How to Select Colors that Inspire

The power of color can alter your experience. It can make a room look larger, smaller, lighter or darker. Lighter shades invoke feelings of tranquility and relaxation, whereas bolder colors like red incite energy and passion. See below image for more details about the psychology of colors. We have colors all around us and I like to use them to create visual tension. If you don’t juxtapose the right textures and colors you’ll get bored with the room in a matter of no time, which often leads to overpaying to make up for the right design direction.

When choosing colors let the room speak to you without feeling insecure of having to force colors or textures in hopes of it coming together. Start by choosing one dominant color with two secondary accent colors. Colors often feed off of one another. For example, the way your eyes take in blue next to a green versus a yellow often gives you two different colors of blue. In a neutral palette hierarchy is important. If the base of your home (walls, trim, flooring) are neutral then let the furniture, textiles and paintings be your accents.

Photo Courtesy of LuxDeco

Sometimes if the colors do not visually present itself during the initial consultation - I look at artists, Pinterest, Instagram or paint companies for inspiration. Mixing colors can be scary, but when you find your inspiration let that guide you. For example, if you’re inspired by a beautiful textile, use the colors in it to choose your paint color or do a complementary color because it does not always have to match. The key is consistency.

I would not recommend a dark ceiling color unless your ceilings are greater than 9’. If you feel wild, I would adhere some beautiful wallpaper on the ceiling with paint on the side walls so your attention goes to the artwork of the paper. Every architectural detail and furniture selection in the room should speak in harmony.