Planning of colour schemes

[inline:1]In my last articles, I talked about the various colours and their emotional effect on us. In this article, I will give you ideas of what colour schemes to be used in different rooms. The colour scheme of a room or any other area in the house depends on its use.

1. Exterior of the house: it should employ some of the interior colours. At the same time the colour of the exterior of the house and the green of growing plants must be considered too when outside furnishings are chosen. Outdoor colours should be few, simple, direct, positive and cool. It should be only of one colour such as leaf green or the hue of the shutters or roof.

2. Entrance or lounge: the lounge is used as a living room and should have the same colour scheme as of the living room. In case it is used just like a passage to all the rooms, then it should have colourful walls and floor.

3. Drawing room: It should look cheerful, hospitable and should express relaxation. This room expresses the personality of the family. The drawing room should have a cool colour scheme. Bigger surfaces such as walls, ceiling and floors should not have bold designs. For example, if the walls are white, then the upholstery can be turquoise. The draperies can have white background with turquoise and green print. Potted plants, porcelain or ivory figurines and table lamps can be kept as accessories. The floor covering can be of forest green colour while the furniture can be white cane. Therefore, while selecting colour schemes, do not mix too many colours. Just take 2-3 colours and play with them.

4. Dining room: Its colour scheme can be decorative as well as colourful to produce happiness and good appetite. Shades of tomato red, yellow, green can be used. Use of white colour is desirable.

5. Kitchen: The colour scheme for the kitchen should be bright and cheerful. Cool colours absorb the heat of cooking. The main equipment used in the kitchen like sink, refrigerator etc should be of the same colour. White colour is the best. The utensils and crockery will supply variety of colours.

6. Bed room: Its colour scheme should be more personal than any other room. The dominant colour used should be the favourite one. While deciding colour scheme for a bed room, the exposure of the room to light should be taken into account. Even age plays an important role in deciding the colour scheme. For example, for a child’s bedroom, the scheme should be soft and cool and should give a restful effect. A guest room should have colours suitable for both sexes and different ages.

7. Bath room: It should be of fresh, stimulating and clear colours such as ivory or cream or pastel blue or any other soothing colour. Its fixtures should have white colour as it is more hygienic and nice to look at. One bright colour should be used on the floor, ceiling or in towels etc, so that the bather may have a clean and refreshed feeling.

I hope this will be of some help to you and will help you in deciding the colour schemes to be used in your ‘home sweet home’.