Colour Schemes
Most people are afraid of colour – on their walls, I mean. When it’s time to paint the livingroom, you’ll just do white again. Or maybe, you’ll be daring and do cream, or vanilla, or beige. And yet, we live in such a rich tropical climate filled with brilliant hues. Blossoming trees and shrubs and flowers and bushes, And the sea and sky! Take a moment and look outside. Can you count the different shades of, say, green. Ah, now green is a very soothing colour, In the right value, such as, oh, the pale translucent green of the sea just as a wave breaks, would be pleasing and restful on all the walls of a bedroom. Trim (crown molding and frames and door) painted in a glossy, crisp white adds a bit of colonial flavour and defines the space. Of course, if the room had high enough ceilings, I’d paint the ceiling a light sky blue. Suddenly, I have a colour scheme. Green, blue and white. And I can use these three colours all over the house! By simply changing the amount of each colour used in each room, such as the green bedroom, your home will have unity, flow and rhythm. In the bedroom the soft green takes up about 60% of the room, while blue uses 30% and white is about 10%. Now, the livingroom could be 60% white (walls and ceiling), 30% blue (flooring) and 10% green (trim). Maybe the blue and green are deeper, richer – but still blue and green. Hey, look at the kitchen. What percentages would you use? Walk through your house. Can you see the possibilities? Be daring. After all, it’s only paint. The best and cheapest tool for decorating. If you can’t decide on colours, look out the window again. Better yet, go for a walk and set your eyes upon the wonderful designs and colours used by Mother Nature.
Colour Solutions
I know of many ways colours can be the salvation of a design problem. A rule of thumb is to use the same colour in a small space that leads into another small space, and so on, as though you are stretching the living area.. A soft, pale colour, such as a pink sand, or a creamy yellow or transluenct greens works best. If, on the other hand, you have cavernous rooms, use richer, deeper hues to shrink the size. Here, rich jewel tones or deep earth colours create a more manageable space. A long narrow room? To widen, keep the furniture along the narrow walls low and arranged at right angles. Paint the end walls a tinted value of the side walls. If your room is square, visually lengthen or shorten by creating a focal point along one wall. You can achieve this with artwork, or a unique piece of large furniture.
I also recommend that a colour wheel, the tool designed to guide you with colours, be with you when you begin your colour schemes and solutions. Most paint shops have them. You should make your own to understand colour better. A colour wheel consists of the PRIMARY colours: red, yellow and blue. (100% pure pigment) All the secondary and tertiary colours are a combination of percentages of the primary colours. SECONDARY colours are orange, green and violet. Mix the following: orange is 50% red and 50% yellow; green is yellow and blue and violet is blue and red. TERTIARY colours are more a 75% to 25% ratio.
Colour has a temperature as well. Warm colours (red, yellow, orange, beige and black) visually reduce the size of the space, creates a cozy place and can be cooled if white is added. Cool colours (blue, green, violet and white) makes space bigger and can be warmed by adding black.
If you have any questions regarding design or decorating I'd love to offer suggestions and solutions! Please contact me missy@skipperscottage.com