Rooms that face south, south-east or south-west receive little or no sunshine during the day, making them dark and uninviting. You can lend some cheer to such a room by choosing from a palette of warm colours – yellow, red, orange and brown. Likewise, you can make sunny rooms seem cool with blues, greens, greys and lavenders. But beware of those cool colours if you live in a cold climate. Research shows that people feel colder in rooms with cool colours, If you are committed to off-white, choose either a warm or a cool tint of that neutral colour depending on its desired effect.
Colour library
Keep a record of paint colours, brand names, and places used, as well as a paint sample on wood paint stir sticks hung on a beaded chain. Now you can take your paint library to the shop with you to match colours or choose complementary or contrasting ones.
Moving the walls
Colour can also create optical illusions. For example, light colours reflect light and make the small room seem larger. Warm colours seem to advance and ‘fill’ space, whereas cool colours tend to recede. A white ceiling will seem higher; a dark ceiling will appear lower.
Complementary colours – in this case apple-green and violet – make for a striking decorative effect.
One room, four ways
Same room, same furniture, these four pictures show just how easy it is to create different styles simply by changing the colour.
