Many people don’t realize just how important of a role color plays when decorating their homes. Sure, most people know that warm colors are golden browns, yellows and reds, and that cool colors are green, blue, violet and pink shades. But what does this all mean in the grand scheme of things? Color speaks volumes, even about your own personality. This article details a little about color, and the effect it can have on the appeal and atmosphere of a room.

It is a proven fact that colors affect emotions. Red can brighten up someone who feels down, as can bright yellow. Blue is soothing and comforting, and green often makes people feel wealthy. How do the colors you use affect the way your home appeals to others? Here are a few tips to let you know just what your home says about you:

Warm Colors

Red is vibrant and stimulating. This includes stimulating the appetite, so depending on whether you are dieting red may be a good choice for the dining room. Beware, too much red is overwhelming. Whether you use various shades of red in the living room or dining room, temper it with calming colors that dominate the rest of the decor.

Yellow brings to mind sunshine, and is a cheery color. This is a great color to use in the kitchen, as it offers warmth and a feeling of coziness. You don’t have to use bright yellow; a softer shade will make a beautiful backdrop to a room.

Orange may sound like a horrible color to use in decorating, but when a soft shade is used it is actually inviting. A muted shade of orange creates an appealing atmosphere that offers a welcoming feeling. Orange is a friendly color that exudes happiness.

Cool Colors

Green is a color that helps bring the outdoors in, and is perfect for any room in the house. Whether bold and vibrant of soft and muted, green is a peaceful color. For the bed or bath, think of celery and seafoam shades of green, mixed with cream and sand tones.

Blue is the most soothing color of all, which is why it is frequently used in the bedroom. Mixing shades of blue and green creates an inviting and calming atmosphere that makes any guest feel welcome. Blue is also said to decrease appetite, so it may be a good choice for the dining room if you are trying to shed a few pounds!

Violet is a cool color that is useful when used to accent your home, but probably too overwhelming to use as a dominant color. Choose accent rugs, throw pillows and other accessories with a slight splash of violet to add depth and interest.

In decorating your home, remember that most warm colors are welcoming, while cool colors offer a feeling of comfort. There is nothing at all wrong with mixing shades from the warm and cool spectrum as long as they coordinate well. Unless you are a very bold person who loves the extreme, avoid using large amounts of bold red, purple or black in decorating your home. Strong colors like these will begin to wear on your nerves over time, as they can be distracting. Use color to decorate your home not only with magnificent hues, but with a soothing or welcoming atmosphere as well!

For over 40 years Leon Tuberman has helped people with their home furnishings and interior design needs. He owns and manages a popular furniture store in Los Angeles. They carry a large selection of Amish made solid oak furniture for your living room, dining room and bedroom. It doesn’t matter whether you’re shopping for a wood dining room table for your dining room or a wooden beds for your home then they have everything you need.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leon_Tuberman

If you’ve ever stared blankly at a freshly primed wall wondering what color would be perfect for your living room/kitchen/dining room/etc…, you probably never took into consideration what certain colors mean when it comes to the human mind. It’s no secret that major retailers have taken advantage on the psychological effects of color, and by using the same techniques in your own home – you could be on your way to a happier, more energetic family on a daily basis. Although they’re “just colors”, they certainly can trigger certain feelings and emotions for all of us, so using that to your advantage – use these tips when choosing the next color for your walls.

One of the most popular colors in the home is blue. Blue is a naturally calming color, so it’s great for bedrooms and living rooms. Another quality that blue is known to enhance is people’s productivity. If you have a home office or room that is designated for kids to do homework in, blue is a great color choice.

Although bright varieties of the color aren’t often found in the home, pale yellow is a great choice for your kitchen or bathroom. Yellow is certainly an attention getter, so applying it to a room like the living room could be somewhat overwhelming. Yellow is a naturally cheerful and bright color, so using it in a small bathroom can help open it up and add a sense of light to the room. Using yellow in the kitchen is a great idea since yellow is known to speed up metabolism. Used in the right shade and in the right rooms, yellow can be a fun and bright color for your home.

Red is a color that works great as an accent piece. Red is emotionally intense, and can cause people to want to move faster. Many fast food restaurants utilize red in their dining rooms since they want people to get in and get out. Red works better on furniture than it does on walls since it’s such an attention getter. If you have a neutral room, adding a pop of red here or there can increase the intensity of the room and create conversation pieces. Warmer, reddish brown shades are known to give off a genuine and natural feel, so if you’re working with a country or log cabin-style theme – a deep mahogany or maroon would be a great choice.

Finally, what is said to be another one of the most popular decorating colors is green. Green is extremely easy on the eye and creates a calm, natural effect. Lighter greens are said to relax people, which is why many hospitals use this color to keep their patients at ease. If you want to achieve a richer, more conservative look – dark green is known for both of those characteristics.

So whether you’re looking to create a bold, drastic look or you’re interested in more of a soothing and calming effect – colors are going to play the most important role in the design process. For many, choosing a favorite color is as far as they go as to weighing their options. Although it may appeal to you, the effect it may have on family and friends can be the complete opposite. By ensuring that your room is giving off the vibe that you intended, you can be sure that your home will reach it’s full visual potential.

Jim is the Vice President of Your Home Supply (YHS) the definitive website for home improvement tools, and gardening supplies. Your Home Supply offers a wide range of door hinges and cabinet knobs to help customers with home improvement projects.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J_Richardson

When the time comes for new home owners to select colors for their homes, life becomes increasingly difficult. Who ever thought that such a simple task could be so burdensome? Well indeed it is, and this is mostly due to the science of color choice. Choosing a paint color becomes even more mystifying after understanding that most homes use at least three different shades: one for the siding and two or more for trim and accents such as doors, railings and window sashes. The reason choosing colors is such a complex decision is that a well-chosen selection of contrasting trim and accent colors can draw attention to architectural details and disguise design flaws. However, on the flip side a poor selection can make a house seem flat and featureless.

When choosing colors, it is important to choose complementary colors and not matching colors. For example desist from matching the concrete with the color of the home. It is too much to the human eye to see so much of one color. Add accents to the house by choosing colors that are either warmer or cooler depending on functionality. Experienced sales associates often assist new home owners in decision making process and assist in the selection of the best colors for your project.

Over the years one would find that colors become increasingly versatile and genderless. They now feature more general appeal and less affinity to feminine or masculine concepts. Color selection for this era is highly dependant on individual choice. Many times such selections can only be achieved through often personalised color combinations rather than customized individual colors. People now tend to select colors to fit lifestyle and personal individualistic taste. The end result is that the exterior of the house, as well as the rooms expresses personal style of the home owners.

In the wake of this new dawn of color selection based on preference rather than dictated styles and combinations brilliant and intriguing contradiction of colors have surfaced. Added to the color selection, accessorizing allows the home owner or decorator to add character and a sense personality to the home. Injections of color into mundane objects, such as kitchen appliances, transform arduous home tasks into more pleasant experiences. The essence of color is a valuable tool directly linked to our personal experiences and emotions. Strong hues are usually denoted by busy activity while subdued colors tend to accompany relaxation.

Discover more great tips at http://www.diyhomeimprovementideas.com a website offering tips and resources on matters like shower doors, bedroom curtains and unique color schemes to fit any budget.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sarah_H

Impact of Colors

Decorating With Colors

“Color belongs to our being: maybe each one of us has his own”. Le Corbusier

Color is a universal language, it stimulates the emotions, shapes, cultures and forms the background of our world. Everybody’s life is enriched by color, which both energizes and lifts the spirit. Color can be a tremendous enhancement when you love it, or cause a real depletion in energy if you don’t.

The rights colors are silent music; the wrong colors irritate and disturb. Louis Cheskin

Explore the impact color has on our living spaces and how we respond to its presence. Consider how color and texture in the natural world can act as your guide. Color can be vibrant and arresting, or calm and soothing, we are all born with our personal response to color. If a color bugs you, get rid of it. Color is powerful and personal, each one has its own unique color palette.

The way we see color can be very different from the next person, and what one person may consider to be bright and colorful, another may consider garish.

Each basic color includes a wide spectrum of tones and hues.

Stay within the palette you are attracted to, and your color choices will create an atmosphere you will enjoy every day.

Color can nurture your soul as food nourishes your body. Determine what colors are your favorites. You don’t have to soak the walls in lurid planes of saturated shades to achieve a sense of color. Choose items in your colors, such as fabrics, vases, dishes, throws, lamps, and flowers, and place them where they can feed you with glance. Small details will punctuate the space with a sure touch.

Be guided by what you love, and enjoy the result. Be acutely aware of color, intoxicated by the colors in nature and the impact they had on the environment.

Choosing colors for your home can be an exciting journey of discovery.

Color creates mood

Color has a powerful psychological impact and can influence our state of mind. Some colors are regarded as healing, making us feel happy and well, while others have a negative impact, inducing melancholy.

Many of these emotional responses to color have become expressions in everyday speech. We refer to black moods, to feeling ÓblueÓ and “seeing red.

For instance, the use of flowers in the home illustrates the mood-enhancing powers of color. Yellow flowers will create a bright and happy ambience, while white or green arrangements create a feeling of calm and serenity.

Top Colors

* Yellow is the happiest color of the spectrum. On the color wheel, the opposite of yellow is violet, and mixing yellow with purple or blue works well.

* Orange is an exhibitionist, the hottest color in the spectrum, it can be an intense and challenging color to work with, but the results can bring a carnival. Mixing bright orange with vivid reds and yellows, or rich burgundy and plum works well. Orange and purple are a vivacious team.

* Bright pink is a positive, happy color, is a saturated hue with purple and red in its color makeup. It’s fun and frivolous.

* Blue is the ultimate cool color. Sky blue, shades of dove gray and fawn, and pure white create a peaceful retreat to soothe the soul, sending a message of calm and serenity

Azure blue can be bright and vibrant as well as creating a feeling of calm.

Pale shades of blue against white, brown and quiet gray are gentle colors to work with in bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms. Their quiet subtlety quite simply enables you to relax.

* Lilac: it works best placed against white rather than dark wood. Look for heavy pottery, solids rather than patterns, especially floral .

* Lavender: tones of shell pin are especially pleasing in bedrooms and bathrooms if you want to create a clean, calm atmosphere.

All shades of lavender and mauve look wonderfully elegant partnered with silver groups and gray-greens

* Green, deeply relaxing, is a central color in decorating, connected with nature and the sea, it may be one of the reasons people find it so easy to live with. Bathing room in plain green, using shade of apple, pea, and euphorbia, strong and subtle at the same time, always warms the walls and lifts the spirits. Relaxing and eating will seem the most natural thing to do surrounded by such a reassuring range of colors. Works with plain wooden or painted furniture rather than elaborately upholstered or decorated pieces.

* White: combinations of white on white are always clean and refreshing (gray-white, bone-white, dirty white).

White is always pure and appealing, a good way of neutralizing crowded thoughts and busy decoration.

* Cream means white with a hint of yellow. It is a soothing and result on the eye, but also elegant. Shades described as ivory, oyster, magnolia, shell, and vanilla all sit within the color band.

* Red is active more than passive, stimulating rather relaxing. Color of flame, passion, energy, spirit, power, vigor, love, sexuality, and danger. It suggests both love and hate. If you want to have fire energy in your home, that is the perfect color.

Rich red is opulent and substantial, imposing and seductive. Use it with confidence on a grand scale or as obvious highlight for glamour and gloss. Red for drama, purple for passion, rose for emotion

* Rust symbolizes the glorious display of fall colors when shades of rust prevail. Mixing rust with burgundy, brown, plum, and deep reds, while paler shades mix with light yellow.

* Plum is a sophisticated color. As a close relation to black, plum is a receding color that absorbs light. To make plum look grand in a formal Victorian manner, mix it with grey. By contrast acid lime-green makes plum look fresh and modern. Plum by itself is quite moody- even a touch of melancholic.

* Burgundy is a rich and sophisticated color.

* Silver has been a key color on the fashion and design circuits since the year 2000

Sabine Design, interior decorator http://www.decoration.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sabine_Lapostat