Making Your House Your Home – June 2015

Spring and summer seasons bring many warm, bright and vivid colors to the clothes we wear and the landscape we enjoy seeing. So why not bring it into our homes, as well?

“Pantone” publishes a “color of the year” and this year it is a beautiful color called “Marsala.” If asked to describe it, one would say it is a pinky—purple—rusty red. Last year the color chosen was Emerald green. Both of these colors are intense, warm colors that can add a dramatic, full-bodied accent when used in an indoor or outdoor setting. What is your happy color? Whether you choose to go with earthly hues, shimmery tones, a more tropical look or with bold colors from around the world, we can help bring the color home. Today, we are seeing brighter colors being used—look for them while watching the 2016 summer Olympics from Rio De Janeiro in a couple of months.

The color wheel was invented by Sir Isaac Newton and allows us to view colors as they relate to each other. There are only 3 primary colors: red, blue and yellow. By mixing these 3 colors we come up with secondary colors such as purple, green and orange. With further mixing, we develop what are called tertiary colors that would be named red /violet or blue/green, etc.

Color and hue actually mean the same thing although these words are often confused, even by professionals, as meaning something different. If you tint a color or hue, you lighten it, as is a pastel. If you create a different “shade” of a color, you darken it with black. Toned color is when you actually lighten and darken it, so in effect you are adding grey to the color. Complimentary colors which are opposite each other on the color wheel always work well together. A monochromatic color scheme is when one color is used in varying shades of itself. Analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel and a triad color scheme is the use of colors that are in a triangular shape on the color wheel.

How do you decide what color(s) to use in your own home? Even though Pantone releases a new color of the year, that doesn’t mean you should redo your house annually and use that color. You may not even like that color! Use the internet or watch HGTV shows or thumb through magazines of homes and take screen shots or mark the pages of rooms that appeal to you. Study these by yourself or with an interior designer to see what it is that you like about the photo. Incorporate the colors from these rooms into your own home by following some of the guidelines above. Remember, you don’t have to do a complete makeover to achieve a new look. Paint is fairly inexpensive and easy to change-out, so start with an accent wall that matches or coordinates with a couple of new throw pillows to bring new life into your room.