Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Design: What Color Reveals About You and How…

The Meaning of Color and What Your Favorite Hue Reveals About You

Color, or the absence of color plays a critical role in our lives both at home and work. One reason is because our favorite color reveals something about our personality and can impact our mood. So, as you’re reading this blog article think about the message different colors speak to you and how impactful a whole wall of color could be on your mood.

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  • White – White is the color of innocence which is probably why the traditional wedding dress is white. White is considered the color of cleanliness, honesty, and simplicity, but lovers of this color may also be more organized, immaculate, or lead simple lives. In addition, white provides a great backdrop for other colors to stand out.
  • Black – Conversely, black is considered formal, and a color of power. It’s sophisticated, secure, and dramatic, but it can also convey a darkness, sadness, or cold feel depending on the circumstances.
photo example of topic
Interior design by Karen MIlls
  • Gray – Gray lovers tend to crave calmness, balance, and steadfastness. Gray people often love quality and are more careful, making a great color for creating a neutral calming space.
  • Brown – Brown, the color of earth gives us a grounded feeling of security and stability. People who love it are considered to be reliable, trustworthy, and stable.
  • Yellow – Yellow feels warm and full of sunshine. And the people who love it tend to be optimistic, cheerful, and happy. Yellow is also imaginative and joyful.
foyer photo
  • Orange – Vibrant, confident, and success-oriented, orange people tend to be friendly and have a great sense of humor. Orange can create a feeling of warmth, hunger, joy, or adventure.
  • Red – Red lovers tend to be bold, exciting, and energetic. Red is the color of passion, love, desire, and daring. It’s also intense and loves grabbing your attention.
  • Green– Green embodies nature, growth, and health. Lovers of green tend to be peaceful, kind, generous, and caring.
  • Blue – The favorite color of most men, blue embodies trustworthiness, safety, and strength. This calming color aslo brings feelings of relief, peace, and hope. Other words associated with this color include water and wisdom.
  • Purple – The favorite color of most artistic people, purple is creative, intelligent, and mysterious, but also is the color of pleasure, luxury, glamor, and moodiness. Also, a favorite color of younger children, purple is a symbol of royalty and pleasure.

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Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Decorating: 3 Tips for Creating a Cohesive Look…

Do you have a collection of upholstered furniture pieces that feel unfinished or undone?  Read on for my 3 interior designer tips for creating a finished feel in your room.

Interior design by Karen Mills

1. Repetition – To coordinate two pieces of mismatched upholstery, unify both pieces by repeating a color from one piece to onto another with a pillow or throw.  Here the blue green color of the ottoman was repeated in the pattern on the pillows, while the artwork brings everything together including the gray velvet sofa in the foreground and the new tile on the fireplace.

2. Introduce a new design element  – A piece of artwork overhead or nearby accessories  with both colors can also serve as a way to bring two different colors of upholstery together effectively.  Here in this family room the blue center of the pillow is repeated in the blue candle nearby while the white seashell picks up the white upholstery.

When creating vignettes of accessories in your space whether its for a tabletop or shelves, try to place objects of various heights, sizes, texture, and shapes together to create a cohesive whole.  Normally placing the taller narrower items at back with shorter wider items at the front works best.

photo example
Photo courtesy of Curated Kravet

3. Layer a rug underneath –  In this living room the striped area rug underneath brings together the white sectional and brown chair plus ottomans to create a cohesive feel.

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