There should be a definite and very good reason for the selection of every color that is to be placed in a room. No colors should ever be selected arbitrarily or just because they are "pretty." The reason for a color's appeal should be analyzed before it becomes a deciding influence in the selection of a color scheme. Perhaps the first thing that the trained decorator considers in planning a color scheme for any room is the quality of the light - whether or not the sun enters the room and for what portion of the day.
In rooms that are particularly sunny, it is advisable to subdue the sunlight. In rooms with a southern exposure it is the custom to use "cool" colors, which not only help soften the glare but also give the decorator an opportunity for variety by using the warmer colors in rooms or portions of the house that may be turned to the north.
The second most important point in planning a color scheme is the consideration of the quantity of light which penetrates into the room. The number, location and size of the windows should be carefully studied. It is needless to say that darkening a room by partially or completely covering the source of light will darken the appearance of every color in that room and often neutralize them, so a cheerful color scheme will be turned into an uninteresting or gloomy effect.
The tonal value of the colors will depend upon the amount of light penetration the curtain treatment allows. This rule, however, applies to rooms that are primarily to be used in daylight and does not take into consideration rooms that may be artificially lighted or rooms that are to be used by the occupants for the most part during the evenings. It is important to try color schemes in advance in the actual room where they are to be placed and under conditions as similar to the final ones as possible.
One of the most treacherous elements in interior decoration is artificial light and its effect upon colors. Artificial light of a particular color tends to subdue or "kill" the color on any object upon which it falls because the color of the light and the object will blend into a secondary or complex color.
A bluish light thrown on a green wall will cause the wall to appear more yellow than it really is. A yellow light on a green wall will act in the reverse manner and accent the bluish element in the green. If a yellow light is thrown on a bluish wall, since there is no yellow in blue, the two colors will blend as in pigments the wall will tend toward green.
The size of the room is a factor in selecting its principal colors. In nature, colors become paler the further they are removed from the eye. As a result of this, colorists have coined the terms distant and near for certain colors that help create an illusion that the object is further or nearer than it really appears to be. In a small room, it should always be the effort of the decorator to give as large an effect as possible.
It is also important at times to strive to reduce the apparent size of a large room, with bar rail molding or brass bar rails for example. Color can play an important part in both instances. The distant colors of nature can be used in the large areas of the small room, while the near colors can be used in a large room to help reduce it.
There is a condition that the decorator finds in practice that will at first glance seem to limit somewhat the selection of color schemes, and that is the limited range of colors in which many fabrics are made. While this would appear to be a handicap, it is a great advantage to the beginner because it often ties down the available number of possible color schemes for a room, requiring only a few to be considered, and in this way much simplifying the selection. This limitation is largely made use of by the great majority of decorators.
After forming a mental image of the color scheme and taking into consideration the general character, scale, dimensions and orientation, the fabrics should first be decided upon. Several samples should be selected and brought to the actual room in which they are to be used. A final decision should then be made before any paint colors are actually chosen.
The fabrics and the colors used in them are limited and fixed; they cannot be altered. Paint may be mixed by any experienced painter to an infinite number of colors by merely adding white or a few pigments to the paint pot. The error in reversing this process is a common one among inexperienced decorators.
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