Pick a Mood: Choose the Right Colors for Your Interiors

Furniture and furnishings define your style in home décor but one thing that enhances it all is the color scheme you choose. Yellow smileys, the red stop sign, the white flag for peace are all examples of using colors to convey different messages. Similarly, the use of colors in our homes influences our feelings and moods.

So here’s some help that can boost your imagination and inspire you to choose the hues and shades to let you express your individual style.

Create the Desired Effect with Colors
It's scientifically proven, colors in our environment affect us in many ways from making us energetic to calming our harried minds. They can even persuade us to make a particular one our favorite. With that in mind, colors can easily help us create an aura of warmth, freshness or simply a rich elegance that appeals to the senses.

Colors can help you create an illusion or appearance. While lighter colors will make your room look spacious and brighten it up, darker colors will make it warm and snug. It all depends on which effect you want to achieve.

Cool Colors Lighten up Any Room
Cool colors are the hues of blue, purple and green. They can have a calming effect, relax the senses and give us a break from the daily chaos. It can be an excellent choice for those who need to quiet the mind for creative inspiration.

Blue-based soft colors have a calming effect, so it is best used in the bedroom or meditation space. You can also include it in your living room as the accent color in the form of throws or flowers.

Indigo, too has a soothing effect and boosts sensitivity and awareness. It is suitable for bedrooms and study.

Blue, being a cool color, also has a calming and relaxing effect. Blue can be used in any room.

Green is a color of balance and harmony. It can be used for most parts of your house in different shades.

So now you know the colors you can pick for an inviting and cozy bedroom.

Liven up the Surroundings with Warm Colors
Warm colors are the hues of red, orange and yellow. These colors can induce feelings of warmth and comfort as well as the feelings of anger and hostility.

Yellow boosts the feeling of confidence and stimulates mental alertness. Yellow is apt for study, playroom or the doorway.

Orange has an energizing effect and creates a warm ambiance. Orange is the color of fun and creativity, can be used for creative corners or activity areas.

Red defines excitement and energy and it stimulates the appetite. Best areas for red are the living room, dining room, and entryway. You can even try to add some pops of red with ottomans or individual red velvet cushions.

Neutral hues are the basic colors used for walls and trim. They are the most versatile colors giving freedom, space and expanse to any living area. They can serve as an excellent canvas to allow you to add a dash of colors that can act as eye candy and even attract attention to a spot you need to highlight.

Classic black--it never goes out of fashion be it your wardrobe or your interior. Use it sparingly and it can be the most classy move you make to give your space a contemporary look or even a little foreplay with minimalism. Let it compliment the basics and work its charm like a true magic spell.

Let there be light with white. The presence of white emphasizes purity and illuminates thoughts with clarity. It allows you to add vintage furniture while making it look still very modern. It lends space to the smallest of areas making them feel bright and open. So if you are struggling with space white definitely is the obvious choice to make.

Get Down to Earth and Make it Your Heaven
If you want to create a totally different look for your home use a combination of whites, pastels, and warm Indian earthy hues.

While you can enjoy the freshness of an urban style, it can be nicely complimented with earthy hues that create a traditional royal feel. The combined effect will create your very own style that stands apart from the rest.

Combine Colors and Say Goodbye to Monotony
If you love colors, go ahead and use them. Just be careful that you so not overdo the mix and incite feeling you'd rather not.

While creating a combination, choose three to four colors for a room to either give it a vibrant or subtle look. Avoid too many colors, as it may appear incoherent or cluttered. The trick is to get your ratio right, 60 percent of dominant (wall space), 30 percent secondary (curtains and upholstery) and 10 percent accent (accessories). Follow this formula and you’ll have a perfect mix.

To simplify it further if you are doing soft blush walls you can add strokes of gold on a chair frame or picture frame for an ornamental look or you can do an olive green. You could try a patch of completely different color which is in absolute contrast to the rest of the walls and challenge the routine.

Who Says a Ceiling Can’t Have Color!
The ceiling is generally painted white to give an airy and spacious feeling. It doesn’t have to be that way, be inspired by nature. Look at the sky (ceiling), the ground (flooring) and the in-between space (walls) for inspiration.

You can try the color of your choice for any ceiling. It can even be more than colors. You can choose from natural landscapes that have birds flying, a night sky for your bedroom, waves of the sea or just polka dots on the kitchen ceiling. Let your imagination run wild and the results can be memorable and something you can be proud of while you show off your house to your guests.

Use the Colors in Upholstery
Besides the usual choice of using neutrals as a foundation, you can also choose your furniture upholstery to add drama by choosing furniture in bold colors. You can also pick a color from your patterned upholstery to paint your walls.

Nature has blessed us with a wide spectrum of colors and you have a plethora of hues to choose from. Look around and get inspired!

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