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Achieving Balance with Color
by Kathleen M. Peters, www.KatieDidDesign.com
Do you ever look at a professionally
decorated room and wonder what exactly makes it look so good? There are many
aspects of decorating that come together to create the perfect room... but
there is one element that brings it all together into a harmonious whole.
That all-important element is balance.
Balance is an extremely important part of
your color scheme. Not in which colors to use, but in how much and where.
When it comes to color balance, it's important to remember that darker colors
take up more visual space. For example, if you have one hunter green pillow
and one soft rose pillow on a light-colored floral sofa, the majority of
people coming in the room will notice the green pillow before they notice
the rose pillow or the sofa. The problem with this, is that you didn't decorate
your room for people to look at your green pillow - you decorated it for
them to notice the beauty of the whole room and feel comfortable in it.
So how do we apply color balance to our decorating?
It's not really difficult. Once you have decided on your colors and patterns,
evaluate them. Figure out which of your colors will take up more visual space
and weight, which will take up less, and how much more or less. Evaluate
each pattern as a separate color. Think of everything in terms of how many
parts of each should be in the entire mix. In the above example, since the
green is very dark, and the rose and floral are very light, then you'd probably
want to use a mix of approximately 1 part hunter green, 4-5 parts soft rose
and floral. If your floral was darker - perhaps using more of the hunter
green than the rose - then your mix should be more like 1 part hunter green,
1-2 parts floral, and 3 parts soft rose. But if your floral was still light
and your green was a medium sage - then your mix should be something like
1 part sage, 3 parts soft rose and floral. You must use more of your lighter
colors to balance the weight of the darker colors and make them appear equal.
Perhaps place two rose pillows in front of two green pillows, or trim two
rose pillows in hunter cording. If these are the colors in your bedroom,
you might want to keep the hunter for your bedskirt and a throw pillow or
two, and use the lighter colors and prints on the more prominent parts of
the bed, such as the comforter and larger pillows.
What if you don't want your colors and prints
to appear equal? Maybe you want to use lots of the print and a sage, and
only want the rose and hunter to be accents. If this is the case, then you'll
evaluate your main color(s) separately from the accent color(s). Figure out
how many parts of your main colors and prints balance each other, and figure
out how many parts of your accent colors and prints balance each other. If
the sage and floral are equal, then use them equally all over the room. But
use approximately 1 part hunter to every 3 parts rose in your accents. Otherwise
the rose will disappear and hunter will be the only noticeable accent color.
These principles in color balance apply first
to the entire room, then to each section or part of your room. And they aren't
hard and fast rules, just guidelines that will help bring everything together
and make your rooms beautiful.
Have fun!
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This article Copyright 1999-2004 - Kathleen Peters, KatieDid Design. Reproduced with permission.
Kathleen Peters - 'Katie' - is a custom window treatment and bedding designer, and owner of KatieDid Design, her online shop. She is also the editor-in-chief of Decor, Decorating, and Design, a free bi-monthly ezine filled with articles, tips, and guidelines to help with your home decorating.
http://www.KatieDidDesign.com
http://www.DecorDecoratingAndDesign.com
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