A serene, peaceful feeling in a home is fostered by colors that are muted using large doses of white and gray. These undertones temper a color and reduce its intensity to a pale, pastel version. Take blue, for instance, by choosing a grayish hue with plenty of white in it, you get a watery aqua popular in spas and resorts. In this bathroom, aqua rains down from the ceiling, instilling the space with tranquility. Do the same with green and you get an appealing mint shade that calmly recedes. Yellow becomes buttery and smooth. These colors are easy-to-live-with backgrounds that you can use throughout your home.
There's no secret about the colors that make a home feel cozy and warm. They are the fire lit shades of red, orange, and gold. These deep, resonant hues are richer than their primary, energetic versions because they are influenced by brown. A brown undertone turns yellow into amber and red into russet. It cozies up other hues as well, such as teal, eggplant, and aspen green. Wrapping a room in these hues ensures that even an ample, light-filled space takes on an autumn feel. This living room has large windows, French doors, plenty of bright white woodwork and shutters, yet it still feels toasty thanks to a crimson velvet sofa and sable-brown walls and ceiling.
The surest way to boost your creativity is to choose quirky colors. Simply put: Be bold with your hues. One way to do this is to buck the prescribed conventions of your home's architecture. Do you live in a sleek, modern condo? Fill it with classics like navy and Kelly green. If you have a traditional home, look for bright, acidic colors to awaken the spaces. This living room in a colonial home, for instance, has unexpected charisma with a chartreuse sofa and pink and purple accents. Another way to be creative with color is to model unusual pairings in art, nature, or global influences. Borrow from a landscape painting's hues, and put sky blue on the walls and grass green on your sofa. Use the downy brown center and gold petals of a black-eyed Susan to kick off a kitchen scheme. Or, let Chinese pottery guide you in picking cobalt and porcelain white for your dining room.
Sometimes, a favorite fabric or object can inspire a color scheme.
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