Updating With Color

Our house in Texas was filled with lots of deep reds and greens.  It fit the space well and the color scheme was pretty typical of that part of Texas.  Now that we have moved and updated with a different finishes, I thought it was the perfect time to update.  I am keeping all our existing furniture, but will be updating with color with new drapes and accents.

 

 

Here is our old dining room.  When we first moved in, I had gold accents.  As time went on, I changed the accent color to the green that was found in the drapes.

 

To help you get a better idea of color schemes and how they work, I want to touch on the technical aspect in hopes it will help you with your interiors.  The scheme I had in Texas was a complimentary color scheme.  When you look at a color wheel, you can see that red and green are opposite on the color wheel.  This is a complimentary scheme.   It can create a real dramatic space.  You have to be careful what intensity you use though.  Bright red and green would feel like Christmas all year long!

 

 

 

 

Now, I want to keep the green I was using before.  If I were to look at the same color wheel, I could get some inspiration there.  Here are a few different color schemes that would work well in my interior.

 

• Complimentary:  I explained the theory above.  You need to be careful with this color scheme, because it can feel jarring if not done correctly.
• Analogous:  the colors are next to each other on the color wheel.  You find a lot of analogous schemes in nature.  Greens, yellows, etc..  These schemes can create a calm environment.
• Triad:  It is similar to a complimentary scheme but instead of directly opposite, it is split into thirds (Evenly spaced around the color wheel).  Thus including three colors instead of two.  Just like the other schemes one color would be the dominant color and the others would be your accent color.

 

 

 

 

Because we are seeing a lot of Navy, and I still loved the green I had, I decided I wanted to combine the green and navy.  So, I will have an analogous scheme.  Now there are a whole range of colors within that scheme, tints and tones, but we can talk about that another day.

 

Remember this stool?  This is where I will be taking our Great room.

 

 

I would love to hear how you plan on updating with color!  Have you made a drastic change with your color scheme?  Where did you find your inspiration?  Have you used a color wheel before?