The Color Connection

Painting the interior of your home can drastically alter the feel of each room and bring life into a space that feels stagnant. However, there are so many colors and combinations that it can be very difficult to choose. I recently moved into a new rental and painted nearly every room in the house. It was a time consuming project, and rather unbearable in mid-August (we didn’t have our air conditioning installed yet!), but the results were fantastic. Every person has what I call a “color personality”. Some people are very subtle and enjoy the nuances between barely tinted shades of eggshell and cream. Others enjoy being surrounded by vivid fall colors or sweet spring pastels. No matter what colors make you feel good, it is important to recognize them and utilize them in your home. I will say however, that there are some colors which are universally welcoming. These colors tend to come from a warmer palette and can be as subtle as choosing ecru instead of white or as daring as a mango orange kitchen. Warmer colors tend to make people feel safe and welcome, which is especially important for rooms where you do a lot of entertaining.

If you have an open concept home, it is important that you choose colors that complement one another. For instance, the downstairs of my house is done in warm fall colors. The space is not necessarily open concept. The kitchen, dining room, and living room are three distinct rooms, but there are no doors so you can see the wall colors next to one another. For that reason, I chose warm colors that complement one another. The kitchen is a deep tomato red, the dining room is a warm cinnamon brown, and the living room is plum. As you can see, I tend to like vibrant wall colors, but this is balanced by furniture and window treatments that are very neutral. I may have plum walls in the living room, but I also have a solid chocolate brown microsuede couch and plain linen curtains. A color this vibrant would not work if my couch was a busy floral print. It is important to choose colors that balance the room, so you have to take your furniture and window treatments into account. Complementary colors do not have to come from the same family as they do in the example above. For example, rosemary green and lilac look stunning when paired together. The important factor is that there is continuity between rooms.

The most important place to use a warm paint color is in the bedroom. While soft pastels are lovely to look at, a warmer wall color may inspire a little more romance. If you like pastels, stick to pink, peach, or sandy tones. In fact, the most romantic colors to use are those that mimick natural skin tones. A rich cocoa brown or golden hue will heat things up much more than sage green.

Cool colors can definitely have a place in your home too. While warm tones bring the comforting energies of earth and fire, cool colors bring the energies of water and air and can help to inspire creativity. Cool tones are great to use in rooms like a home office or study, or even in the kitchen to help you whip up imaginitive new recipes. When trying to choose the right color for a room, think about what you will be using it for and remember that cool colors are for your head and warm colors are for your heart.