Choosing Color for your Interior Project

If you haven’t already, please read Choosing Concrete Color 101

A teacher once told my class that if she was wearing a yellow top, she was likely in a bad mood. She wore the bright color to help brighten her mood and not be so negative. Music does the same thing, it affects our mood.

Interior color can do the same thing to a room. If you want a cozy basement or a bright sun room, the color you choose can add or detract from the mood you want the room to display. The walls and the floor provide a lot of colors and we’ll want to use those variables in figuring out the best combination to create an amazing room.

Below are things to think about when choosing color inside your home.

See the following post for choosing color outside: How to choose the best color for your Exterior Project.

Lighting:

If your room doesn’t have much natural or artificial light, it may be wise to avoid very dark colors; you can still choose browns but we’ll want to stay away from a floor that is predominantly that dark of a color. If you want dark color and have low lighting, you’ll want to make sure you have furnishings that help brighten the room to provide a contrast such as a lighter wall paint color. You don’t want to create a dungeon (unless that’s what you’re going for).

Furnishings:

Consider what the main purpose of your room is going to be and what furnishings help to support that purpose. If your room is mainly for a small band, a movie-watching area, a bar, or anything else, you’ll want to get an idea of what the color of a couch is going to be for example. If you have a painting that has some sharp reds in it and you’re learning towards some Earth tones for your floor, you may want to incorporate a little bit of a red highlight into your floor to help that special painting POP!

Think of determining color in your room like choosing an outfit. I showed up to school in 10th grade wearing all beige. I thought that because I was matching, I was making a good fashion decision. No, no no! You don’t want everything you wear to be the same color and you don’t want your room to have all the same color either. Your belt should match your shoes, your tie can pull out a color in your shirt and/or socks, your flowing skirt may be contrasted with a simple form-fitting blouse.

Balance

The photo associated with this post (see below) provides white walls, with very bright lighting from the ceiling. This homeowner was able to get away with a really dark floor (the floor is actually a bit darker than what is shown) because of their contrasting lighting and bright color choices.

Too much of one thing is … too much! If your furniture will be dark brown, lighten the floor up with lighter earth tones but still includes some highlights that match your furniture. This approach will complement your room and not detract from the purpose of the room.