Colours

Top 10 design techniques

Painting with colour is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to transform the look and feel of your apartment. Here are ten designer decorating tips that will make it easy and enjoyable to give your apartment an instant face lift.

Deliberately set out to create the mood with colour

Active colours include yellow, orange and red. These colours works well in rooms used for socializing and entertaining as they create a positive and inspiring statement with their energetic and upbeat attitude. Red and orange excite and invigorate and lemon and golden yellow spark creativity and are an excellent choice for home offices and kitchens. Passive colours are from the cool side of the colour wheel such as blue, green and purple. These colour stay quietly in the background and calm and restore your energy, so use them in rooms which are primarily designed for resting, such as bathrooms and bedrooms. Neutral colours are the diplomats of decorating because they blend, combine and incorporate easily. Darker neutrals tone down other colours, while crisp white intensifies them.

Don't be trend slave

Look for inspiration from your favourite fabrics, furniture or from nature. These personal colour selections will make you happy, so don't live with someone else's taste, pick the colours you like. You have to love colours you live with!

Don't know which colour scheme to go for? Use monochromatic

This is a subtle variation of a single colour color scheme for more ideas. Monochromatic schemes are easy to work with to create a very pulled together look and they can easily be spiced up with various accessories.

Keep it simple

Don't use more than two to three colours. If you are using accent colour remember that a little goes a long way. In a monochromatic scheme you should choose a much lighter or deeper shade or if you have chosen a complementary scheme pick a colour from the opposite side of the colour wheel.

Use wall colour as a background colour

Picking a perfect wall colour can be difficult but the the key to it is to pick a colour that goes with everything. Think of it as a background to which you are adding more layers such as accents, flooring, accessories and furniture.

Accent trim, doors, windows and ceilings with coloured paint

Most people tend to go for white paint but sometimes white can sometimes contrast too strongly with certain colours and can even make the other hues appear less appealing.

Choose hues of the same value and intensity

To avoid jarring colours when painting with several colours, you should forget the colours for a moment and try to think of them as different shades of grey, lighter to darker. The idea is to have greys that are all very close as most colours can go together if they are of similar values.

Choose a flat sheen, in older apartments

Flat paints helps hide unevenness and imperfections that usually come with older homes.

Try to add dimension and depth to your walls

Use different techniques such as colour washing or sponging. These techniques are easier then you think and can change and enhance the mood of any room.

Maintain balance

Visually balance the colours on the wall and the items in the room. Step back and arrange objects with care in order to counterpoint their visual impact on the room. A balance room should be visually pleasing and this will give you comfort.