1. IDEAS FOR DECORATING A ROOM
WITH COLOR AND PATTERN
Academy for Lifelong Learning
Lone Star College-CyFair
March 19, 2013
By Lenore Caplan
.Color inspiration pieces include: art, pillows, rugs, accessories and fabrics.
.Choose colors to suit your complexion. If you don’t look good in it don’t use it.
.Look in your wardrobe closet for colors you like. Clothes you feel good in and those that you get
complements when you wear them are good choices for home decor.
.Choose an all neutral room as a choice, not as a default for lack of a better idea.
.A room with all neutrals needs to have variations in shades and tones as well as a variety of textures such
as shiny, rough, nubby, etc. for interest.
.Neutrals include most shades of white, beige, brown and black and gray.
.The quality of the furniture and fabrics in an all neutral room becomes much more apparent. When
decorating within a tight budget, use beautiful colors and patterns which can distract from flaws in
materials or workmanship.
.In rooms with a lot of color or pattern, a suitable neutral is a good choice for the larger items in the space
such as the sofa or bed as well as carpet or flooring. This can provide a good backdrop for your color
scheme and make later changes in color possible.
.One of the most famous New York interior designers once said, “Every room needs a little bit of black”.
This works well even in an all white or beige design serving to ground the room and keep the furnishings
from appearing to float.
.Exact color “memory” is a skill difficult to achieve even for professionals. When shopping for
furnishings and accessories, carry along samples of paint, fabric, etc. to match or coordinate with. One
can use paint color swatches to match pictures and other items too large to carry along. All good
designers have their shopping bag of samples.
.When coordinating colors, take items to natural daylight. Most artificial store lighting, particularly
fluorescent, can make colors appear quite different from reality.
.Paint colors should be tested at home, on different walls and viewed at different times of day to
determine its exact effect. You can buy small samples of paint to apply to your walls for this purpose.
This will save you from costly mistakes.
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2. .When coordinating fabric with prints or multicolor designs, view them from a distance of at least 3 or 4
feet. A color that you notice from close inspection and may want to use as an accent may be all but
invisible from a distance and thus less suitable.
.Transitioning a major color from room to room produces a pleasing flow. This may involve continuing a
color in the next room but it may be used in a different intensity or in smaller, accent amounts only.
.Transitioning is less important when doing bedrooms which are usually apart from the main flow of
traffic. They present a good opportunity to enjoy trying a completely new color scheme if desired. Some
people enjoy a cool, soothing monotonal atmosphere while others prefer waking up to a bright, cheerful
environment.
.A contrasting color “focal wall” has come back into vogue recently. It is important to choose the wall
that is most important in the room to which you want the eye to be drawn. Focal points may be the large
sofa wall or it could be the place which contains the fireplace and/or large TV installation.
. Use “accent colors” in at least three different places in the room spread apart. This may include art,
pillows, accessories or occasional pieces of furniture.
.Choose accessories that are large, “important pieces”. Items that are larger but few in number produce a
more striking effect than a number of small accessories which tend to look cluttered. If you have a
collection of small items that you are fond of, try to group them together on one table or in a suitable
cabinet for best effect.
.Tabletop accessories look best when grouped in odd numbers. It is also more pleasing to the eye if they
vary in height as well.
.Art is a picture or object that produces an emotional feeling in the viewer. Any piece of true art that is
important to you does not have to match your décor in color or in style. It may stand alone.
.There are also paintings, sculptures, etc. which do not have the effect of true art but are objects of decor.
They still hold an important place in room décor and are often chosen to carry out a color scheme, the
period of the furniture or be used as an accent in the room.
. It is often pleasing to use art as a counterpoint to the room’s décor. To do this one may put a very
contemporary, abstract work in a traditional room or a traditional, ornate piece of furniture in a very
modern décor. This treatment is also commonly and effectively done by the use of area rugs. Many a
modern or contemporary room is made more interesting and warm by the use of traditional oriental rugs.
.Many rooms may benefit from a bit of whimsy. Its fun to place an unusual accessory or occasional piece
of furniture in an otherwise serious room décor to lighten up the mood and serve as a “conversation piece.
It is a way to add your own personality.
.When mixing patterns in a space, it is necessary to use those with common colors. It is very important to
vary the style of the pattern as well as the proportion. In other words, two florals with similar colors will
only work well together if one is much larger than the other. Most florals or curvy designs will work well
with geometrics. When mixing geometrics together, such as stripes, make sure that there is a considerable
difference in the size of the stripes.
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3. . The more texture in the fabric, the more casual the look is likely to be. Conversely, the sleeker or
shinier the fabric, the dressier it looks. Mixing textures in one room’s décor makes a more interesting
look.
. Adding darker, more saturated colored fabrics as well as geometrics can make a largely floral and more
feminine room more masculine.
. Starting a scrapbook of room décor is a good way to begin a new design project. This could include
fabric and color swatches as well as furniture styles and room layouts that are pleasing to you. This may
be done online at one of several good sites such as www.Houzz.com and www.Tradhome.com. They
have wonderful room designs, various styles of furniture and color schemes to give you ideas or just
something to think about as you plan.
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