Colour quotes

COMPARTMENTALIZING SPACE WITH COLOUR

Open concept houses and lofts are continuing to gain in popularity. Many, however, find the absence of interior walls a challenge for interior decorating, particularly when it comes to defining each area's function.

A simple and effective way to create definition is to paint the walls strategically with a mix of the right colours. How can you use different colours to define each living area yet keep a unified look? The key is to consider how each colour will flow with the next, and the overall mood each colour will create.

To make your home flow visually, start by selecting one central, unifying colour for the entry hall, stairwell and possibly one main room on the entry level. With the central colour, usually a neutral tone, play with contrasting colour chips until you find the right combination with two to four colours. When selecting contrasting colours, ask yourself three questions:

Do you like each colour? How a colour makes you feel depends on your personal association with it. So select colours that make you feel good.
Do the colours work well together? If you strive for harmony among the colours, you will create overall harmony in your home.
Do the colours relate to existing colours in your furnishings? If they do, this will strengthen the look of co-ordination in your colour scheme.

When you've selected the contrasting colours, decide which one to paint each area. Remember, you can create the right mood by painting just one wall in the contrasting colour, essentially creating a backdrop for that room's activity. Or you can paint all walls that surround the area.

If you opt to accent one wall, here's how. Walk into the room and note which wall you see first. Then once you're in the room, note which wall becomes the focal point; it's usually the one with the fireplace or artwork. If the first visible wall and the focal wall are the same...bingo! If not, you will have to decide which is most important to emphasise with colour.

A Case Study in Colour

The owners of a 1,000 square foot loft sought to define their living spaces with different paint colours. The entrance and main living space were one large rectangular area, with a walled-in bedroom in one corner. They needed to define an office area and a display wall for art. The rest of the space was multi-functional for living, dining and entertaining.

A pale stone (Benjamin Moore #2111-60) was selected as the central colour for the entrance, living room and dining area. For the bedroom, a deeper version of the same pale stone (Benjamin Moore #2111-50) was chosen, giving that area an intimate feeling without complicating the overall colour flow.

To define the office space, one wall was painted a deep steel blue (Benjamin Moore #2127-40); deep blue is a great colour to aid concentration and focus.

The kitchenette was partitioned off by one wall. On the outside of this wall, a powerful accent colour in chartreuse (Benjamin Moore #2024-10) was selected to create a focal point for their artwork and to create warmth and excitement.

The layout is such that, when first entering the loft, the steel blue and the chartreuse, next to each other, are the first thing your eye is drawn to. The result is a dramatic and powerful look that represents the creative people who live and work in the loft.

This article was contributed by Sylvia O’Brien, a colour consultant and creative director of Colour Theory, a Toronto-based firm that helps homeowners find the perfect colour of paint for their living and working spaces. She can be reached at 416·766·6789 or by e-mail at sylviaobrien@colourtheory.net.

Tucana Court Report, February/March 2002

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