Part 2

You and your space

As you’ve read in the previous article colors affect our mind, our physical and psychological being.
It also seems that it’s not the hue  of a color  that has the main effect but its tone and saturation.
So, before you start decorating with color, instead of asking yourself what color you should use – your question should be what tone & depth you should have..

The answer depends on two main factors:-

Firstly it depends on your personality. According to Swedish research, there are four psychological primary colours: yellow, blue, red and green. Individuals react most positively to one of these and can therefore be categorised into one of four seasonally named color groups. Easy-going extroverts belong to Group1 (Spring) – their preferred colors are yellow-based, warm and light.  Cool, calm and collected people belong to Group2 (Summer) – they are in tune with blue-based, delicate colors. Intense, stormy and inquisitive personalities belong to Group3 (Autumn)  – they prefer rich and warm (red-based) colors. Perfectionist and organised people belong to Group 4 (winter) -  they react best to green-based colors  with cool and strong shades.

So, before you try to copy a color from a TV show or from your friend’s house, determine which color group you belong to. Choose colors that suit your personality – otherwise you’ll feel restless. Remember, it’s not the hue of the color that really matters – it’s the tone of it. Each hue has variation that can be in tune with or clash with your natural pattern.

Secondly, what color (hue, tone and depth) depends on the space you wish to decorate – its size, its location, its lightness. Determine which way the window faces – north facing rooms (in the northern hemisphere) should not have blue-based colors as they will feel too cold – unless you’re in a cottage around the Med or Mexico and want to have a cool room. Small & dark rooms should not be decorated with strong & deep tones. The best tonal arrangement for a room is to have dark-toned floors, mid-toned walls and light-toned ceilings. You can use colors (particularly tones) to manipulate the appearance of a room. If all surfaces have the same tone, the room will feel bland – but this is ideal as a backround for striking artwork and furniture. The more white you have in a color the bigger the room will look. If you paint the floor with a light tone it will make the room appear bigger. You can lower a ceiling by painting it a with dark-toned color – and make it look higher with light-toned colors. Light colours bounce back and forth on the walls of a room and increase its purity. Dark toned surfaces attract each other, light ones repel.

The basic principle of decorating is the use of the number Three. You should not use more than 3 colors, 3 tones, 3 patterns, 3 materials. Besides colors, you must also consider texture – exactly the same color looks different on silk, velvet or cotton. The same paint looks different on wood, plaster or lining paper.
Consider the finishes – shiny surfaces reflect the light back into a space, whilst matt surfaces absorb it.

Think about all these factors before you hit the DIY and Homeware stores. When you’ve decided what sort of tones would go with your personality and rooms, decide on a style – do you like modern, glamorous, country, retro etc? But you must be careful not to generate a themed space, where everything represents a certain style or period. What you want to create is a certain mood or feel of your choosen interior style.

In the next part of this article you can read about the practicalities of decorating with color.

<<<Read the first part of Decorating with Color