Colour Schemes for Houses

Choosing a color scheme for your home can be incredibly exciting yet extremely overwhelming.  Considering there are said to be 57 shades of blue and each one can be tweaked a  number of times to create additional tones, you will soon find that picking a few colors is not as easy as you had anticipated.  Your color scheme needs to be a personal choice.  Far too often, people end up picking an unattractive color or one they are completely unhappy with because they were trying to be bold or trendy.

Take Your Time

Color chips should be collected for paint options.  Paint is the easiest and most versatile way to change a room.  Some people choose their wall colors and then buy furniture, rugs and decor to match while other find it easier to color their walls based on everything else.  This is really your choice.

When you go shopping you are going to have to constantly reference and compare paint, tile, carpet, fabric and trim samples so it is a good idea to keep your collection in something handy that you can take with you all the time because you never know when you’ll run into something wonderful.

The Basics

You can find help regarding underlying tones associated with various shades on a sample strip with coordinated colors.  Even if you haven’t considered the use of a dark or bright shade, you may find these colors to add accents in adjacent spaces or throughout the room.

If you are matching paint based on a print fabric, you may find that you are happiest if you choose a color that matches the background of that specific print.  If you match a primary color in it, you will probably find the room a little too busy and unbalanced.

You should also take advantage of trim, this does not have to remain white or off-white.  You can achieve a really striking look with light walls and dark trim or vice versa.  As a rule, you can pretty much use any color in any room as long as you use it evenly in the space and it appears at least three times.  When you divide color, the best balance is achieved when 60 percent is devoted to the lightest color, the mid-tone accounts for 30 percent and the darkest and brightest accent should have about 10 percent.

Whether your main fabric on your upholstery is solid or patterned can make a huge difference in your color scheme.  With a patterned fabric, you should use the brightest color in it for decorative pillows, curtains, picture mats, etc.  The anchor fabric should be in the room, somewhere at least three times and then you can use coordinating fabrics that are in either smaller or larger pattern scales on tablecloths, pillows, chairs, cording, etc.  For example, if you had a white and blue striped sofa with small pinstripes of red in it, you could use solid red fabric, red and white checkers or even red polka dots for decorating purposes.