From the Floors Up

Color Scheme — Gray

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If there were a race to be the color of prevalence in home design in 2015 the clear winner would be gray! Visit any design gallery or home furniture store and you are sure to find oodles of items in gray. Not just furniture though! We’re seeing it in flooring and cabinetry too.

The challenge of incorporating gray into your home has to do with avoiding anything too dreary or institutional looking. If done wrong you might end up with a room that lacks a sense of energy or life. However, the modern take on decorating with gray relies on one simple difference. In 2015 gray is nearly always featured alongside a bold pop of color! It’s fresh, it’s fun, and it’s an entirely new way to do gray. Ready to get started? Enjoy our guide to the very best combos.

  1. Black, Gray, Cream Mustard
  2. Navy, Coral, Gray
  3. Gray, White, Pink
  4. Purple, Gray, Cream
  5. Beige, White, Gray
  6. Powder Blue, Pastel Pink, Lavender, Gray
  7. Gray, Cream, Mandarin Orange

Once you’ve chosen the color scheme you like best be sure to try it in various combinations before settling on one. For example, try gray in unexpected ways like artwork, lamps, and wood flooring! In all of these examples, however, the pop color is intended as an accent. So use it mainly on soft furnishings and accessories. 

The 60-30-10 Rule

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When you set out to decorate your home it usually begins with a million and one ideas about what colors to use, all of which can overwhelm you and leave you feeling like you have too many to choose from. This can make deciding on your final color scheme seem like an impossible task but there are great tools you can use to narrow down your thoughts and inspiration and channel it into the design you envision.

 

There is a golden rule when it comes to decorating a room and it holds true for any room, no matter what. This is the 60-30-10 rule and this is a great way to begin organizing your ideas and color schemes. What the rule means is this—about 60% of the space you are decorating should be the dominant color. This means that the dominant color in your room will be the walls, and a general rule of thumb is to keep this dominant color a neutral color. This way if you decide to change color palette elsewhere in the room, the walls will always match.

 

The next 30% of your room should be your secondary color. This will account for much of your upholstery on your furniture. You can get a little more creative here, but it is a good idea to not stray too far from the neutral color family for the same reasons you want your walls to be neutral as well. It makes it easier to reinvent your color schemes down the road if you don’t have to repaint your walls or replace your furniture.

 

Finally, the last 10% will be your accent color. This ten percent is where you get to play with your color scheme. Add a pop of color with a bright area rug or a statement piece of art on your wall. Choose a color family and stick with that in your accents throughout the room. The colors do not have to match, but they should go. For instance, you might have artwork hanging that contains varying shades of the red family. You might then use a coral throw pillow on your couch to add another touch of color to your room.

 

This golden rule of interior design is a great rule of thumb for those who are starting from scratch decorating a room. It is a useful and easy to remember concept that helps regulate color schemes and results in a balanced result.

Color Pallet: Zebra Candy – Gray, Lavender, Plumberry, Onyx, Aqua

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We love this look because it accomplishes something that’s quite challenging. It manages to look refined and classy while still being oodles of fun! The trick is balance! With too much of the fun stuff, such as the zebra pattern and the candy colors, the space would feel more like a teenager’s bedroom. With too much of the staid gray and traditional molding, the space would seem stuffy and boring. The lighthearted details would become irrelevant if they there less predominate amidst the gray. 

To help you accomplish this look we are going to break the elements of the room down in sections because it’s often easier to understand them that way. If you happen to be a novice, this approach will make learning our design a breeze! Just read the bullet points for each aspect of the décor and extract what works best for your personal vision.

The color pallet: Lavender, Light Steel Grey, Plumberry, Onyx, Pastel Aqua

What makes the colors work well together?

  • Plumberry and aqua are complimentary because the Plumberry has a red undertone and the aqua has a green under tone (red and green are complimentary.)
  • The lavender also hints at a Triadic color scheme. This is three colors on the color that coordinate nicely because they equally spaced apart on the wheel.
  • The onyx and light steel gray are a perfect base for the candy colors because they are bold and straightforward. Thus they don’t muddy the overall effect.

What makes it classy and refined?

  • Straight lines
  • Geometric shapes
  • Limited use of pattern
  • Simplicity
  • Fresh flowers
  • Traditional molding
  • The light steel gray

What makes the room fun and whimsical?

  • The zebra pattern
  • The spunky floral arrangement
  • The pop of candy colors

What makes the room glamorous?

  • The shiny, onyx furniture
  • The grand gray walls with detailed, traditional molding.

What gives the room some edge?

  • The shiny, onyx furniture with sharp corners

How To Use the Elements and Principles Of Design To Decorate Like An Interior Designer, Part 17

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Part 17 Variety

Now that you discovered the importance of unity in Part 16, you can transition to the more exciting concept of variety. It is the absence of monotony or sameness. Variety serves well to make a room more engaging and stimulating. The degree of variety you want to include is typically dictated by your personal taste. Some people favor a simple design, others prefer something more varied, and some love a room full of unique features!

Take a look at the photo of the indoor/outdoor space. It is a great example of the middle road of variety. There’s enough to truly enjoy looking around the room, but the overall design of the room is still refined. Moreover this example stands out because it does not rely on color to break up any monotony. Color is an easy go-to, but sometimes it overwhelms the smaller details that keep things interesting. Here’s an easy reference list for the elements of the room that create variety:

  • Purpose – room’s door and window are open =an appreciation of the outdoors and fresh air; room is closed up = comfort of being protected from the elements while still enjoying the beauty that surrounds the room outside
  • Texture – wood, stone, fabric, glass, and plant life
  • Scale – massive glass doorway and tree; medium scale windows and couch; small tables, accessories, and plants
  • Light – natural light, table lamps, glass sconces, pedant fixture
  • Lines – angular = columns, windows, rug; curvilinear = sconces, furniture legs, coffee table, and arch

If you are a minimalist at heart, ensure your room wows your guests by incorporating a bit of variety. If you adore detail, take it further. Either way, enjoy the effectiveness of this technique!

Next read Part 18 – Harmony

Don’t forget to go back and start by reading Part 1

How To Use the Elements and Principles Of Design To Decorate Like An Interior Designer, Part 11

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Part 11 Balance

Balance is a principle of design that is most readily apparent when it’s missing. Have you ever walked into a room and wondered why it seems like a hodgepodge of furniture rather than a complete room? That’s because there’s no sense of balance. Balance is the distribution of visual weight within a composition. For our purposes the composition is a room in your home. We are going to focus on the concept of symmetry to achieve the desired effect.

Formal symmetry is accomplished by creating a mirror image on either side of central axis. It typically also features a general emphasis of weight near the bottom of the composition. In the example above you’ll note that on either side of the bed are identical mirrors, lamps, and night stands. Between them, functioning as the centralizing point is a large chandelier that hangs low enough to establish balance.

This room also includes the concept of radial symmetry. The chandelier is surrounded on all sides by a white ceiling medallion. In other words, it has a central point from which its design radiates, extends, or spreads like rays from a center. It is especially effective for establishing a sense of balance in a large room!

Another method to accomplish balance is informal symmetry. It is not a mirror image, but it is the equivalent in visual weight. Take a look at the photo above. Despite unique and distinctly different furnishings the room feels balanced. The central aspects are the couch and coffee table. They are evenly flanked by a love seat on the left, and two chairs on the right that. This is classified as informal because the chairs and love seat aren’t identical pieces but are just as effective at stabilizing the room.

The area-rug helps further unify the space because it is independently symmetrical. Last, notice the unusual arrangement of the framed artwork. Hanging them with a right side orientation ensures that the left side of the room seems part of the entire composition. If the framed artwork were hung symmetrically above the couch, the left side of the wall would seem like a separate area. This is the use of balance to make a room seem larger and maximize all available space.

Next read Part 12 – Rhythm

Don’t forget to go back and start by reading Part 1

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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