One of the hardest things about home decor can be choosing a color scheme for your home design. We often study color samples for hours, hoping for inspiration for a design that will seem fresh and hold up for at least a year or two.
Colors are symbolic in many ways. They depict a mood, send a message and reflect a personality.
It is understandable to see why neutral colors are the rage now, what with the recession and major global crisis. Subdued and calm are the colors to root for these times, hues reflecting comfort, safety and familiarity. An assurance in some ways for the difficult times we’re facing.
Bright colors as accents are everywhere too, to show that the future is not at all bleak. The touch of yellows, reds, greens and blues are great complements to the more underplayed neutral tones. A sofa set for example, in tan looks awesome (and promising!) with throw pillows covered in crimson or amethyst.
Brown, which has been a mainstay of color for several years, is starting to wane in 2009. Instead of deep chocolate brown in upholstery and area rugs, lighter shades such as tan, beige, mocha and caramel are being used. Also on its way out is the combination of brown and blue.
As the browns start to fade out, designs say that the color gray appears to be on the upswing. As a foundation color, gray spans a range of hues from soft dove gray to dusky charcoal to deep hematite. Gray also holds its own when jazzed up with pearlescent and metallic accents.
Green too is a favored color especially at this time when environmental concerns are growing in number. At this time, we can see green shades in many of the upholstery, area rugs, drapes and other fabrics.
European design has embraced the classic combination of black and white. America too is doing the same, with this color match becoming a trendy choice in many homes. The same is true with the combination of contrasting colors like red and pink, green and red, and so on. Red and pink are noteworthy as known colors for the fight against HIV/AIDS and breast cancer.
Another color that is slowly coming out of the background and making a name for itself is the color violet. This is now a popular alternative to black, especially for Goth lovers. The soft lavender hue for home decors is now getting itself a tough competition with violet.
Yellow may be an in color as an accent but as a primary color, it is now being replaced by the more eye-catching gold. I guess it’s a good reminder of how much money economies have lost and need to gain back.
Choosing a color scheme for your home design is a fun and educational process. As you go through your choices, you not only discover a thing or two about yourself, but of how your mood affects certain choices you make.
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