Color is one of the most important design considerations for your home. It leaves an impression on the walls of every room and every surface that it touches. If you’ve ever struggled to pick strong colors for your home, think a room looks off, or still have paint swatches taped up from a year ago, read on! We’ll be digging into some tips and recommendations to brighten up your home with the right colors.
First, take into account your local climate and geography. Think about the light you get, and the colors it brings into your home. Living in the Truckee and Lake Tahoe area, we’re used to lots of deep blues, piney greens, and earthy browns. This inspires a warmer paint palette, even with neutral tones, to balance out our colder color climate.
Building materials may come into play as well. Some of us only know drywall. But the Tahoe area is known for timber-style homes and the mountain cabin ethos permeates the local architecture. If wood is visible for portions of the interior, choosing colors that work with the warmer earth tones is important.
Also remember to consider the light each room receives, and when you use the room. East facing rooms will be a bit bright and warm in the AM, but cool off in the afternoon. West facing rooms are much warmer and brighter in afternoons, so avoid anything too saturated or intense if you spend much time there.
If you’ve settled on a color but can’t decide on the shade, look around the room for visual reference points. One of the most common mistakes people make is choosing a paint color that has absolutely no connection to the rest of the space. So to avoid this, say if you’re looking at a cream color, look for a shade of cream that ties into the furniture, a rug, even throw pillows or artwork, etc.
When in doubt, find some balance using the color wheel. Analogous colors, or colors next to each other on the wheel (like blue/green) work well in less formal settings. But you’ll want more contrast in formal spaces, and can look to complementary colors pairings (like blue/orange) to highlight accents that make a space pop!
Or...just go gray. Everyone loves gray these days.
For help finding the ideal color for any room, cabinet, counter, and even that perfect shade of gray, contact us at Tinsel House Studios. We can’t wait to help you design!