Interior Decorating Colors

A room color scheme needs to combine those materials you already have with the colors you want. When decorating with neutrals go big or go home. An all beige living room can seem like you didn’t put much thought into it. Panel the walls or add a chair rail in a crisp white for an architectural element. Accessorize with old doors or window frames that will make a statement instead of smaller accessories that will get lost. Wood tones will still read as neutrals while adding a different color to your room.

The decorating color wheel can pick colors for you. Colors can be broken up into cool or warm tones. Warm tones are inviting while cool tones are relaxing. Warm jumps out from the wall and cool colors recede so it depends on the size and function of your space. Cool tones are purple, blue and green. Warm colors are red, orange and yellow. For a spicy room try all cool tones like a rich terra cotta tile floor, mahogany furniture and butter yellow walls. Warm colors can also increase appetite so try spice colors in a kitchen or dining room.

Choosing a color for decorating is all about compromise, but you can still get your way. If your husband is fighting you about a paint color than switch it to your accessory color. He can’t argue about the lavender color of lilacs or that one pink pillow. Use the thrift store as a resource for china. Mismatched plates make a collection instead of a set and you can find pieces that you’ll both like.

A decorating color scheme is about finding balance. When you have an inspiration piece such as a rug it’s easy to go overboard with color. There are just so many tones to choose from and you want to use them all. In general pick one dominant color, an accent color and a neutral. Retro rugs contain oranges and aquas but keep the wall color sand so the rug stands out. If you use every color in a plate or fabric the room is oversaturated and your inspiration disappears.

Choosing a decorating paint color is only half the battle. It’s not just which colors you choose it’s how you use them. If you are going with a two tone color palette make it interesting by varying the shades. Pair a dark color and a lighter color or bright white for a high contrast room with visual appeal. People will think your room is interesting without being overwhelming. This creates a decorating color scheme that people will know is fabulous they just won’t know why. Chocolate brown and bright white are neutrals, but they’ll get attention because of the high contrast.