home and the way you live. All too often, though, inexperience leaves the first-time decorator vulnerable to unwholesome influences. Of these, the most prevalent are fashion and cowardice. Like decorating styles, fashionable colours change from year to year and keeping up with every new furnishing can be considerablym more costly than updating your wardrobe. It's also true that the relentless pursuit of novelty sometimes throws the spotlight on shades that are as impractical and unflattering as they are unusual.

Perhaps the most widespread of all incentives for choosing room colours, however, is timidity. Although the past few years have seen an encouraging burst of enthusiasm for colour, millions of walls are still being painted white or off-white because they're regarded as 'safe' and they 'go with everything'. There's no doubt that decorating palettes based on pale, neutral tints can look stunning, but only when the choice is a positive and informed one, not a design cop-out. Keep in mind, too, that pure white walls are best suited to parts of the world where natural light is abundant. In more temperate climes (and darkish rooms) they tend to take on a grey
and dingy cast. To increase the impression of light, choose soft, white witha hint of pink, yellow or apricot, or be brave and opt for a full-blooded version of one of these warmer hues. And unless you're prepared for the harsh glare of chemical brighteners, steer clear of any tin marked 'brilliant' white.

Test an Trial

Not surprisingly, large areas of colour - walls, floors, curtains and upholstery- tend to inspire the most anxiety, which is perfectly understandable, since mistakes on this scale are not only difficult to ignore, but also very expensive, Before you commit yourself to any of these major elements, try to get hold of decent-sized samples of all the options so you can see them in sit. When it comes to paint, postage-stamp sized squares on a colour card will not do the job. Most manufacturers sell sample pots of all their standard colours. Buy one of each shade you're considering, brush the colours onto separate strips of plain lining paper and pin them to the wall. If your favourite shades need to be specially moxed, don't hesitate to pay for a small tinof each one.
Similarly, the swatches of carpet and furnishing fabric that most stores give away are of very little practical use, but many suppliers will let you have more generous samples - especially of carpet- if you leave a small, returnable deposit. Again, if small fabric cuttings are all that's on offer, invest in lenghts of two or three metres that you can tuck over a curtain rail or drape across a chair. When your samples are in place, leave them there for a week or two so that you can see how each one looks throughtout the day, and in different lights. You will find that living with the alternatives over a period of time leads you almost unconsciously towards your final choice.

THE MAGIC OF COLOUR

Tricks Of the Eye

One of the most familiar of all decorating dictums is the rule that pale colours make a room look bigger, while darker ones reduce its perceived size. While this is certainly true,it's worth bearing in mind that there are other ways of achieving similar results. One of the most successful tactics is to choose the same colour treatment for walls, ceiling and woodwork: this kind of visual simplification not only makes a room feel more spacious, it also disguise any awkward shapes and ugly features. Use the same device to make a huge, but infinitely practical chest of drawers or cupboard less obtrusive by painting it to match the walls. Similarly, choosing white to make a ceiling appear higher is seldom necessary and often counter productive since a dramatic change in tone between ceiling and wall accentuates, rather than disguises, any proportional inadequacies.

As a general rule, the closer in tone all the surfacesand furnishing elements are to each other,the closer in tone all the surfaces and furnishing elements are to each other, the more spacious a room will seem. This doesn't mean that everything has to be the same colour, but if enhancing the impression of space is your top priority, then cameo pink walls witha matching ceiling combined with say, natural flooring, furniture made from blond wood and rich, creamy curtains would be more successful than the extreme contrasts of dark, stained floorboards, white walls and multi-hued furnishings. It's important, though, to avoid becoming obsessed with this concept; after all, making rooms appear a little bit bigger or higher is much less important than creating an attractive and inviting home.



Changing Moods

Whatever your personal preferences, each colour has its own specific qualities that affect everyone. Strong, bright tones are naturally much more potent than light, chalky ones. Soft,subtle versions of green, blue, mauve, pink and apricot are tranquil and soothing shades: use them for living areas, bedrooms and bathrooms. Sunny yellow, rich red, deep rose, burnt orange and baked terracotta, on the other hand, have a strongly energizing effect. These colours are well suited to areas such as dining rooms and hallways, which are not used for relaxation, and where people tend not linger for extended periods. For kitchens and workrooms, look for middle-range tones that cheer and stimulate without overpowering the senses.

In many cases, the particular shade you choose is more important than the basic colour.Ochre-based banana yellow, for instance, adds a flattering glow to even the smallest, darkest space and lifts the spirits immediately, while a lemony tint is apt to take on a greenish cash whenever the sun disappears, and it is very unsetting to live with in large quantities. In the same way, pale aqua and watery eau de nil are calming and easy on the eye, whereas grey-tinged shades such asa airforce blue and pea green can feel chilly and unwelcoming in both temperature and mood, and large expanses of brighter shades like cobalt blue and grass green are more likely to induce headaches than alleviate tension.


Colour Harmony

Aim to think in terms of colour groups instead of basing your choices on the more traditional concept of the colour wheel, or trying to match individual tones precisely. On the whole, colours of the same intensity and type work well together: tender pastels, 1950s dayglo shades, dusty earth tones, clear primaries and candy pinks and oranges. Some of the most common decorating failures result from a dramatic imbalance among the dominant colours; some shades are dark, vivid or muddy, while others are light and clear. A sofa covered in deep saffron, for example, will sit uncomfortably against an anaemic off-white or baby-blue wall. To complement its intensity, choose a background shade of similar visual weight, such as Tuscan pink or watery aquamarine.

Interior design tips and hints

Interior design has often been the easiest form of self-expression. Somewhere in every person is an interior designer just waiting to jump out. This may seem unrealistic to some but most all forms of design are based in how we want our homes to feel. This brings along with it a picture of what our home is, what function it serves, and how we want to portray ourselves to others. The decorating process remains one of the great mysteries of the average person. How do we create the home we want to invite others into?
Many people have said that interior design is the process by which we connect with people, and connect with the world while staying safely within our own space. It is safe to say that through interior design, we connect with some energy, some force, and some thing that expresses who we are and how we want to live. And it is through this connecting process that we have the opportunity to use our homes to effect change in our lives.
If we choose, we can become more comfortable or more expressive. Through this process, we can show others how we like to live and invite them to share part of our lives. We can focus on comfort, style, and/or art, truthfully anything we want to express.
Here are the five steps to finding your style as well as some tips to implementing these styles.

Step 1: The decisions
Is your home are filled with trinkets, gadgets, and dust catchers? That you don’t need? Or are these things treasures possessions that you cannot part with for all the tea in china? These items (typically bought for time saving) end up costing us precious space in our homes. We can free up space otherwise saved for these items or display them as they are meant to show who and what you are to the world!
For example, imagine how much space is tied up in the books we bought but have never read? If you’re not going to read it, find another home for it. Donate to a library or give it to a friend that may find they will treasure it. A good rule of thumb is if you haven’t used something in a year, you don’t need it or want it. If the book is treasure for its beauty or worth then displaying it in a room would be much better then letting it collect dust in a box somewhere. We all need to make these decisions, love it or leave it!

Design tip #1: Most likely, it’s on your list of things to, goes thru “things”, and has been there for months or even years. Sometimes we don’t know something unwanted because we have been putting up with it for so long and have gotten used to it. Like that pile of stuff in a basket by the sofa or a drawer in an old unused desk that you don’t really need anymore even when you have to walk around to get a wanted daily used items.
So make sure to take care of the things to do list! A good way to do this is to stand back and think about all the things you own and if you are unsure if you use an item. Place a dot sticker on it with the date. If you use that item within a year, remove the sticker. If you do not use the item within a year, find it a home somewhere that it will be used.

Step 2: Find your style
Create a clear idea of what it is you would like to portray of yourself. Perhaps you are a person into comfort and easy maintenance, or perhaps you are a creative individual who would like to use your home to highlight new projects, new relationships, or a new career. Whatever your personality, begin now by narrowing down the specific style you will be comfortable living with. Remember, being specific is the key here. Make a list of qualities, draw a picture, cut pictures out of magazines do whatever you can to get as specific a picture as you can. Find thing that inspire you.

Step 3: Assistance
The keyword here is ASK! Asking where someone got his or her ideas will not kill you! Look for ideas in the world around you. Sometimes we are afraid to ask where someone we admire shop for the beautiful things that fill their home, but if you admire someone’s interior then let them know it! Other kinds of collaboration can include asking for help to clean out your garage in order to build your new studio, asking friends to come over for a dinner party because you want to get a prospective on how your living space will be used and where people gather, or asking someone to look over your drawing and pictures, a new look into what you are trying to achieve can get some great ideas offered. You don’t have to do it alone!

Step 4: Confidence
The number one attitude you should have is confidence. This can be achieved by realizing that interior design is something you cannot fail at, become you are going to live in it! If you are comfortable, you can be confident and enjoy it. So take a look at the ideas you are coming up with and whether or not you are keeping them to use. Take a look at your ideas, pictures and drawings. They’re full of decisions you have made. Deciding what you really want gives a wonderful feeling. But don’t take my word for it tries it out!

Interior decorating tip #2: Many stores have wallpaper books with great images to go with the wallpapers. And magazines have ideas, too

Step 5: Take the first step
Start arranging and stepping back to see what you have done! Buy something you love and put it in the place of honor and work from there. Once you have de-cluttered and arranged just go for it! Anyone can do interior decoration. If you want to go by a rule, look in books and follow the steps. Many good interior-decorating books will tell you the difference between art deco and Elizabethan and most have steps you can follow. So you have many options and can get your home to be comfortable for you. So jump in and let your personality shine!
These five steps are designed to help you be more open to your own style and the inspiration that the world holds for you. If you work with these steps, you will be able to find a balance of comfort and design while avoiding some of the stresses and find yourself in a real sense of home that you love. Good luck!