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Since color is a source of universal pleasure, every one of us should have beautiful colors in our homes and learn to enjoy them.
While planning color schemes for the rooms, it is necessary to consider them for the entire home as one unit to obtain an unifying effect. Start planning from the living/ drawing room first, then dining room, bed rooms, then the passages, corridors can be carried out.
When an interior decorator visualizes a color plan for a room, she should consider a number of factors like, the room, its size, shape and exposure, the mood, style, current fashion, personal preferences, furnishings on hand, use of the room etc. A complete account of these factors and their impact on the color plans are as follows.
The selection of a color scheme for any room is the room itself - its size, shape and exposure. Analysis of a room is therefore, the first factor in making a color scheme. While considering the size, small rooms gain spaciousness and appear larger with light, cool and receding colors in the background and on the furniture too. The warm advancing colors visually reduce the size of the room and make a room to seem smaller and cramped. In large/big rooms, warm/advancing colors are more appropriate than a cool/receding color scheme.
A receding color scheme will not only make the large room to appear larger, but may also give a feeling of being empty and under-furnished. An analysis of the room in terms of its size, the amount of furniture and furnishings it requires would help to give exactly how a room need to look like. A well-planned color scheme can help to alter visually the size of the room, if it is desired so. Long narrow room can be made to appear wider and of better proportion if the end walls are decorated with warm advancing colors and side walls with cool receding colors. At least if one of the end walls are done with warm color, this wall will appear to be closer and can help to reduce the length of the room.
Another aspect that affects the choice of color is the amount of sunlight that it receives. Room with too much light needs dark subdued colors. A wise choice of color schemes can help to change the warm or cool effects to provide a feeling of comfort in the rooms.
Mood of a room is an important consideration and can be expressed through and in colors. One has to decide which mood needs to be developed in the room - whether it is to be active or subdued, masculine or feminine, formal or informal, sophisticated or practical. A delicate feminine room can be done with dusty pink or peaches while a masculine room in wine red, brown or navy blue. A living room which is an activity centred room would require a color scheme with lemon and white with a small quantity of bright red. An elegant room, can be done with the neutral shades like & grey, brown, beige, etc. along with the toned or greyed blues or pinks. Style
The style adopted in a room determines the use of color. Much of French decor requires soft, delicate coloring. English styles call for rich, elegant tones of claret red, emerald green, gold and plum color. The modem style has made use of bold, brilliant colors, often in combination and often as accents with white or neutral backgrounds.
The color scheme has to be done in combination with the style of furniture, house construction and the items used in a room. The style with which a house is constructed and their furniture styles also affect the choice of colors. For example, a cottage or a farm house constructed with typical traditional furniture items might require a color scheme that matches with this kind of setting. Similarly, the room in an apartment in an urban area can have informal color combinations that are available in the market. Trend:
Trend in a way limits the choice of color only to the available ones in the market. Thus, availability of color according to fashions is another factor determining the color scheme of interiors. Draperies, fabrics and curtains are available in a wide range of colors.
It is not easy to change the color scheme of a room often to suit the changes in fashion. But it is possible to predict certain cycles or trends in fashion. They would not only serve as a guide, but would also help us in preparing the color schemes in anticipation of future trends. Personality
Personality of people also influences their color choice. Women who are too feminine may choose soft cool colors like pinks, peaches. An informal room may call for colors that are bright, strong and stimulating. A room that is meant for relaxation and repose should have colors that are quiet and restful. Children's rooms may have colors that are either bright or delicate, such as red, royal blue or yellow. It is generally believed that children prefer light colors, youth vivid colors and others prefer soft colors.
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