BEFORE CHOOSING colours for a room, spend time collecting a variety of colour combination samples: fabric swatches, buttons, business cards, wallpaper, and paint samples. Save them on an idea, bulletin board. When you decide to head to the paint store you will have samples to take with you from the research that you completed.
- Consider using the 60-30-10 colour design rule. 60 per cent is the main colour, 30 per cent is the additional colour and 10 per cent is the accent colour.
- Use a colour wheel before choosing paint or wallpaper. Analogous paint colours, those beside each other on the wheel are compatible. Complementary colours, ones directly opposite to each other on the wheel create bold accents.
- Black can be seen as depressing if overused, but has always been fashionable and is linked with night, mystery and classiness.
- Some designers suggest every room should include one black highlight as the focal point. One black accent wall, for example, in a room can create added interest, become a backdrop for a precious art piece and redirect attention away from unpleasant features in a room, such as old flooring.
- Purple is associated with creativity, intelligent solutions, wisdom, inspiration, nobility and mystery.
- If you are looking for an elegant background to display, crystal, consider a rich purple paint accent wall. Use purple in combination with either white, green, brown, black or orange.
- Blue calms and does not cause negative emotions. A bold blue is one of the best colours to attract attention. Lighter blues evoke feelings of peace, tranquility, depth, wisdom and silence.
- When looking for a solid colour to paint an entire room, blue is a great choice, and light blue is calming and therefore it is often used for offices and waiting rooms.
- Green can provide healing and relaxing effects and is associated with life, nature, harmony, naturalness and kindness.
- Green is timeless and elegant, and easily incorporated into a room, with the use of carefully placed plants, a grouping of herbs or even photos of nature. The combination of white and light green feels fresh and clean.
- Yellow is sociable. A room painted bright yellow helps to absorb new ideas and gets creative juices flowing.
- Red stimulates people to make decisions and commit rash actions. An overabundance of red may cause irritation and aggression. Red evokes passion, life, will, struggle, activity and fire.
- — Using a red and black combination will elicit an impactful statement to any room. When choosing to paint red, begin with a pink primer and use high quality paint, for a smoother, even coverage.
Note: Every user assumes all risks of injury or damage resulting from the implementation of any suggestions in this column. Test all products on an inconspicuous area first.
Have a great suggestion or tip? Please send an email at: info@reena.ca. Reena Nerbas is a popular motivational presenter for large and small groups; check out her website: reena.ca.
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