Because our minds create associations between our daily lives and color, it can affect emotions like feelings of calm and trigger bodily responses like hunger. As such, color is a powerful tool and can set the mood and expectation for a space. Here is a quick color guide you can use for your home:
Living
Because the living area is the more formal part of a home with possibilities of both socializing and relaxing, it is more flexible and allows for more colorful opportunities. Use a complimentary color scheme for social spaces, this scheme employs two colors opposite from each other on the color wheel (like blue and orange, or red and green). When used together, they create eye-catching contrast. On the other hand, you could play it safe by pairing neutrals like white, beige, and brown with pops of bright colors to give off a mid-century vibe.
Dining
Dining rooms are a place of gathering and sharing, they need to feel cozy and personal. Warm colors like yellows, reds, and oranges are ideal for spaces like these. You could make use a triadic color scheme in dining rooms, which employs colors equally spaced from one another on the color wheel, such as yellow, red, with a touch of blue. Triadic schemes feel more balanced and harmonious than high-contrast complimentary schemes, which work well in the dynamic but intimate setting of dining rooms.
Family and Bedrooms
Bedrooms are a place to unwind and sleep off the stresses of the day - the dynamic colors of living and dining rooms have no place here. Opt instead for cool colors like blues and greens to create a calm and soothing atmosphere. The analogous color scheme would be ideal for these rooms, it employs colors that are side by side on the color wheel. The color combinations of the analogous scheme are usually harmonious and easy on the eyes, perfect for low effort spaces like bedrooms.
One final tip: Before making a palette selection, live with the colors first - always ask for a sample to take home to test in the space you are decorating. Leave it in the room for a few days to see how the color changes under the different lighting used in that space. If you’re satisfied with it, then take the leap. Whichever way you decide to color your home, remember to have some fun and be creative!