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| Example of an interior design color palette |
A Guide to Choosing the Best Color Palette
Choosing the best color palette for your modern living room is hard. Your mind resonates, "How do I know if these colors will look good?" and, "Are these colors right for me?"The short answer is: that depends. The long answer is much more complicated.
Colors hold meanings and emotions. However, if you are really wanting a modern design, you need to find at least two colors which are bold and energetic. Three colors work just as well and ten colors will work just dandy. The more colors, however, can provide just as many problems in terms of getting them all to match.
Bold colors are generally blue, purple or brown while energetic colors are generally yellow, orange or red. If you are wishing to throw in a third color, either a gray or lighter hue of the bold or energetic color is suggested.
Then again, there are many homes that look fantastic with simply one color.
Nonetheless, choosing the correct hue for your needs is another matter all together.
Using the Color Scheme
There are many ways you can use a color scheme. Here's an example using the color scheme at the top of this article.- Behind the sofa and in front of the television: yellow
- Opposite sides: blue
- Trim: Gray
Of course, there are other ways the exact same color scheme can be used but this is my favorite. The gray should always be used as an offshoot. Never give it too much emphasis as it is simply used as a way to highlight the contrasting colors. However, if you wish to make the room yellow and use blue along the ceiling and/or floor tiles, that would look fantastic. Or you may wish to do the opposite.
The important thing to remember is mood. What mood do you wish to set?
Furniture and Paint: How do They go Together?
When choosing paints, it's important to take note of the color of your furniture. Modern designs generally revolve around furniture which is white, black, maroon, midnight blue, brick red or some bright colors like tangerine or lemon yellow. Whatever the case, the furniture must match the paint, or at least, the other way around.In order to create a living room design worthy of magazine approval, you must think of everything. The way the sofa set matches the curtains, the way the center table is accented by the television stand or even the design of the picture frames might seem a little simpleton, but in order to get the best color scheme they all need to match.
As I've said earlier, grays go well with just about anything as long as it doesn't stick out. Of course, when I say grays I'm talking about the black and white palette. This includes essentially all colors from white to black. The exact shade you choose depends, again, on the mood you wish to set. A darker shade of gray may say that you want a night time feel while lighter grays may feel more sunny.
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| Example of a warm color palette |
Should you let the Sun in or Keep it Out?
The sun plays a very important role in every living room design. Chances are, at least half the year the sun will be shining. Should you draw the curtains, leave them open, tie them in the middle or leave them to the side? Or, in some cases you may even want to have a small, thin white curtain across your window ala British style.Of course, I can't tell you which style is best without seeing your layout but here's a few tips to help you get started:
- Tie the curtains to the side if your furniture is light. The sunlight will help highlight the brightness of the room, especially if you used bright paint.
- Leave the curtains drawn with black furniture. If your furniture is too dark, it'll get hot and set a bad mood for the entire home. If you still want some air to blow inside, be sure to use thin curtains.
- Tie curtains in the middle if the room is full of bold colors.
- Bright colors? Bring in the light!
Paintings add Flavor
Santin Art - 100% Hand-painted Free Shipping Wood Framed Golden Clouds Home Decoration Modern Abstract Oil Painting on Canvas 5pcs/set MixordeAdding a modern painting to your living room can give your room elegance and sophistication.Consider this Golden Clouds oil painting.
It works well with all color palettes while adding a touch of intelligence of its own to the room.
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It's always good to have the color wheel in mind when deciding which colors to use.
Source: DanPMK
Colors are Everywhere
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| It's always good to have the color wheel in mind when deciding which colors to use. Image source:DanPMK |
Think of grass. What color is it? Well, most of the time it is green. When is it the greenest? Spring. Spring is a time of rebirth and tranquility, thus green is a color which signifies rebirth. Authors have been using this color association for hundreds of years to change the mood of their readers, usually without the readers even knowing they are doing it!
Blue is another common color used in word association. You've heard the phrase "feeling blue" probably more than a few times in your life. Of course, that means you are feeling sad. That's because the color blue brings out a sad feeling in many people.
If you are feeling stuck trying to think of a great color scheme, look towards nature. The beauty of landscapes speak for themselves. Do you have a garden? Making the perfect decision can be as easy as looking at your giant eggplants or bright tomatoes. There are millions of colors to choose from and a billion places to get inspiration.
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| A great modern look can be accomplished with only a few colors. Source: Sokoreny4 |
Color Psychology
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red | passion, anger, energy |
| Orange | optimism, social communication |
| Yellow | optimism, intellect, friendship |
| Green | balance, growth |
| Blue | trust, peace, sadness |
| Purple | imagination |
| Pink | nurturing, love |
| Brown | serious, secure, comfort |
Colors Have Meaning
Colors send subliminal messages to our brains. If you haven't noticed, many movies these days are being shown with a hazy filter which takes away most of the color. In order to draw attention to the audience, they throw out some bright colors, especially red. The beautiful woman across the bar wearing a bright red dress, a red rose in the perfect place or, in action films, bright blood.There are other areas color is used to change our emotions, too. Doctors offices, advertisements, office buildings and especially casinos are well known to use color in order to change our mood to fit their needs. They can make us calm, excited, depressed or happy.
Color is appealing to our eyes, but it also gives meaning, beauty and reason to a living room. You don't want to use a calming color scheme if you plan on yelling every Sunday while watching your favorite game. Nor do you want an exciting color when you only want the room as a reading place.
In addition, color provides aura and atmosphere to living rooms. It proposes a peculiar impression when you are using the right hues in the living room. Thus, choose the colors wisely. Then presto! You'll get a magnificent masterpiece and one of a kind living room.
