Archive for the ‘Interior Design tips’ Category

Most of the time, everyday things would keep us out of the house: shopping, work, errands, school, travel, etc. There are moments when we just look forward to just staying inside our home and just forget about everything else even just for a short while. Home is supposed to be the place where we can relax and simply unwind- a place where we can enjoy inner peace and just be ourselves. Therefore, it is very important to have a very serene space. There are many ways to achieve this.

Natural/Fresh Smell
Scented houseplants or freshly cut flowers like Hyacinth or Jasmine could make your home as sweet-smelling as a garden. Burners with Essential oil drops can be used as alternate. There are many scents for you to choose from (orange, lemon, vanilla, lavender, etc.) Using air freshener is ok but there’s a downside to it since it has chemicals and could possibly coat your nasal passages.

Lighting
Candles could be a great mood lighting source. For an increased lighting option range, you may want to fit in Dimmer Switches.

Positive Energy
To create a sense of energy and spaciousness, the middle of the room must be kept clear.

Good Circulation
Toxin concentration tends to build more inside the house as compared outside. Windows must be opened regularly for your home to be constantly well ventilated. This would also reduce the chance of catching cold or flu.

Colours
You must be able to change your cushion’s colour according to your mood.

Red – commonly associated with fire

Orange – great for meditation, transcendence and spirituality

Yellow - boosts optimism and is often associated with sunlight

Green - connects with nature and create a sense of harmony

Blue – convey tranquillity, freedom and openness

Indigo – reminds us of the depths of the ocean which adds a sense of mystery to a house interior

Violet - symbolizes “the inner eye” which is the spiritual vision center

An Aquarium
There are many people who feel soothed when they watch the aquarium’s silent world. If you cannot afford to get one, a simple bowl with just a few goldfish would suit just fine.

Landscape Paintings
Paintings bring out a wonderful openness to any room.

Clear out the clutter
Sort out cupboards, drawers and wardrobes. Any kind of rubbish which has accumulated should be thrown away. You need to be neat. Dishes must be put in the dishwasher, towels must be hung well and make it a point to regularly make the bed. For the house to stay tidy, always put everything in its right place.

Cleanliness
Make it a point to wipe counters off every day, even just for a few minutes. More time can be set for this during weekends. If you’re too busy to handle this, you can always hire a house cleaner if you can afford one.

For safety measures, you must make sure that you have your own smoke alarm. Regular test must be done for this.

For non professionals, interior designing could become quite daunting. Some homeowners, specially the ones who are unfamiliar with designing, in their attempt to avoid having everything in the house in beige, they tend to get carried away with their color schemes and end up painting each room with different bright colors. This may work in large homes, but could set a gaudy or confusing tone in small homes. It is advisable to check out decor pieces or clothing that you like to give you a clue as to which colors would be suitable for your taste. To set the kind of mood that you desire, you could combine these color palettes in your entire home.

Common Color Mistakes and Tips on How to Avoid Them:

1. Matching room color with favorite objects in the house
For your favorite piece of decoration to be noticed and to stand out, you need to opt for colors which are of the same shade but with softer hues. For example, instead of picking the exact color and shade of your favorite pillow, pick a shade of green which is more subtle and lighter. This way, the pillow’s color would really stand out.

2. Choosing cream or white because it’s the safe choice
Neutral colors like beige, gray and white also come in a lot of tones and shades. So, when you go to a paint store, it is advisable for you to make use of their oversize color chips or sample-size colors to aid you in making the perfect color selection. It’s best to choose just 3 or 4 colors which appeal to you. To see the effect of the colors on your house during daytime, brush a 2-foot square patch or tape samples of of oversize colors on each wall of your house. Observe the effect as the light changes. You surely won’t regret this extra effort.

3. Picking out too bright colors
For most interiors, colors which are bright or clear would be too strong. Kelly green or sunshine yellow is good for rooms which are quite sunny and very large. But for our spaces, most of us would need colors which would hide lacking features, complement with things we love, and blend well with the environment. For example, you have always wanted to have your very own red dining room. You need to get a color which is more subdued like raspberry mint or brick tone and stay away from crayon red.

4. Choosing colors which are very inappropriate for room space.
Warm colors have a tendency to make someone look great and feel good about themselves. For powder rooms and dining rooms, rusty gold, dusty warm plums and earthy reds would work beautifully. A person would tend to feel restful and calm as a response to cool colors. For living rooms and bedrooms, cheerful lavenders, natural greens and silver blues work best. Green color on bathroom walls could make someone appear sickly. Bright yellows in a bedroom could make someone feel anxious. With everything being said, it is important for you to carefully think of things you want accomplished in each room.

Colour theory covers various design applications, concepts and definitions. If all the information is combined, it would fill up a lot of encyclopaedias. For the introduction of colour theory, the basic concepts are discussed below.

The Colour Wheel

A circle of colour which is traditional in the art field is based on blue, yellow and red. In 1666, Sir Isaac Newton created the first ever circular colour diagram. Since then, artists and scientists have designed and studied a number of variations based on this concept. Debate is still continuously provoked regarding opinion differences regarding the validity of a certain format over the other. But in reality, any colour wheel or colour circle which demonstrates colour combination sequence of pure hues which are logically arranged has merit.

Primary Colours

Blue, yellow and red: These 3 basic colours cannot be formed or mixed by any other colour combination based on the theory of traditional colours. All colours available are created from these three basic hues.

Secondary Colour

Purple, orange and green: By mixing primary colours, these colours are formed.

Tertiary Colours

Red orange, yellow-green, blue-green, red-purple, blue-purple, and yellow-orange: These colours are the outcome if a secondary colour is mixed with primary colour. This is also the reason why two-word names are given to the hues, like yellow-orange, red-violet, and blue-green.

Colour Harmony

The pleasant arrangement of parts is one of the definitions of harmony, whether it’s colour, poetry or music.

With regards to visual experiences, harmony is defined as something which appears pleasing to the human eye, something which interests the viewer. Anything which isn’t harmonious is either chaotic or boring. Visual tasks require us to present a structure which is logical. Thus, colour harmony should be able to deliver a sense of order and visual interest.

To summarize everything, under-stimulation is the effect of extreme unity; over-stimulation is the result of extreme complexity. The dynamic equilibrium of everything is harmony.

A Few Colour Harmony Formulas

Harmony has a few theories. Here are a few descriptions for some basic formula.

A colour scheme based on analogous colours
Analogous colours are defined as any 3 colours on a 12-part colour wheel which can be found side by side, like yellow-orange, yellow and yellow-green. A single colour usually pre-dominates the three colours.

Scheme based on complementary colours
Any 2 colours directly found opposite each other are known as complementary colours (yellow-green, red-purple, green and red). These opposing colours make maximum stability and maximum contrast.

Colour scheme inspired from nature
Nature serves as a perfect inspiration when it comes to colour harmony and colour selection. Green, yellow and red creates quite a harmonious design heedless of whether the combination meets the colour harmony’s technical formula.

Colour Context

How a certain colour acts in relation to certain shapes or colour is quite a complex colour theory area. The starting point to understanding colour relativity is to observe the effects that colour towards each other. The relationship of coolness or warmth, saturation and values of various hues can have quite a noticeable difference in a person’s colour perception.