Article:
Define your interior with paint
By Shelley Anderson
July 2008
Using paint color and finish to define and accent areas in your home can bring continuity to your interior design plan. By first identifying your personal decorating style, your color choices will follow. Whether your look is traditional, contemporary or somewhere in between, there are color schemes that are typically used in each style. When you see blue and brown together you will think classic contemporary. Orange, green and yellow will usually say hip, retro contemporary. If your style leans toward traditional with a Craftsman flair, your color palette will include golden mustard, sage greens and terra cotta reds. When you see rustic plaster finishes you will most likely think Tuscan.
Once you have determined your style you will need to select a color scheme. Start by picking up paint selection strips at your local paint store. Pull several colors that appeal to you. You can edit later at home. At this point, you don’t need to know exactly where you will be placing these colors, you just have to like them.
When you are home with your selected colors, cut out the colors you like and discard the rest, this will help cut down on the confusion. At this point, you should be able to eliminate many of the colors you’ve brought home. Once you have reduced the paint colors to three to five selections, you are ready to move on to the next step of deciding where you will use them. As you go through your home assigning colors, you may eliminate more of the colors you initially chose. They may look great with the overall group of colors, but simply won’t work as wall color. Keep these colors in mind, they can be great guides for furniture, fabrics and accessories.
As you plan your paint colors by room you will need to consider your furnishings and their placement. If you are planning to do any accent walls, your furniture placement is very important. It will affect the balance of the room. Usually the darker accent wall will anchor your larger or bulkier furnishing or architectural element. If you paint your accent wall on one of the three remaining walls, the space will most-likely feel busy or out of balance.
Don’t be afraid to use different colors through your home, just employ some of the basic color rules of adjacent colors on the color wheel will work together, as well as colors which are opposite on the wheel. You can also use what I call an “updated neutral” color to work with the “fashion” colors you’ve selected.
By using wall colors that validate the style of your decorating preference, your home will flow and the feel will be consist throughout.
The photo shows how use of three separate wall colors enhance the Craftsman style of this home.
Shelley Anderson has been creating interiors in the greater Seattle area since 1990.You may contact her at (206) 719-6814 or email her at
shelley.anderson@shelleyandersoninteriors.com.