Paint and Surroundings - A Perfect Match
A Quick Overview Of Colors
In our last blog, we covered how colors can literally transform a room. The right paint color gives off the perfect mood and impression you’re looking for to bring your space together. In case you missed it, here’s a very brief overview of what each color means:
White: Associated with feeling clean and pure. It’s a reflection of innocence. Yellow: The color of happiness, freshness, optimism, clarity and enlightenment. Orange: Brings out sunshine, brightness, joy and creativity.
Red: Equals intensity, love, passion, fire, strength and war. Green: Promotes growth, harmony, nature, renewal and curiosity. Purple: Represents royalty, nobility, luxury and power. Blue: Connected to depth, stability, and harmony between the mind and body. Black: Reserved for serious, mysterious, formal settings and elegance.
Picking the right color is the first step…the next is connecting your paints with your surroundings.
It’s A Delicate Balance. What is the purpose of the room?
The type of room you are working with will dictate your best options to tie paint colors in with your surroundings. For example, your living room and bed room are going to have more furniture and decorations than your bathroom. In your larger spaces where you’ll be spending most of your time (your living room, bedroom, and kitchen), you’ll want to balance functionality with style.
Spare rooms and bathrooms are fun to decorate because you can add more flair without worrying about functionality getting in the way. Each spare room in your home can have its own colors, patterns and styles. Try picking a specific wall color and pair it with dark or light furniture and a bed comforter that is either a solid color (for light contrast) or a pattern (for higher contrast).
For your bathroom, play on the colors of the fixtures surrounding you. Most people have white countertops, tubs and toilets. Dark, bold colors are great to contrast with white fixtures. When you add a variety of pictures and other accenting items like soap cradles, towels, and a shower curtain, your paints and surroundings will tie together with both charm and creativity.
How do flooring and other elements fit in? Painting your walls and connecting it to your furniture is easy, but adding in flooring creates a bit more complexity. Wood floors pair differently with colors than carpet do. Can you imagine a blue wall in a room with beige carpet? Now picture that same color wall with a wood floor. There’s a difference.
Wood floorings create a nice, elegant and modern look while carpet is comfortable and warm. Stay away from mixing dark floorings with dark paints and furniture…they may not blend well. For carpet, add contrast between everything by using different styles and textures in your furniture and accents.
What style are you going for?
When painting, think about what your walls will look like with your furniture, flooring and other fixtures. The balance between colors and styles comes down to the mood you’re hoping to set and the elements you’re using.