3 Tips for Selecting Interior Colors
3 Tips for selecting interior colors for your home to steer clear of mistakes or repainting and blowing your budget.
First it’s good to take inventory of what furniture you have and are keeping. This includes the color of the wood, materials or fabrics you will be using in each room. Are the materials a cool palate or a warm palate? For instance if you have predominately cool colors you want to select a complimenting neutral color to enhance the room. If all your furnishings are neutral and bland you may want to liven them up with a crisp white so you won’t be overwhelmed with color. But if you like color our next recommendation is to …
Pay attention to your existing type of lighting as well as how the light comes in your windows or if you have no windows in those rooms.
Regarding the lighting- do you have a solo center fixture, lamps, sconces or recessed fixtures? All of these types of lighting affect the colors you choose. If you have lots of window light know that a strong color will lighten on the wall at the height of the day and as the day is done it will become more intense. So if you are trying to achieve a cozy room a dark tone color may work for your space.
And lastly study the floor treatments and ceilings in each room or space. Wood floors light or dark can have an effect on your color palate. Stone or tile also will also affect the colors you choose because natural or man-made tile happen to react to colors because of their inconsistency especially in a natural product and the man-made product is often trying to emulate the natural product. Both can be difficult to match colors against especially if you want a neutral color palate.
What are the current ceilings treatment(s) you are working with to choose a color palate for the walls? Do you have ceiling a swirled finish, a drywall finish, beams across the ceiling to name a few or do you have an architectural feature like a coffer or cathedral ceiling? When working with existing conditions, providing you are not embarking on a full renovation, still need to play a role when you select new colors for your home.
So live with samples of your selections so you can see them during different times of the day. And if you want to achieve a simpatico relationship from room to room when it comes to color consider these 3 tips for selecting interior colors for your home.
You may always give us a call at Worthington Interior Design for a color consult to help!
Happy Valentine’s Day and may your month be filled with lots of reds and pinks!
See you next month.
