Making the most of interior color - color in interior decoration

Sunset, March, 1995 by Daniel Gregory

The quickest and cheapest way to remodel a room is to use color on walls, ceilings, or floors. So how does one navigate through all the color possibilities? We turned to interior designers and an architect for some basic color advice.

COLOR THAT FITS

A good interior designer looks at color in terms of a comprehensive plan for the house, so that the colors of all the rooms work together to form a unified whole. This means thinking of the color scheme as an overall structure with major and minor interlocking parts.

San Francisco architectural color consultant Jill Pilaroscia looks for color schemes that fit both the client and the room. It's not always easy. "I look at the total living environment and then at the individual, and try to match the two." Rule number one is to find colors that will match the desired mood with room function. To do this, you must identify your needs and goals, and note how you actually use a particular room. For example, reds are generally stimulating, greens restful, and blues calming. Ask yourself if you want your bedroom to be lively and stimulating or serene and restful.

On the ceiling. interior designer Bette Lovgren of Gig Harbor, Washington, uses neutral colors--which are warmer and do not draw the eye--to keep the eye focused on people or view. In general. says Lovgren. "the lighter the color, the more spacious a room feels."

Architect Amy Nunes wanted what she calls a "studied random effect" in her remodeled kitchen, so she and her husband chose contrasting colors: a blue-green stain for cabinetry and a wheat yellow paint for the walls. Everything is tied together with a white ceiling, white window and baseboard trim, and a white-and-maroon checkerboard tile countertop.

MOOD BY ASSOCIATION

Naturally, color choice is a strongly subjective element. Your lifelong associations with particular colors will be an important factor. Pilaroscia says, "The client may have gotten spanked all the time as a child in a blue room, so in this case blue is not calming." Conversely, pale blue may be the perfect color for your kitchen if it reminds you of a neighborhood ice cream parlor you once frequented.

TUNING THE HUE

Once you've established that you like a particular color and are contemplating using it, say, for a wall, then consider the color's hue (gradation). Blues that range toward red on the color spectrum feel warmer; blues closer to green are cooler. Says Pilaroscia: "Tune the hue before you look at the paint chips." It helps narrow choices.

Seattle interior designer Susan Okamoto says that it's impossible to look at colors in isolation; instead, you have to consider the context and the entire color palette. For example, wood trim, a mantel, or a large expanse of wood floor will affect the color of a room.

LIGHT AFFECTS COLOR

Another important component is a room's lighting--the amount and type of both natural and artificial light. The intensity of daylight varies depending upon the region in which you live and the orientation of your windows and skylights. North-oriented light is cooler than south-oriented. And Okamoto says that in the wetter areas of the Northwest, where foliage is generally dense, "quite often trees can change the quality of light inside--they tend to green things out." Los Angeles interior designer Leslie Harris takes advantage of Southern California's bright sunlight by keeping ceilings, and often walls, white as a way to bounce light around the room.

Consider the type of artificial lighting you are combining with room colors. According to Okamoto, some of the newer low-energy fluorescents are color-corrected but still cast light that is slightly cooler than light from incandescent lamps. Low-voltage halogens come in warmer and cooler ranges. The point, she says, "is to balance the warmth and coolness of daylight and artificial lighting."