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KEEP COLOR FLOWING PART III
If you’ve been following recent columns enough to know that even neutral
gray and beige can have either warm or cool undertones, you are ready to
experiment with color.
A color scheme should be unified and flow easily from room to room.
Observe how much natural light you have and if it’s abundant, you might
choose cool colors to balance the light, or choose a warm palette for
rooms with low light.
Choose at least two wall colors and a third for the ceilings. Paint the
ceilings the same color in all areas that are seen together to keep them
unified.
Let’s say you want to use tan and gold walls, and creamy yellow ceilings
in the living areas. You could accent this lighter scheme by adding
another warm color, maybe terra cotta or brown, to an adjoining office
or powder room. All the colors blend well because they are from the
warm, earth-tone family.
You might want a cooler, more relaxing color in your adjoining bedroom,
or in the powder room. Adding a gray, green or even blue to the gold and
tan color scheme can work if these cooler colors have warm undertones. A
gray that is just a mix of black and white would look dreary in this
case, but a gray with some brown tones added would blend well. Even blue
can feel warmer with warm undertones and still have a calming effect.
Beyond mood, color can make a room appear larger or smaller. If your
home is smaller, keep the value of the wall color lighter, but apply the
same rules for warm or cool choices in relation to natural light. Cool
color schemes, like the hazy blue on the horizon line, make the walls
recede and disappear. Keep all walls the same color and use white
moldings and white cellular blinds, and match side panels to the wall
color for a very spacious look.
Darker, warmer neutrals will make a large room feel cozier because warm
colors advance and wrap around you. In that way, very high ceilings
appear lower by adding wood or a dark color.
You can also make a very long rectangular room appear wider if you paint
darker walls on either end of the long, lighter, neutral walls. A wide
room can be adjusted by painting the ends lighter, and the long walls
darker.
A design plan should begin with the walls, floor and ceilings. Once they
look beautiful, each furnishing you add will be enhanced. Choose colors
that you love, and make sense with your furniture. Select enough colors
for variety, but not so many that you compromise unity and flow.
If you’re hesitant about color choice, buy a quart of paint and do
several large patches around a room. Don’t forget the second coat to get
the real effect of the color.
Nothing is more vital, versatile and satisfying as the right mix of
color for a successfully designed room.
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