Choose the Right Wall Color Palettes
for your Home
for your Home
Choosing just the right wall color palettes and decorating with color can seem a bit confusing with so many different colors and beautiful color combinations to choose from. That is why it's a good idea to carefully test your room wall colors during different times of the day before making any final decisions on wall paint colors, paneling or wallpaper .
The size and shape of your rooms must also be taken into consideration before choosing wall color and home decorating color schemes.
Discover How Light Can Affect Color:
As you choose your interior wall color palettes be aware that the same color can look entirely different on four walls within a room depending on the lighting and the time of day. For example a room facing west will receive bright afternoon sunlight; rooms facing east, softer morning light.
With a little thought and some creative wall color ideas certain color combinations can be used to transform awkward spaces. For example,
bright light colors will open up a space and make furniture and objects in the room stand out. Greens and blues make objects recede and become less important while shades of reds are in between these influences.
In a small low room a bright light color on the ceiling will push the room upward and the same color will tend to push the walls outward. Whites, creams, yellows and pale red all reflect light and would, in most cases, be more effective than duller colors.
If a room is irregular in shape then stick to one light wall color palette as well as a light color for ceilings to avoid eye-distracting contrasts.
Should a room be too large a darker warmer color on the ceiling and walls will create the illusion of bringing them together, particularly if you drop the ceiling color down below the top of the wall. A good way to do this is by adding a line of trim – typically a chair rail two thirds of the way up the wall and painting down to the trim.
When it comes to decorating with color, a subtle affect can be created by coloring two facing walls with one shade, and a slightly deeper variation of the same color on the opposing walls.
If you are panelling or painting a wall in your home you need to sample these finishes first so you can see how the colors are going to look and how light affects them at different times of the day.
It’s amazing the difference how dark paneling affects light as opposed to light panelling or wainscoting for example. Dark panelling as seen in this picture needs to be in a room that receives plenty of light.
As you can see colors play an important architectural role in changing your spaces so be careful as you can instantly make a room feel cheerful or gloomy with your wall color scheme choices.
Color Scheme Inspiration:
Inspiration for wall color palettes and interior color schemes can come from anywhere; a flower in your garden, places you’ve visited, art, nature, interior design magazines, colors in your wardrobe or even your pets.
We have a friend who decorated her house to match her two golden retrievers. Everything in the home and we mean everything, was a golden hue from the walls to the floors, the furniture, the area rugs, the brick fireplace to the artwork and the accents. We found it very intriguing indeed! So you see color scheme inspiration is not as illusive as you might think.
Consider how your wall color ideas will work with existing furniture such as bedding, upholstery, flooring and window treatments. If you're starting from scratch it is much easier to back into color by finding your new sofa or rug first then choosing a complementary color for your walls that will tie in with these two major focal pieces
.Consider walls as planes of color and see how they interact when viewing one next to the other in adjacent rooms.
You’re in one room, but you’re going to see a piece of another room through it, such as a living room leading into a dining room for example.
As you choose your wall color schemes consider how your choices will flow from room to room.
Monochromatic Interior Color Schemes:
Think this sounds boring? Think again. This can be absolutely dynamic!
You can create bold or subtle variations within one color group with contrasting paint finishes and effects such as washes and glazes, stippling. sponging, striping, rag-rolling and different tone-on-tone techniques.
Also another great technique for adding a dynamic wall color palette as well as texture within the same interior color scheme is to consider the faux finishes.
By adding different textures and mixing up the wall paint colors and finishes within your chosen color palette you will wind up with a terrific look which is far from boring.
Monochromatic color schemes along with this technique would work wonderfully in the above scenario where you visually wanted the wall color palette to flow seamlessly from one room into another or anywhere where you want planes of color to demarcate space and function.
If you’re interested in painting your walls and are looking for ideas and tips on wall painting techniques or exploring all the many creative faux painting techniques to add beautiful subtle color and texture to your walls, you'll find additional ideas for creative wall color palettes in these sections of this website.
Test Your Wall Color Scheme:
Raid the paint store for a collection of paint color strips. Take them home and hold them up to your furniture, the walls, the moldings and the floors. Do the same with fabric swatches.
Interior decorators wouldn’t dream of starting an interior design project unless they were armed with a plan and a color scheme in place.
If you want to play with various color palettes to see what rooms look like in different color schemes, the online paint companies have a great tool that allows you to mix, match and visualize different wall color palettes and home decorating color schemes.
Who knows what great creative wall color ideas you may come up with using this handy color visualizer tool when deciding on the right color combinations and interior wall color schemes for those particular rooms you plan on decorating. Also taking a look at the color wheel will help you understand colors and how they relate to one another when deciding on wall color palettes and color schemes for decorating your home.
IIf you plan to paint your walls, buy some paint samples and test the colors on a clean white wall and live with it for awhile before committing to more surface area. If a premixed sample isn’t available then buy a quart of the paint. It’s maybe a $10 investment that will save you a lot of time aggravation and money in the long run.
No Rules – There are no Rules:
If you want to make a big impact, pair bold complementary shades that appear directly across from one another on the color-wheel.
For example a yellow-green/red-violet combo proves that opposites attract and are absolutely gorgeous!
If you want to accentuate a painting or architectural elements, use a bold color to direct attention towards it.
If you’re game, break the rules. Forget the adage that smaller spaces appear even smaller when painted boldly. Introducing a strong wall color palette in an entryway, powder room or on a single accent wall infuses the spaces with visual strength and interest.
Whatever your wall design color choices, the important thing to to keep in mind is that your choice is always a personal one when it comes to choosing wall colors and building interior color schemes..
You want your home to reflect who you are and by studying colors and how they relate to each other, you can creatively and effectively build beautiful wall color palettes and home decorating color schemes that will make you happy and give you a great sense of style and personal identity.
Even more ideas for finding the perfect color schemes.
Backsplashes For Kitchens are a great way to add color and style to the walls above your sink and stove.
