Decorating with Blue
This spring while you are at home thinking about what paint colors to pick for your kitchen or bathroom, consider this article (along with the others in the series) about the power of color. Take a look at how Grossmuellers Design Consultants has used designed blue in some of its past projects – Want to incorporate Blue into your design? Send us an email or give us a call
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Decorating with Yellow –
This spring while you are at home thinking about what paint colors to pick for your kitchen or bathroom, consider this article (along with the others in the series, Blue, Red) about the power of color.
Arguably, one of the most important colors in the color spectrum is Yellow (which is why we chose it to start this blog series.) Nature reinforces its importance, notice that it’s a primary color along with red and blue (RYB) and the colors we use in our printers (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key-Black.
Take a look at the iconic “Starry Night” painted by Vincent Van Gogh. Some believe that his use of Citron Yellow, was meant to represent a higher power. Similar to the sun being the biggest and most important star in the Milky Way. Others believe that Van Gogh used the color to offer comfort or provide solace with his dreary and unfortunate living situation. Its this second interpretation that helps us dispel the rumors that yellow can be too bright or too loud to decorate with. The color can be used to provide a sense of calm and serenity.
Yellow is the color that resonates with the left side of the brain, helping to activate muscles, stimulate mental activity and encourages communication. It’s easy to see and produce naturally – no wonder we see the color so often throughout art history.
Decorating with bright and bold colors, especially one like yellow, is an easy way to draw attention to any part of the house. Decorating with yellow is not as difficult as you might think. When people think of yellow, a bright school bus or a yellow stop light might come first to mind. Truth be told, that yellow is far more versatile.
At Grossmueller’s Design we have used yellow to decorate just about every room in the house. From kitchen tile back-splash to accent walls in children’s bedrooms. Yellow is flexible and forgiving. For example, look at the tiled back-splash in the picture to the left. See the way it picks up the hue of the lower cabinets and serves as a transition between saturated lower cabinets and appliances. What about the use of yellow in this children’s bedroom below? Combined with the window sill, outlined in the same color, they create a dramatic focal point – allowing the accent wall to shine being both vibrant yet restful.
Still think Yellow is too bright or that it cries for too much attention? Yellow combined with concentrated hues of red or blue make it extremely versatile, bringing warmth and excitement to any room with colors like Babouche, Showtime, Saffron, Oucher, and Medallion. a to name a few.
Using yellow combined with a brown undertone produce a goldfish neutral, creating a sense of calm – like Honey, Granola, and Butterscotch Whether using yellow to decorate a major room or using simple accessories or minimal décor to tap into the design bring out any wall or floor enabling the space to stay cozy.
Click through the slideshow to see how Grossmuellers Design Consultants can use yellow with your design.
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Color Blocking, Not Just for the Runway – Color Block Your Home
We all know that fashion trends integrate into interior design trends. In fashion, the trends may come and go from spring to fall fashion weeks but consider us lucky, we interior designers get to embrace the trends in longer “blocks” of time. If you don’t know what this Color Blocking trend is all about, by definition, Color Blocking is combining different colors that support and complement each other.
For the home, Color Blocking is perfect for when you have a client that loves lots of color or desires bright color or to simply tame their need for color. It is a way of supporting your client’s lively requests for color without looking like rainbow bright! (Please note: Color Blocking is ideal for an open floor plan so the whole effect can be seen from multiple points in the home).
The way to achieve this look is to pick a neutral base color for the majority of the walls. It can be a warm ivory, a white, or even a light gray. You want this neutral color to be light enough that it doesn’t read as a color but saturated, just enough, to hold the “visual weight” of all the different colors surrounding it. When picking your walls for Color Blocking, think about which walls are the focal point in the space and use good transition walls (walls that connect one space to another).
When selecting the colors, really listen to your client. Find out what their favorite colors are and colors that they are comfortable living with day in and day out! Helpful hint – look at what they wear. This will give you a shoe-in to picking “livable” colors for them. Now the fun part – Color Blocking! We suggest picking one bright, saturated color. Then color block with supporting colors that are two tones down from that. Find supporting colors that have a slight brown or gray undertone to them. It will help eliminate the intensity of all this fun color around you. Remember, this is your home not a circus.
Here is an easy trick when pairing colors together. The color wheel is your go to! Select colors that are neighbors to each other – keeping it in the family. Then pick a complimentary color that is across the color wheel. By using this little trick, you will be successful in your color choices. Happy Color Blocking!
