Choosing Interior Colors

September 4th, 2007

Posted in Interior Painting, Miscellaneous News

You have decided to decorate your house, room, office, etc. What interior colors should you choose? This all depends on the mood you’re trying to convey.

A quick trip to the hardware store will open the door to nearly unlimited possibilities in color choices. Take a look at the paint chips. They come in a variety of hues and shades. Once you have found the colors you would like to use, carry them with you for future reference. You never know when you might spot that perfect material, but is it the right color? Or the most lovely mirror for your wall, but will the interior colors you’ve chosen accent it or not? Hence the paint chip is a great time saver.

If you are attempting to create a strong and bold look. Primary colors –red, blue and yellow– do just that, they are considered pure colors due to the fact that none of them are able to be created by mixing other hues. Whether your room is going to be traditional, country, or modern style, all three colors work well in these rooms and are best used in pairs or combined.

Using the secondary colors –purple, orange, and green– also allow a bold look. These colors are a result of mixing two primary colors. These colors are able to be lightened or darkened to match your choice of interior colors by adding measured amounts of white or black.

Colors are most usually referred to in three ways: active, passive, or neutral. The warm, yet active colors are mainly orange, red, and yellow. These are bold and uninhibited colors that sometimes dominate the others, but tend to start conversation and affect an upbeat attitude. On the opposite end of the spectrum we have the cool, passive colors –purple, blue, and green– these colors create an ambience of calm, a restoration for low spirits. The neutral colors otherwise referred to as the ‘uncolors’ –gray, taupe, brown, white, and beige — stand somewhat in between the active and passive colors. They neither excite, nor calm. They are in fact successful in harmonizing different colors at times, and helping different rooms work together.