From the Floors Up

Understanding Colors & Their Influence on Your Design

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Colors can be very impactful in an environment. We use color to add character to a space. From warm and cool tones, every color can help change the overall feeling of your home. Trying to find the perfect blend of colors to complement each other can be tricky at first, but understanding some basic tricks can help you master the skill. Today, we look at some of the simple aspects of color and how you can use them in your design. Knowing these can better help you facilitate different colors in your home. Let’s get started!

Tones

There are three types of tones that can be used in a room. You can create a warm-tone, which makes an area feel more inviting. This tone can be accomplished by using colors like red, yellow, pink, and orange. Or, you can create a cool-tone atmosphere by using colors like blue, green, purple, and indigo. This tone will make an area feel more relaxed and laid back. Lastly, you can create a neutral-tone. This tone is done by using beige, grey, white, black, or other colors that have no direct correlation with setting a tone. Each has their time and place in your design. Try to match the right colors to the feeling you want to provoke in each room.

Textures

Texture can also be very valuable in your design. When designing a room, you will typically stick to around three to four colors in general. However, with only three to four colors, some areas tend to blend together. For instance, having a beige couch against a beige wall can seem to mix together. This bland look can be fixed through the use of texture. So make sure you have plenty of texture throughout each space. You can have some carpet, grainy surfaces, or silky pillows. These types of texture will help create a dramatic effect and allow objects to pop off one another.

Complementary

With the use of more than one color, you will want colors that complement one another. While each color by itself can create a color meaning, using colors together can also be an effect. Consider the color green being used monochromatically throughout a design space. With all this green, you can evoke feelings of life, revitalization, or even envy. The color green has several psychological influences in an environment. Now take that same room and add the color red. You probably would quickly recognize this color combination as festive or Christmas-influenced. Pay attention to how the colors in your room complement one another and how they portray a feeling.

Color is one of the most powerful tools to use in design. A better understanding of how to use color can help you master your design. Since every color has its own psychological influences, these tricks can be great tools to take your design to the next level. While design is about aesthetics and functionality, how your design makes you feel is equally important. This can all be accomplished through the power of colors.

Surprisingly Effective Color Palettes

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Colors can have a dramatic impact on our living space. Each color has the power to influence the overall mood of the atmosphere. In fact, designing a room comes down to colors. We tend to use color palettes to give rooms a more diverse feel and capture the impacts of each color. If you went into a dimly lit, dark restaurant with red accents, you might feel a romantic vibe, whereas a brightly lit, blue and white atmosphere will have a completely different feeling. Typically, colors that are near each other on the color wheel can complement each other quite nicely. You can easily create a cool-tone or warm-tone atmosphere by choosing the corresponding colors. However, colors that are opposite of each other can also work together. In fact, here are three surprisingly effective color palettes you can consider adding to your own home:

Peach and Forest Green

These colors are nowhere near each other on the color wheel. Even the shading of peach and forest green is very far from similar. However, with peach’s youthful, springy feel accompanied by a more formal green, these two colors work wonders together.

Green is excellent at adding vitality to a space and freshening it up, but when you darken this color by creating forest green, it can dampen some of those desired effects. That is why mixing peach with forest green, creates a highly desirable effect.

Blue and Rustic Orange

Blue and rustic orange are another unique color combination. Blue is known to be a very passive and tranquil color, whereas orange is used in more Rustic or Mediterranean style homes. These two colors complement each other in a unique way. The rustic orange feels creative yet serious, helping to ground the free spirit of a bright blue room.

Teal and Red

The last surprisingly effective color combination that we had to explore is teal and red. Teal is a blue-green tone that is calming yet rejuvenating, whereas red is known to be bold and aggressive. These two colors are known to balance each other out while creating a colorful yet neutral feeling environment.

When exploring the color palette, do not be afraid to get a little crazy. You never know when two colors can effortlessly complement one another.

2019’s Hottest Color Schemes for Summer

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Summer is almost here and with it comes an excitingly new color palette. Each quarter has colors which complement the season and can help you embrace the months. Fall is full of burgundies, reds, yellows, and oranges whereas winter decor is embraced with soft whites and spruces of red and green around Christmas. You also may be familiar that pastel colors enhance spring. So, what colors work best for summer?  If we use colors to help strengthen our decor and keep our home lively throughout the year, which colors represent this bright, cheery season. If you are unsure or need a little design guidance, keep on reading!

Bright Primaries

Primary colors like red, yellow, and blue demand attention. Primaries are great at making hard contrasts against one another. Add these energetic colors to your interior or exterior this summer for added flair and spunk. Items like bright red sun umbrellas, blue lounge chairs, and yellow flowering pots can help brighten your space while giving respect to the season. Since summer is upbeat and thrives well with these lively colors, you will be able to enjoy the warmth and your decor with these primary hues.

Soft Pastels

Fortunately, pastels can be carried over from spring and enhance our room’s aesthetics. Pastels are loved for their muted, soft hues that bring a little bit of color to any space. They mesh well with neutrals and other colors to create a timeless design. If you are unsure where to put your pastels, we recommend trying purchasing wall art that can be swapped during the different seasons. Different pastel watercolor prints will make a suitable wall decal during the warmer months while creating a stunning focal point.

Fun Patterns

Adding patterns is another fun way to create a theme during the summertime. There is something to be said about the interaction of repetition in a design. Adding striped or polka dot throw pillows during the warm months can be a seasonal twist on your decor. Repetition with patterns can create harmony in your home while adding interest and style. Try finding matching pillows, curtains, and lampshades to make your home feel like summer fun and balanced.

Coastal Hues

Nothing says summer like the beach. Coastal hues are always great to add to your home during the summer months. Plus, coastal homes have been using this theme for decades. It encapsulates the soothing, warm feels of summer daily. Morph the feeling of your home into a more casual retreat by adding coastal tones: lavender, coral pink, baby blue, and canary yellow. You can even try sprucing up your pool area with some coastal decor and colors for added charm.

Try sprucing up your summer with some of these tropical fun color options. Summer is all about fun energy, and as the days are growing longer, make sure you do not neglect your home’s exterior when designing. Enjoy this summer and stay safe. For more tips and tricks, make sure to subscribe to From the Floors up.

How to Incorporate Mint Green in Your Design

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While pastel colors may have been most popular in the ’50s, these light airy shades are making their way back into home decor and are fully on trend. If you are considering using pastel colors in your interior, one color that may have popped into your mind was most likely: mint green. Mint green is a beautiful pastel shade that is a mix of blue and green. It is often referred to as a serene color that is just as refreshing as a breath mint.

Perhaps, you are interested in incorporating mint green into your design but do not know where to start. Mint green has a realm of possibilities and today, we are going to focus on a few of our favorite design elements that feature this beautiful pastel. Let’s take a look!

New Take on a Classic

Accent walls are a popular trend in home decor. If you are not ready to dedicate an entire wall to this soft color, you can try the shade out on just a section of the wall. Using mint green in such an unexpected manner will immediately capture attention. Plus, you will not have to change up your current furniture or decor if the color is subtly incorporated on an accent wall. By using it on a section, whether it be stripes or half of the wall, you can get a taste for this pastel without fully committing.

Multiple Pastels

If you love the look of pastels, perhaps you may want to incorporate several shades throughout the space. Luckily, pastels are soft and airy, so they rarely interfere with one another or compete for attention. Additionally, you can capitalize on the fact that you are incorporating several pastel colors in one space and utilize a Scandinavian design which often favors neutrals and pastel colors.

Creative Kitchen Appliances

For a retro-inspired look, incorporate mint green kitchen appliances. Try a bold mint-colored refrigerator and dress your countertops with matching appliances like a mint-colored toaster and microwave. The pops of color will help add a chic style to the space without overwhelming the design.

Chic Cabinetry

Instead of installing new kitchen cabinets, consider giving them a fresh coat of paint and a brand new look. In an all-white kitchen, mint, green cabinets will stand out by adding style and flair. Or perhaps, you want to incorporate other pastels colors with the mint into a neutral-tone kitchen. The design options are endless.

Fully-Focused on Furniture

When purchasing furniture, many people tend to select a neutral furnishing because it can blend well with different design schemes. Mint Green furniture such as a love seat or ottoman will harmonize with a variety of colors and shades. If you are not interested in purchasing a new couch, try a tufted mint colored ottoman instead. By adding simple decor pieces with the color mint, you can change up your design without changing too much.

My Oh My, Metallics

When combined with gold or metallic accents, mint green looks super stylish and chic. Select glossy metallics or gold accents in a few strategic areas of the room to really bring emphasis to the color.

What is your favorite area of the house to incorporate colors like mint? We would love to hear your thoughts below in the comment section.

Color Scheme — Complex Combinations

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When decorating a room it is often easiest to use just three colors as the pallet. It most definitely simplifies any decision that happens along the way. But if minimalism or starkness is not really your design cup of tea, then having only three colors in a room will be a bore. Some people just feel much more at home when there is an array of hues surrounding them. The more colors you incorporate though, the harder it is to coordinate.

Although you may want an explosion of color to be the emphasis in a room, it’s never a good idea to let it appear to be mismanaged. Controlled chaos is the key to using multiple colors in design! If you like the idea but have no idea how to go about it, you’ll love this quick and easy reference. We are featuring our top eight suggestions for complex color combinations. Ready to get started?  

  1. Pastel Green, Bright Pink, Brown, White
  2. Celery Green, Plum
  3. Silver, Teal, Purple
  4. Indigo, Teal, Yellow, Magenta
  5. Red, Brown, Gold, White
  6. Brown, Coral, Green
  7. Orange, Yellow, Black, White
  8. Lavender, Blue, Dark Green, Light Green, Beige, White

Once you’ve chosen the color scheme you like best visit the paint store and pick up paint chips. Get a few of each color so you can experiment. Take them home and lay them out on a table or large sheet of paper. Use scissors to trim them to different sizes and combine them in various ways. This will give you an idea of how much of each color needs to be used to achieve the effect you want!

From the Floors Up

From the Floors Up blog was created with the goal of providing a destination for consumers, designers and those interested in the flooring, design, and kitchen and bath industries. Here you’ll find, current, accurate and informative information that is always just a click away!

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