Innovative ideas for choosing color Schemes for your Home


April 30th, 2008

An expensive sofa set with high end products to spice up the interior look of an your home can all go to waste if the correct wall colors are not selected to offset the decorative look. Color co-ordination with the style of home, look of home, personality of the people who live in that home is necessary to achieve that picture perfect look for your home. Choosing a color scheme can be confusing what with all the different colors and the textures available in the market. It can be an imposing task to choose the right wall color that matches with the decor you have chosen for your home. A few but innovative ideas can help you choose the correct color scheme for your home.

In the event you are moving into a new home and have the option of your home from scratch then, starting with choosing the style of your home can give you a good idea of which colors might best suit your needs. Next, you can get on to choosing the fabrics to suit your sofa sets, table linen, bed linen etc. Out of these, fabric should serve as the anchor fabric. The background color of this fabric can be used as the wall color. The brightest color in the fabric can be used for accessories and the mid tone color in the fabric can be used to make large furniture pieces or even the flooring. However, a choice of 3 colors will suffice for the living room. To get the maximum effect for a brighter room, you should use the background light color in 60% of the space available including furniture and accessories, the mid-tone color in 30% of the space and the brightest color in only about 10% of the space.

Another way to decide the color scheme of your house would be to decide the geographical direction of each and every room, the amount of natural light allowed in the room during the day time and size and the utility of the room. For example mild or light colors can be used for a room facing north as this room receives the minimum of natural light while a west facing room can have a side wall with a bright color as the natural light in the room during the day would be the maximum. However, again if this room is the master bedroom or the guest bedroom a bright color might be too strong and create too much visual stimulation.

Also, if the size of the room or the house is small then using bright shades can make the room look even smaller. Use of lighter colors gives the illusion of space. The color of the furniture and accessories can then be decided to suit the color of the walls.

New Decorating Trends


April 23rd, 2008

As people’s lives get busier and busier, a home is not just another place to sleep at night. A home has become a place of peace, a place to relax and rejuvenate for another busy and stressful day. With this in mind, more and more people are looking to decorate their homes in a way where a home is simple, functional, low maintenance and yet elegant, warm and inviting.

As with everything else, people’s demand sets the trend on decoration and some of the latest trends ensure that a home gives maximum functionality, minimum maintenance and looks warm and creative without being loud and opulent. Hand crafted furniture and accessories like intricately carved statues and metal with detailed scroll work is in high demand this season. Leather furniture combined with different fabrics to create different textures is also in high demand.

Another trend that has caught on with homeowners are do-it-yourself projects like home made lamp shades, self woven curtains, hand made sofa throws and even hand knitted table cloths. A traditional decor which looks colorful and elegant is also in this season. Furniture pieces reflecting nature like bamboo flooring, and rattan furniture have also caught attention. Along side this, ethnic furniture from different countries, traditions and periods are in demand. Mild wall colors like beige and gold with warm browns and pumpkin spice or even shades of blues and greens offset in a neutral background are the choice of the season for their soothing feel.

As far as furniture is concerned, huge bulky furniture is out and multi-purpose and space saving furniture is in, which gives maximum storage. Narrower sofas, coffee tables doubling as dining tables or small dining tables with stool chairs are in to save space. Functional art like design lighting has become a popular option for small homes where different light sculptures serve the need of lighting as well as add a decorative piece of art to the room. Most of the home decor making a come back this season is artistic with curves rather than straight lines and clean cuts.

Another decorative and functional item making a big comeback this season is room divider screen. With homes getting smaller, making wooden doors can substantially reduce space. A room divider screen can be put into place when the need arises to separate two portions of a home and can be removed to enlarge the space and make it look like a big room. Another popular functional decor is the counter height bistro table which adds a casual touch to the dining atmosphere allowing the family to relax and have a quick meal.

With these new trends, a home can be made multi-functional and multi-purpose while at the same time giving it a spacious and clutter free look.