We have a guest post today. I asked Donna Frasca, a color specialist from Charlotte, North Carolina, to tackle a topic that interests most people who home stage -- what color walls should be. And now, here's Donna...
Choosing color for your home can be a challenge. I can show you where to place color and also offer you some color suggestions. It's really as easy as A, B, C, D, ... and maybe E.
THE FOYER
When I design a color palette for my clients, I refer to the interior as a 'tree'. The foyer is the trunk which is the core of the home and the rooms are the 'branches'. This is like a 'color map' which helps my clients visualize the layout of their home instead of being so overwhelmed with color placement.
The foyer is usually a neutral color such as the one you see (A) above. Most of the foyers where I live in the south Charlotte area are very open and continue up to the second floor. Keeping that in mind, a light, neutral color seems to work best.
I also like to put the foyer color in the hallways. Most hallways that I've seen have very poor lighting thus having a tendency to be shadowed. To compensate for this, it's best to keep the color here fairly light.
In most cases, the dining room is to the left or right side of the foyer. Now again, most of the homes in Charlotte follow this type of layout which is also called an open floor plan. Don't have a home with an open floor plan? That's ok! You will still have an entrance way and hallways where your (A) color will work.
THE DINING ROOM
I find that many of my clients ask for a red dining room but be careful with this hot hue - it's tricky to pick and to paint. Red will make a striking statement in your home but keep in mind, it's a typical choice to choose red and can be a dated look. Stick to something fun and updated as I pointed out with the warm gray shown as color (B).
THE LIVING ROOM
Now based on this open floor plan, the Living room is going to be surrounded by the kitchen, foyer and dining room. Knowing that, the color you choose for this room has to coordinate with those surrounding rooms.
This warm hue (be careful not to get too gold. A warm, creamy color like I have as color (C) will look great with a gray and it's also an updated look. If you choose the wrong gold, it can be a throw back to the 70's.
AN OPEN FLOOR PLAN
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| Great example of an open floor plan. |
Here is another shot of the Living room. Notice how you can see other rooms from standing in this one spot. Take that into consideration when choosing color. You also have to know where to start and stop the color. You can see here how I labeled the walls for placement. This warm, creamy yellow will look great beside the neutral foyer and of course we all know that gray and yellow look great together but they have to be the RIGHT gray and yellow.
THE KITCHEN
There are many factors to consider when choosing a color for your kitchen. Keep in mind the undertones of your flooring and cabinets. Do you want them to have the same undertone or to have more contrast? Let's say we are staying with the warm undertones therefore going with this this green hue.
Caution: Be careful here! Your kitchen color has to coordinate with your living room color since these rooms flow into each other. Like the way the green and warm yellow look together? Ok, let's recap.
- Do you like this palette?
- Do the colors flow from room to room?
- Is there enough color?
- Is there too much hue for you?
- Will these colors match your flooring tile, carpeting or wood stain?
YOUR NEW COLOR PALETTE
I added an additional color (E) if you have an office on the same floor as these other rooms. See how they look great together? Other than the foyer color, feel free to mix and match these colors into the room of your choice. The thing to remember about the RIGHT color palette is that they will ALL coordinate with each other so you CAN mix and match.
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