Colors
Don’t Think About It Any artist can tell you that the more you stare at something, the harder it becomes to truly see it. Sometimes the best thing you can do while trying to choose a color is to take a break for several days and come back to your options with a fresh perspective. When you come back, look at your selections and go with your gut. Ultimately, if you really love a color — light, dark, soft or bright — it will feel livable, so there’s no reason to choose any hue but the one that feels right to you.
It’s truly wisest not to judge the color at all until at least the next day, and to give yourself some time to adjust to the change in your space before jumping to any conclusions. This is especially true with darker shades, which will visually shrink the space in a way you will need a little time to get used to.
5. Take Your Time To some, painting a room, and then painting it again later to change the shade, isn’t a big deal. After all, paint is one of the relatively easier elements of a space to fix if you make a mistake. For others, the effort and expense of repainting is a major pain. If this is you, it’s worth taking the time beforehand to really sit with a color option before taking the plunge. The more time you take to sit with the choice, the less likely you are to get swept up in a passing fad or sudden impulse.
Another huge factor that can change how you perceive a paint color is the size of the swatch. No matter how carefully you look at it, a tiny paint store swatch will never fully show you what a color will look like on a full wall. For this reason, designers will often apply a “paint strike,” a large stroke of paint, directly to the wall to see how it will look in real life.
Bringing something pure white — and also pure black if you have it (like a leather jacket or a jet black shirt) — will give you something to contrast against the paint swatches in the store to help you see the undertones more clearly. For example, a “light” blue may seem lighter than the other blue shades on the same paint chip, but compared with a stark white it might suddenly look a lot more saturated.
When you go to the paint store, don’t go empty-handed. Bringing a piece of art or fabric as color inspiration can be useful, but something even simpler can help you see colors correctly: a white sheet of paper. In the store, a pale color may look virtually white, but in your home it will likely be contrasted by some bright white elements such as the ceiling, trim or even something as simple as a switch plate or lampshade, rendering the color much more noticeable.
Choosing subtle colors, as opposed to bold and saturated hues, can be the trickiest, as the more subdued the tones in the paint, the harder they will be to see in a paint chip. For this reason it is wise to grab some paint chips that are similar to the color you think you want, but a bit off. Grab the paint chip that appeals to you at first glance, but also take two swatches on either side of it for variety. When you look at these paint chips again at home, you may find that one you didn’t think you liked is actually the right one for your home.
Haller said: “I start the conversation with how do you want to feel in the space, and what do you want to do in the space? The behavior in that space determines the choice of color. If it happens to be a trend color, so be it, but it’s all about using color to influence behavior.” Ranpura believes our color preferences are influenced by external factors. “The relationship between color and mood is probably learned, a cultural association,” he said, citing red as an example of a color that has different meanings around the world. He also cited our language about mood and color. “We talk about feeling dark and feeling blue. We use these downward-moving words and darker images,” he said, suggesting that this could affect how we feel about darker tones. When asked whether dark rooms can make people feel depressed, Ranpura said: “I would make an argument that it very much depends on the person, because some people in a bright, open space will feel exposed and therefore anxious, and maybe that feels like a depression for them. Some people will feel comforted by a room that encloses them.”
From creamy whites to warm woods and hints of grey, this award-winning home showcases a beautiful color palette and relaxed elegance. Project completed by Wendy Langston's Everything Home interior design firm, which serves Carmel, Zionsville, Fishers, Westfield, Noblesville, and Indianapolis. For more about Everything Home, click here: https://everythinghomedesigns.com/ Example of a mid-sized transitional two-story exterior home design in Indianapolis with a clipped gable roof - Houzz Exterior PhotosHome Among the Willows: Exterior Everything Home Everything Home 76 Reviews Follow This photo has no questionsAsk a Question Have a question about this photo? Ask our community. Other Photos in Home Among the Willows: Exterior Example of a mid-sized transitional two-story exterior home design in Indianapolis with a clipped gable roof Similar Ideas
It is stone installed by Liebeck Masonry. For more details, we recommend contacting them directly. The door is Benjamin Moore Country Redwood. The siding is a custom color formulated to match CertainTeed Cedar Impressions Spruce color. The trim is custom as well to Match Marvin's Coconut Cream windows. Thanks for asking! Like | 1Save
Like this color for laundry Suspended Mirrors If you have an unusual bathroom layout or an inconveniently placed window or obstacle, don’t forget that mirrors don’t absolutely have to hang flat on a wall. Suspending a mirror from the ceiling or a window frame, or mounting it on rails rising from the counter, can allow you to place a mirror in a new, functional spot. Keep an open mind, and you can really open up some beautiful views.
White kitchen with lots of color
No, too white
The design team at Willow & Co. covered the wall in this Phoenix powder room with shiplap painted a pale green. A custom vanity made from a vintage dresser features matte black hardware to give it a more contemporary look.
For all the attention on color as an escape from an overwhelming world, designers and homeowners may be glad to know that the latest hues are also tied to optimism. Colors such as Benjamin Moore’s First Light and even offerings from companies abroad, like Dulux’s just-released 2020 Color of the Year, the pale green Tranquil Dawn, bring to mind a sense of peaceful new beginnings, in name as well as appearance.
Interior designers at Design Chicago who talked with Houzz said they’re seeing this attraction to calm simplicity show up in client color and design requests. “I have found my clients craving visual rest in their homes,” designer Sarah Coe said. “This is achieved by creating rooms that are Inviting the eye to look closer.
Other 2020 Benjamin Moore shades, such as Crystalline, the muted green shown here, give off that same sense of softness and serenity.
Experts from Benjamin Moore noted similar trends in their company’s 2019 palettes compared with recent years. In a Design Chicago presentation on Benjamin Moore palettes of the last five years, 2019’s colors had a more minimalist feel overall, with fewer highlighted colors and more whites, grays and pale blues. Instead of 2018’s bold red Caliente, for instance, a soft gray called Metropolitan was featured this year. “For 2019, we observed a shift where quietude and a retreat from noise and chaos seemed to pervade the mood,” Hannah Yeo, a Benjamin Moore color and development expert, told Houzz. “There’s a need to pause and enjoy not only moments of quiet and tranquillity, but also the small details that we may otherwise overlook when we are immersed in the hustle and bustle of the day. Our research signaled a balance between strength and softness, presented in a subtle yet powerful manner.”
As Plank told Design Chicago attendees, those palettes — meant to “bring joy, serenity and focus to the mind, body and spirit,” according to Sherwin-Williams — include Mantra, a collection of dusty pinks and warm beiges influenced by minimalism, serenity and sanctuary, and Haven, a set of richer but still muted blues, greens and grays that draws from simplicity and “beckons to those seeking an oasis.” Plank also cited as influences the concepts of healthy living, sustainability and even JOMO, the homebody cousin of FOMO (fear of missing out). It stands for “joy of missing out.” Sherwin-Williams’ annual forecast “is a reflection of key influences in pop culture, fashion, design and technology, which are constantly evolving,” the company’s director of color marketing Sue Wadden told Houzz. “Each year, our global color and design team travels the world to research and identify key trends that influence the way we interact with color. From those findings, the team turns emerging themes into the annual forecast, and 2020 was all about wellness and slowing down to bring our best selves into the next decade.” Paint on smaller arch: Breathless, Sherwin-Williams; gray wall paint: Softwa...
Wellness is the common thread that stitches together the five color palettes Sherwin-Williams recently released for next year, said Michael Plank, the company’s director of color marketing and design.
Library or bedroom
Main feature. Custom cabinet painted in Needlepoint Navy by Sherwin-Williams. Other special features. “The wallpaper’s subtle orange and blue tones are a blend of our clients’ preferences,” Féliz-Grimm says. “She preferred warm orange hues; he was especially drawn to blues. Our design palette became a perfect marriage of both colorways throughout their home.”
Reminds me of dream kitchen and don’t like
One of the places where a designer’s eye and experience were crucial was picking paint colors. For example, Lovett knew that some of the green paint colors that looked serene to her clients on tiny paint store samples would actually appear garish on their walls. “They wanted to add some color, but it needed to be soft and soothing,” she says. She pointed them toward Benjamin Moore’s Gray Wisp, a soft gray with subtle green undertones. “This wound up being the ideal color to pull in. This is why you hire a designer,” she says.
Meanwhile, when it comes to white cabinets, Jacob says she’s seeing a transition from “stark bright white to a softer white, like Alabaster (by Benjamin Moore), which pairs well with the black and navy trends.”
Very important Try Tone on Tone Not a fan of stark white? You can still get a very big and breezy effect with a tone-on-tone palette in warm beige, soft grays or even faint hues such as powder blue. Choose a sumptuous tile, and find a paint color for the remaining walls that picks up on one of the hues within it. The overall effect is still serene and spa-like, without the jarring visual breaks to shrink your perception of the space.
Walker Zanger tile. Soft matching colors
Fully Wrapped Powder Rooms Going for bold style in a powder room is nothing new. Designers tend to like to go a little wild in these small spaces often used by guests. One way to go big or go home is by wrapping the entire powder room in a feature wallpaper or other material. In this popular powder room, designer Kimberlee Gorsline of Kimberlee Marie Interior Design wrapped all the walls in white shiplap to create a textured backdrop for a mint green vanity and patterned ceramic floor tile
Colorful Laundry Rooms Bright fresh, colorful laundry room. Like built in drawers for W/D Designers have long championed making laundry room enjoyable spaces to be in. After all, if you’re going to do a tedious chore, you might as well be in a pleasant atmosphere. But lately designers and homeowners seem to be taking that idea even further. They’re introducing energizing colors, patterns and features to transform these spaces into enjoyable rooms, making them lively, cheerful and a bit quirky. In this laundry room by Alison Kandler Interior Design, a green French door (Southfield Green by Benjamin Moore), a periwinkle backsplash tile and colorful accessories perk up washday.
Soft kitchen colors are trending In this Boston kitchen by Windhill Builders, soft gray cabinets (Light Pewter by Benjamin Moore) join soft satin-brass fixtures and a light marble backsplash and quartzite countertops for a refreshing look.
Great shades for farmhouse-style spaces: Warm neutrals. Buttermilk, camel, cream, straw, wheat Cool neutrals. Gray, greige, khaki, stone Natural blues and greens. Duck egg blue, robin egg blue, Wedgwood blue, sage Spicy hues. Cinnamon, saffron, pumpkin, chile pepper, baked apple Earth tones: Chestnut, mushroom, umber, sepia
Beautiful color combo
After finding a right-sized vanity for the master bath at Home Depot, the couple realized they didn’t like it after they brought it home. They felt its styling was too contemporary, so to make it seem a bit rustic, they applied a glaze and changed the hardware. It now plays perfectly with the barnwood-look tile. Wall color: Mindful Gray, Sherwin-Williams
The view is the first thing you see upon waking in this room. The outdoors theme continues inside with organic accessories and woodsy, floral decor. Bed accessories: Ralph Lauren
Dutch boy “sandstone Tint” Best advice for choosing color— As a designer whose claim to fame has been creating amazingly connective indoor-outdoor sanctuaries, I probably would never use a teal tone on any of my projects as they lean too much to the blue side. Because plant incorporation is always prevalent in my projects, the true test for choosing the right color selection is derived from grabbing a leafy branch off of a bush or tree and holding it up against your color selections. For me, it works every time!
Layer With Color Your choice of color isn’t important only for how it looks; it also will have a big impact on how you feel in the space. Get it wrong, and the color will shout at you every time you enter the room. Get it right, and you won’t even notice the color — you’ll just love spending time in the space. A good tip is to layer your color palette: Start with a neutral backdrop and build on color carefully by adding bolder shades through accessories and art. However, neutral doesn’t mean painting your walls a bland shade. You can create a neutral version of practically any color by going either very light or very dark. Think grays, caramels and sandy tones, all of which work in any version from light to dark as a neutral backdrop that you can combine with any other accent color.
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