CHOOSING A COLOUR SCHEME WHEN YOU'RE TOTALLY STUCK
It’s decision time: you’re redecorating and need to pick out colours. Exciting! But, what happens if you haven’t got a clue where to start? There are so many options it can be paralysing!
Or maybe you’re finding yourself drifting towards random choices just to get the job done. Are you? Can you feel the pull? Oh, I have been there, done that!
In years gone by I’ve bought red living room blinds, purple bedroom blinds and a scarlet and purple stair runner. They were all mistakes.
Why?
Well, I copied a home I saw in a magazine feature without thinking (the red) and listened to a lady from a fabric shop about going for purple blinds - again, without really thinking….did I even like purple?!
MAKE YOUR COLOUR SCHEME PERSONAL
And that is the key. This is your home, and the colour scheme you choose should be personal to you; based on what you like and love.
Easy!
Or not so easy? Don’t worry, I have three tips to get you on the right track.
TIP #1 - LOOK IN YOUR WARDROBE
This is a really good starting point if you haven’t given the ‘favourite colours’ question much thought up to now. Take a look in your wardrobe and you might find some clues.
Do you have several items in the same colour? In my case, there are a lot of blues and greens. Red and purple - that would be none!
Are there items in there that make you feel amazing? Is that because of the colour?
Are there certain colours missing from your wardrobe. Is that just by chance, or are you just not particularly drawn to them. Rule those out from your decorating.
Look to the colours in your wardrobe for clues to your decorating schemes
TIP #2 - THINK ABOUT THE MOOD YOU WANT
Colour has a huge effect on mood. Just think about how you’d feel sitting in red room with the drama and energy it creates. You wouldn’t want to sit down for long, which is why you’ll see red used quite a lot in fast food chains. Eat your burger and move on, please!
So, thinking about the mood you want to create in your home can be a great place to start in your quest to pick a new colour scheme.
For my new loft bedroom, I knew that I wanted the space to be relaxing, calming and cocooning. With that in mind, I went for brown on the walls and ceiling as the main element and chose green (now that I know that’s a favourite colour) for the carpet and other accents, such as bedding.
These colours of nature give such a calming effect.
Bonus tip: if a colour combination works well in nature, you can be reassured those colours will mix happily in your home. If you want to explore that some more, check out the Design Seeds website, which has a great nature section for inspiration.
Brown and green, natural colours that are relaxing for a bedroom colour scheme
TIP #3 - USE ART OR ACCESSORIES FOR INSPIRATION
Another good way to choose a room’s colour scheme is to start with something that you’ll be keeping in there, or something you have your eye on, and use that to pick out colours.
That could be colours you like in a rug, cushion, or art, for example. For this method to be most successful, you’ll need to make sure you’re really drawn to the item you’re using for colour inspiration, otherwise it’s just a bit of a random choice again.
My kitchen at home is coming up for a revamp. I have a picture that belonged to my late father, which I know that I’ll be keeping in there, and I plan to use that for my colour inspiration. I’m thinking blue or blue/greens, picking out the colours of the sky and sea. And, as you know, by following tip number 1, I now know that I’m drawn to blues and greens. So, I’m really confident to get out the paintbrush with this colour choice.
Look at art and accessories you love for a steer on potential colours for your home
I can tell you, that confidence feels good, particularly when you’ve experienced being lost with these decisions. It really isn’t difficult to get there.
No more to being paralysed by the all the choice. No more random colour decisions.
Will you give any of these tips a try?
Victoria x
P.S. Don’t forget to think about using colour on your ceiling. Check out my post showing that white paint isn’t your only option!
