"Building a Color Scheme"

One of the most difficult challenges of decorating a home or room may be choosing a color scheme. If the layout of your home features a definite flow pattern, where different rooms can be seen while standing in one area of the house., the challenge increases. By using my technique called "The Every Other", you can create a home whose color, pattern and designs have a transient flow.

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Try   these   color   combinations........

Crimson, Slate Blue, Cornflower yellow, and Sage Green

Plum, Antique Gold, Wild Cherry or Rose, and Hunter Green

Terra Cotta, Honey Gold, and Hunter Green 

Warm Taupe, Black, LtBrown with touches of Gold

Salmon, Sage Green, and Ecru with touches of Hunter Green

Cranberry, Gold, and Midnight Blue

Sunshine yellow, Marine Blue, Lime with touches of Wild Cherry

Using barbgarrett's "Every Other" Technique...

Its easy to build a color scheme if you use this technique. The first thing you need to do is PLAN and PREPARE. By PLAN, I mean on paper. Make a rough diagram of your home's floor plan. Measurements do not have to be exact. The idea is to see your color plan, so you can PREPARE. To PREPARE, you need color samples, wallpaper samples, fabric swatches, etc. These items will give you an idea of the patterns and designs you want in your color scheme. You may have heard of a rule about decorating in threes. There are few rules in this field that I adhere to but that is one. Your room should never feature less than three colors. Even though three is an odd number, it creates a balance and prevents one color from receiving too much focus. If you study the sample floor plan above, you will see I have chosen three colors: wine, hunter green, and gold. I have used these same three colors throughout the floor plan. No room will look exactly alike, yet each room will harmonize with each other and flow from one room into the next. On paper is where the "Every Other" technique can really be deployed. When planning your color scheme, keep in mind this simple thought. Never place a pattern in one room, and a different pattern in another room if those two rooms can be viewed at the same time. The only time this is acceptable is if the two wallpapers are coordinating patterns. Usually, a wallpaper book will feature a group of papers that were meant to be paired together. Even then, it is recommended to use the suggested border to tie the two rooms together. Since this process can get a little confusing, look at the floor plan above. As you can see, "Every Other" room has either been painted or wallpapered. That way, you do not have to worry about a gross abundance of pattern conflicting with each other. I have used the three colors in each room, yet each room has a primary color and secondary color. The accent colors, to be used in accessories, window treatments, floor coverings, etc will help tie the overall color scheme together. You can easily introduce another color into the accent colors. Remember, a design must work cohesively on paper before it will work in your home. Good luck...and think COLOR!