Choosing color for your new home

The decisions you make for your home environment as in the colors you choose and furnishings you buy will be seen everyday. Unlike clothing purchases influenced by short term fashion trends and seasonal colors you retire to the closet after a few uses.

Color is the first thing we start to think about in the process of decorating our home. The use of color can manipulate our sense of space. How color stimulates our emotions and our perception of color is different for each person. So many choices! Following some of the basics will be helpful.

Color marketing groups forecast “the new natural neutrals” as color trend for next year. A monochromatic color scheme is timeless and I’ve used it as the basis of my design for many years. A room can evolve from a calm earthy feel with varying shades of tan, beige and light brown to sophisticate with the addition of a few black accessories to energizing a room by adding a punch of red, orange or purple. Create warmth and character by introducing texture and color in your accents and art work that you will replace.

It is important to keep resale in mind as you make decisions. A house with continuity and a comfortable flow transitioning from room to room will have great appeal and allow the next homeowner to visualize their furniture in the environment you’ve created.

I recently caught part of a national home decorating program where the designer was asked to redesign a room on a budget using as much of the clients existing furniture as possible. The designer’s first response was “none of your furniture matches anything”. The client’s response was “well I bought it all at the same place at the same time”.