Choosing colors for your home can be extremely challenging and even more so when choosing a color palette for a space that you use for entertaining and is accessible to guests, like your living room. It took me many experiments to understand that it is important not to be greedy for more colors when it comes to deciding on a color palette for your living room.
In order to choose a color palette that you connect with, and that also connects with your space one needs to understand that colors have a language and they speak to our mind and lead us to feel in a certain way. I am a believer in building a mood and creating vibes, and I feel that more than technicalities, surrounding yourself with colors that make you feel calm, glamorous or modern is your choice really.
However, it is key to note some basic rules like darker and richer shades tend to draw us in, but at the same time they can unintentionally make a small room, look even smaller. For a large room with metallic and rich texture and fabrics, darker colors may do wonders. Therefore, it is vital to choose hues that make space feel comfortable and inviting.
The first step always is to evaluate the character and function of a room and then work your way into what are your first preferences in terms of color. A room that has plenty of sunlight can use colors ranging from pastels, white or gray to richer jewel tones as well, whereas a room low on natural light, can use colors like powder blue, lavender, pale yellow or just white, to feel brighter and use the available light to feel bigger or brighter.
Rugs are a big element of a living room and can make or break your design, its, therefore, a critical move to choose your rug color in line with your furniture and flooring. You can pick a rug in neutral shades if you want to bring out the bold colors in your furniture and accents or in order to keep the entire room in a neutral or earthy palette with similar neutral accessories.
You can also select a rug that contrasts your furniture like choosing a black and white stripe rug that works very well with an emerald green velvet sofa, a rug like this adds a different pattern and contrast to the room. Another option is to choose a rug that continues the color theme of the furniture in lighter tones and gives the space a flow and ties it all together. At the end of the day, you want either the rug or the furniture/ accents to be the focal point. A good design will bring you in with a focal point and yet will not let your eyes settle.
I don’t prefer rules when it comes to design, but I think based on my experience if you are just starting out decorating your space, it would be wise to limit the number of colors to three and play around with the intensity of the same colors between your furniture, fabrics and accent pieces. It will help you keep the look cohesive and together. As you experiment more and open your mind to more ideas and learn more about how most hues work together or not, you can add two or three more colors to your master palette and keep building upon that.
Lastly, feel the energy and the vibes that you were going for, this is a sure way to know if you feel comfortable, relaxed and proud of the space you just put together. One thing is for sure, if you feel comfortable in the space, everyone else who comes in there will feel the same way too.
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