Home Design Guide - Combining Colors

For any color scheme to succeed you must first decide upon your principal color, which you can use as a signature throughout your house. This signature color can appear as large or small elements in every room, acting as a catalyst to unify and hold the whole look together.

Once you have decided upon your principal color, consider what colors you wish to combine it with. Within any room the colors used can be roughly defined as either base, foreground or accent colors.

The term base color refers to the 'base note' within a color, in other words the color used as a basis for the paint mix. Two apparently similar colors, for example two greens, may have been mixed using totally different base note colors - one having a warm base and the other a cool base - and these will determine the ultimate effect the green will have when painted on the wall.

 As the difference between a warm and cool base will have a radical effect on the atmosphere of a room, it is important to get this aspect of color correct before going on to the next stage of picking the foreground colors.

 While the background color is the underlying color which will subtly set the tone of the room, foreground colors are the colors that are most immediately obvious as soon as you walk into the room. In other words they are the main colors which appear in the furnishings - curtains and other fabrics, rugs, pictures and furniture. If you wish to engender a feeling of calm and comfort these colors should harmonize with the base color. However, if you are after drama they can contrast.

 Lastly, there are the accent colors. These are colors that are used to lift the overall look of the room, either by complementing or contrasting with the base color. They can be introduced in numerous items; such as lamps, cushions, picture frames, and even wall stencils or friezes. When using an accent color it is vital to get the balance correct as an accent color works best in small quantities.

 When deciding upon any color scheme, you need to think about more than just one room at a time, because as soon as the connecting doors are opened you will be able to see from one room to another. So beware of color clashes.

 If you are fashion designer, you are creative and creativity matters when it comes to colors. You might want to know how to become a fashion designer if you are creative. With a little more creativity you can also learn how to build a garden maze with different colors.