Decorating with Color
Design Tips and Tricks
Discover decorating with color.
Read my interior design tips and tricks for easy decorating color schemes.
Learn the color rules that make it all seem easy.
I think that color is the most important part of any interior design scheme. I am sure you will agree.
It is also a big topic and sadly it is really easy to get it horribly wrong.
That's why I think it is worth taking a little time out to look carefully at interior design and color...
Learn to understand color here...
Watch the Understanding Color Video Clips to Start...
If you are slightly nervous of decorating with color - don't be!
Color really can make a difference to your room - and to you!
So, here you can learn to use color with confidence.
We are working through the processes real designers use to get color schemes that 'zing'...
You can use this page with the free downloadable interior design checklist that will help you through your interior design journey...
You can also download the separate color checklist which will help you keep track of your progress through these color pages...
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What's covered in this section
- How to Use the Color Wheel
- Color 'Moods' and 'Personalities'
- Color and the Direction your Windows Face
- Color and Healing
- Color Ideas
- Real Reader Color Stories
Learn to Love Color
Some interior design shows always decorate only with neutrals - remember, these shows are designed to sell a house - or to look good on TV.
They cater for audiences with many different color tastes - but they don't give you a home that you will want to spend time in.
Don't be scared of decorating with color - go on, just try it!
If you are a little nervous, start with a neutral base for walls and furniture, and add lots of colorful accessories.
Or try creating one accent wall in a gorgeous color. Feel how much more alive your room is, when you inject a little color into your home decor...
I'll help you to feel color confident...
Learn more about quick color fixes and unusual ways to use accessories and paint color ideas, here...
Learn Decorating with Color the Easy Way...
Which Direction?
To find out more about color basics, click here - and learn about how choosing a paint color is affected by the way your windows face.
Understanding the Color Wheel - and How to Create Color Schemes with One
It makes it much easier - gives you lots of ideas you might not have considered otherwise...
...and gives you the confidence to go ahead and use color without leaving it all to chance!
I explain the color wheel, and show how you can use it in your interior design color schemes.
Click here to learn how to put together great decorating color schemes.
When you've mastered these basic techniques, you're ready to learn about more advanced paint color wheel techniques - use them to feel confident and creative when decorating with color!
Have you got it in Balance?
Then learn about using color to create balance and harmony in your room
Color to Suit You
You really should - how you decorate your room depends so much on how you want to feel when you are using it...
Interior Designers know this - so I will let you in on their secrets and I'll show you how the different colors can make you feel...
You can also have fun choosing a color scheme to suit your own personality with my E-book: Perfect Personality Palettes - click here to find out more and try it for yourself...
Color can Help You Feel Better
Discover how color therapy and color healing can help your decorating color schemes heal.
Add Interest with Patterns
Find out how to use colors and patterns with confidence in your decorating
Color Count-down
Which color do you want to try?
I take you through some common color choices and help you to use them wisely...
Get inspiration for interior design color schemes using blues
Get ideas for decorating color schemes using greens
Get creative with tantalizing teal color schemes and ideas...
Be inspired by decorating a home ideas using yellows
And find out how to mix modern gray with vibrant yellow, here...
Get passionate about color interior design schemes using reds
Look at a vibrant way to decorate a living room in purple and red
Color and Light
Link to Lighting, and discover how your choice of lighting and interior lighting fixtures can affect the colors in your room
Color can Make Your Room Feel Bigger...
...or smaller!
You need to know how to use color well - to make sure you achieve the results you want...
Link to Room Proportion and discover interior decorating information on how you can use colors to manipulate your space - make that tiny room look spacious!
Understanding Color - Video Clips...
Watch these short video clip to get you started on your perfect color quest...
Simply click on 'Play' to start the video player...and enjoy!
...continues below...
Get more details about all the concepts discussed in the videos here...
Don't forget to make notes on your color checklist...
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Free Interactive Design Tool
Visualize what your design will look like with this easy online tool.
It's free to use.
See why I recommend it on my page, here....
Real Readers' Color Queries
Get inspired for your own color projects by reading about real reader queries about decorating with color...
Share Your Decorating Color Schemes and Stories
Share your favourite colors, colors you love and colors you just can't stand...
How do different colors make you feel?
Show everyone a photo of how you have used a fantastic color or color scheme in your home...
Tell us what worked really well, and what didn't work quite so well...
Ask a question to help you decide which color will work for you...
Read other people's stories at the bottom of the page...
Join in. Write your own page. It's easy to do...
I love helping you out with your interior design questions and dilemmas.
But due to the volume of enquiries I've been getting recently, and other time constraints, I can now only answer a small amount of quick questions for free...
If you think your question requires a lengthy, time-consuming or more complex reply, please consider paying me for the time I take to answer your queries, and get a quote for my help with your design dilemma.
(Please note that some of the Q&A you see on the site were responded to when the site was much smaller and I had more time available to me to answer all of your questions.)
While I always make every effort to answer your questions and include your submissions, I'm sorry but sometimes not all submissions will receive a response, or appear here.
To improve the chances of your submission being included in the website, please let me know as much information as possible about your current interior decor, and if you're asking a question, about what your concern is.
Read other decorating stories and color likes and dislikes
Click on the links below to read more great stories and views. They were all written by other visitors to this page...
How do Color and Light Work Together? 
Hi Charlotte
I Hope you're well, I'm writing to ask another question about working in interior design, as I said before I didn't get much feedback on …
Questions about Interior Design Color
I love my electric blue kitchen but my hubby says it's too much. The adjacent dining and living room are a medium gray to tone it down, the sunroom off …
Wall and Curtain Color - White and Brown
I have brown couch and my floor is white. What colours can I paint the walls and what colour can I choose for my curtains.
Wall color and accessories - teal bedroom quilt
My child has a dark brown bedroom his quilt color is teal. What would be the best color to paint his room? I also have a gold rust rug would that be a …
Peach, citron and gray living room?
We live in a split foyer house, the foyer is a half level below the living room, but there is only a half wall facing the foyer so we see most of the tall …
Oh dear ..... I think I've messed up !
Hi ! I have just got my own place after 2 years of furniture in storage.
I have 2 terracotta sofas with a small amount of teal in the cushions.
…
Interior Design Color Combinations
Help..........I'm needing advice on whether I can have a white gloss dining room suite with a cream or off white lounge suite in the one open plan living …
Curtain color help please
Hi I have just rented a really cute house. I really want to use a lot of the decor I have, but I have more to decorate and need to some help adding in …
Cornflower blue and white - what color curtains?
I have quite a large bedroom and have one wall cornflower blue and main walls blossom white. What colours should I buy for curtains?
........
Hi …
Dusty Pink Carpet/Sunshine Yellow Walls = Hating It :-(
I am 16 years old and my parents are letting me repaint my bedroom. I have a dusty pink carpet (not changing that anytime soon *pouts*) and Sunshine yellow …
Color Combining - pink, grey, lilac, yellow
I have pink, grey, lilac and pale yellow on the walls of a living room. What colour or colours of curtain should I pick to match with these colours? Please …
Help with plum walls?
We are moving to a rental home with plum/purple walls in the living room...and my husband's beloved couch is dark green..a little darker than forest green. …
Tan tan tan (help)
I rent so I can't paint.. I have a tan couch, slightly lighter tan walls and wood floors (not much space).
I need a change but can't afford a new …
What colour of curtains for my living room
My living room is south facing 13' x 18' with a 7' wide window, the suite is tan leather and the flooring and coffee table etc are in light oak, the walls …
Need help in choosing a coordinated color combination for my hall and kitchen cum dining room
Hi, I am moving to a new house. The walls are cream in color.
I would like to use yellow-orange-red (any two or all three of these colors) combination …
Kitchen Color Crisis!
I have medium colour oak cupboards and the floor is also medium oak.
The counter is granite with a white background and brown, black, orange, gray …
Color and Practicality?
How does colour affect the practicality of a room?
My workshop is Red Red Red..
I have one large room which going to turn into a workshop.. most items I bought is red, white & turquoise but the most color covers the room is RED!! red …
Black and what else?...
I been wanting to decorate my room for a long time but I'm having problems with deciding what color I should paint my room.
I have a black curtain, …
Blue (of any shade) is the one colour I cannot live without!
From the walls in every room in my apartment, to the clothing and accessories I wear!!
Have almost finished re-designing the Living Room.
The present …
I miss my pumpkin orange dining room!
In my former house I had a bright, glossy coat of pumpkin orange (from the color place) on my dining room walls. I used an even brighter green banana/ripe …
Using Pale and Dark Colours in a room.
If you want to make a room look wider - use a darker colour on one wall with a lighter shade of the same colour on the opposite wall.
Make your 'focus' …
Living room colors - green and pink
I am renting a house starting next month with seafoam green carpet and my sofa is baby pink leather, what color should I paint walls?
Also, I have …
Open Plan Living Area Paint Colors
I need advice on painting my living room/dining room/kitchen, which are all in one big space, not separated by walls into individual living areas.
…
Gray walls with hardwood floor
We have a new couch on order that looks close to the one I have in the picture, I can not decide what color to paint the walls.
The other picture shows …
Bedroom Paint Color
Hi,
We are remodeling our house and are doing a bedroom upstairs for our 8yr old daughter.
The room gets medium to low light. There is a big window …
multiple room colors
I am recently in the process of building a home and I picked a different color for each room.
I went postive red in my kitchen which my cabinets will …
White living room advice?
I have a white leather sofa 2 seater 3 seater 1 seater, with white walls.
I need advice on colour of carpet .
...and do you think i should paint …
Which color sofa for living room?
Hello,
I have a small size living room. The wall color is warm taupe; and my floors, coffee and end tables are light oak wash.
Which color should …
Sage Green Sofas - Interior Design Advice Please
My husband and I have brand new sage green sofas for our living room.
The problem is that my husband is not fond of any shades of brown, what color …
Help for a green carpet and maroon couch... 
I am renting a home which means i cant pull the carpet.
The carpet is hunter green and I have a deep maroon couch, how can I make these colors work …
More Color Combining Advice and Ideas
More reader Q&A about combining colors...
Are you unsure what color you should add into your decorating mix?
Get ideas on interesting color combinations …
More Quick Color Questions Not rated yet
i have a feature wall with red and black wallpaper, a burgundy suite and burgundy and cream curtains, my accessories are all black red and silver, at the …
Color to go with maroon and orange Not rated yet
My bedroom has beautiful maroon curtains with a bit of orange and orange sheer curtains. I'm trying to get a good colour that goes well with these two …
Teal feature wall Not rated yet
I'm thinking of having a feature wall in Arthouse Opera Boulevard in teal (colours pale teal beige and gold) not sure if i should paint the other walls …
Suggest color of walls with dark red and grey Not rated yet
What color should the walls be painted if my curtains are dark red and the sofas are grey? A color that would make the room bright not dull and small
…
Inspired by Nature Not rated yet
I moved to Texas thinking that bold, vibrant reds, blues, oranges and greens would be the right colors for decorating my home. However, I was wrong! …
Orange carpet problem Not rated yet
I have a bright deep orange carpet in my living room, which has to stay. a dark brown 3pce suite.the room is light & sunny , dimensions 12ft x 14ft, …
Selecting an accent wall Not rated yet
I have a very large open concept living room / dining room. Along one of the long walls is a bank of windows facing NW onto a lake.
Along the parallel …
A Question of Color - Orange Not rated yet
What color curtains would be good for a kitchen painted tangerine color?
.........
Comment
By Charlotte
1 August 2011
Many apologies for …
Color Mistakes - Whoops! Not rated yet
Readers share their color mistakes with us... so you don't have to make the mistakes all over again!
Read on, laugh and learn ...
...but don't let …
More Reader Q&A about decorating with color...
Samantha wants an accent to go with orange
Judy wants color suggestions to go with red kitchen cabinets
Lorraine wants some advice for colors for a loft with sloping ceilings
CPG thinks there are too many colors in the kitchen tiles...
Kristen is inspired to create a purple and red style in her living-dining room
Maria fancies a red and green scheme for her dining-kitchen
Lama is looking for help with a disappointing color scheme
Becky gets some help choosing colors for a period home...
A reader wants help in combining colors in a rented home...
Vibaa wants a red dining room - will the table still go?
Nadine creates a pretty, gold theme
Wallpaper with a touch of red for a reader
A mint-choc magic living room...
Jamie wants to mix pale blue and Hunter green...
Ask your own color question
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