Finding A Room Color Scheme That Works For You

Color is a powerful thing.  Color can lift your spirits or calm your mind; it can give you a view into the personality of a person or place.  One of the first things a person looks to when re-decorating a home is the room color scheme.  Let’s explore how you can turn your house into a home that reflects your personality.

When deciding on a room color scheme, there are several ways you can go about the process.  If your intentions are to make your home a place that meets your emotional needs, the first thing you need to do is look at areas or things that make you feel happy and content.  Visit a few of your favorite places and note what color dominant these areas.  How do these colors make you feel—relaxed, excited, and happy?  Take note of these colors for this is where your room color scheme will start.

Use the color that dominates in your favorite places as your main starting point in your room color scheme.  Now you have three paths you can choose.  The first path involves taking the main color you have chosen and using two or three different shades to decorate your room.  For example, if you have found that green gives you a good feeling, you can use a medium green for your main color, say on your walls, and then accent with a shade lighter and a shade darker of the same green.  Using this type of room color scheme can be tricky.  No matter how much you like color there is a chance that you will feel overwhelmed with it eventually and begin to dislike that particular color.

A second method of deciding on a room color scheme is to choose your main color and then look to the color wheel to see what colors are on either side.  For example, you decide on blue as your main color.  On the color wheel, green and purple are on either side of blue.  Your walls can be done in a shade of blue and you then add shades of green and purple as accents to pull the look together.

A third method of creating a room color scheme usually ends up making a bold statement.  Pick your main color, say purple, and then look to a color wheel to see what color lies directly across from your choice; in this case it is yellow.  Your walls could be purple and accents shades of yellow.  You will need to be careful here to pick shades of the two colors that enhance each other.  Here is where you can add white or a neutral color such as tan to help bring the room color scheme together.

Whatever room color scheme you eventually decide on, it is a good idea to carry this throughout your house.  You do not need to stick with the main color of one room being the main color of the next room color scheme.  Try using one of the accent colors as the main color in the next room and reduce the first room’s main color to an accent.  By keeping with the same room color scheme throughout your home, you create a sense of security and unity.

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