The Art of Colour by Liz Taylor
The use of colour in a home can have a dramatic affect to the mood and feel of your
chosen space.
Decide on what you are trying to achieve. The best way to work with colour is to
find a starting point. Are you attempting to recreate a period such as Edwardian
or Victorian in keeping with the age of your home or are you trying to bring warmth
and light into a cold dark north facing room or are you trying to emulate a style
such as contemporary or shabby chic? Once decided here are a few ideas to point
you in the right direction. Don’t always go for the safe option but be brave and
have fun in experimenting with colour!
Some thoughts on colour
Luscious greens
Green can breathe life and freshness to any room. Green is in the middle of the
colour spectrum which means it works perfectly with lots of other colours so when
it comes to decorating the combinations are endless.
All white palette
White is one of the most versatile colours. It comes in a variety of shades and
tones, some warm and some cool which means it is possible to create a stunning affect
by decorating a room completely in shades of white. Rooms that get plenty of natural
light can cope easily with an all white palette adding lots of textures in your
choice of flooring, furniture and soft furnishing can keep an all white scheme from
looking insipid.
Vibrant Yellow
Yellow is uplifting, cheerful and brilliant for warming up gloomy rooms. It
is associated with sunlight and warmth. Yellows start from warm creamy shades, through
citrusy lemons and warm shades of gold to earthy ochre. It can be cool and elegant
or bold and dramatic depending on the tones you use.
Cool Blue
Blue is often seen as cold but this isn’t necessarily true. Blue is easy to live
with and easy to adapt. Its natural character is cool and restful but try purply
blues for a subtle romantic feel, turquoise blues for a richer more tropical effect
and sky blues work well anywhere where you want to create a sense of space.
All the pinks
Pinks are warm, welcoming colours, sweet and calming at their palest, dramatic and
energising when deeper. For the warmest effect decorate in more orangey tones such
as peach and coral, accenting them with touches of flame red or terracotta for definition.
kitchen
Opulent Gold
Gold can be used to give a warm feel to neutral colours. Mix warm cream, butterscotch
and caramel tones with rich metallics for a colour scheme that simply oozes luxury.
Shades of cream
A neutral colour scheme is probably the most popular of all; it is extremely practical
and easy to live with but some people may feel that a neutral scheme is too safe,
that it lacks personality and is generally boring but they could not be more wrong.
Natural tones can bring an air of sophistication to a room and can be used as effectively
in an 18th Century cottage as well as in a modern contemporary apartment. Creams
cast a warming light and act as a good starting point for people who don’t feel
as confident in putting colours together but as long as the tones are a graduation
of the same colour overall harmony can be achieved.
Dramatic Red
Red is the boldest colour in the spectrum and it is hard to have a neutral response
to this colour, love it or loathe it red is a stimulating colour it creates excitement
and warmth.