How to Create an Interior Color Scheme

You have a room full of furniture, some lamps and a rug but your room is lacking interest. There is nothing tying it all together or making an impression. What you need is color!

Color is the key to creating a visually interesting space. It's easy and once you learn some of the basic rules, you'll feel confident in creating a great color scheme in any room. We'll be talking about working in your home or apartment and decorating to please yourself. Selling your home requires a different set of design rules which is a whole different discussion.

Where to begin? Many people think you start with paint, but hold on, that comes a little later. There are several factors that should be considered first. Is your room viewable from other spaces, part of an open floor plan or opening up into an adjoining room. Is the room bright and sunny or on a shady side? Does your sofa or accent chair have color in them or are they neutral solids? You want to be sure you take all of that into consideration, but what you really need is color inspiration!

Inspiration can come in the form of a rug, a piece of furniture or artwork, an accessory or window treatments. What colors are you drawn to in your inspiration piece? Are they noticeable? Select one predominant color as your base and at least one or two additional colors to use as accents. For example, let's start with an oriental style area rug with a rust border, a gray center and floral and leaf designs throughout in sage greens, soft blues, creamy tans and dark browns. Now you have something to work with!

O.k., you can paint now. Depending on how daring you are and the color of your main furniture pieces such as the sofa, select a color that you can live with. Assuming we have a soft gray sofa, let's paint our room rust. If a rust room scares you, how about just an accent wall in rust and the others in a creamy tan. Now you have a beautiful backdrop from which to build a fantastic color scheme. Your lighter sofa will stand out in front of a deeper wall for a great contrast.

Using the other accent colors in the rug, choose a few throw pillows for the sofa. Try to include several colors such as the rust and maybe some blues and tan. You can add one or two with patterns and a couple in solids to bring out the other colors, as the soft blue and sage green. Continue to accessorize around the room with artwork and decorative objects. Select a painting with a beautiful blue sky over an autumn scene, incorporating the rust and tan as accents. Look for a centerpiece for the coffee table such as a bowl in ceramic or metals like copper, gold and silver which hint at the rust, tan and gray. Your lamps could also pick up your accent colors in the base or shade. Window treatments can pick up just one accent as in solid soft gray-blue faux silk panels, or can add another pattern in the room with several. In some of your pieces, give more emphasis to one accent color allowing the others to fill in smaller details as you accessorize your room.

The idea is to repeat your accent and main colors around the room in large and small pieces with your art and accessories. In so doing, you will begin to create a cohesive and eye-catching space that will be pleasing and make you look like a professional decorator!

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