faq's

Today's color schemes tend toward the coordination of colors and tones. But colors don't have to be an exact match from one item to another. Adding lighter and darker tones or values of the same color can add depth and a personal feel to a room rather than everything being "matchy-matchy."

A light flooring color will draw the floor up to the eye. While a darker floor tone will drop it away from your eye. If you have low ceilings or want to increase the visual Height of your room, add a deeper floor color.

No. woods typically don't have to match if it is furniture and flooring. In the kitchen, however, wood cabinets should share tone with a wood floor in the same space.  

White has a high level of reflectivity so that's why white is the most frequent ceiling color choice. But there are other light options, such as yellow, which very effectively reflect light. Or you could select a light tone from your room scheme to tie the ceiling into the overall space.

Dark colors by themselves don't make a room look smaller. But combined with light colors, they might. It's high-contrast colors that make a room feel smaller. The less contrast in a space, the larger it feels, whether the colors are all light or all dark.

You can create a successful color palette for a space with anywhere from one to five colors. But limiting the number of colors doesn't mean you have to limit the range of values (tints or shades) of each of those colors within a room. You could use even more colors, but you need to be aware that the more colors used within a space, the busier it can feel, which in turn can make it feel smaller.

There is certainly nothing wrong with ridding yourself of unnecessary items every now and then. Using a particular color can minimize the impact of items within a space. however. It comes down to contrast: the difference in colors and values between the items and the walls behind them. The less contrast you have between unsightly objects and the wall behind them, the less easily they will be seen by the eye. The less contrast of colors within a space in general, the larger it feels and therefore the less cluttered it feels. And you can keep this theme going by directing attention away from less desirable objects by creating a strong color contrast in other parts of the room.

No. You can vary colors throughout your main living space as long as they come together in some form of accessory, fabric or furnishing. For instance, if you use three different paint colors in a semi-open main floor, be sure to repeat those three in a patterned fabric in several of the rooms. Once you see the colors all together, you will find that the paint colors make perfect sense. 

An accent color is a color that stands apart from any of the other colors within a room. Accent colors appear less frequently in a color scheme but, as a result, often have the greatest effect. Used wisely, they are excellent for highlighting architecture and furnishings within a space.  

Beige is a large category or range of colors. This category includes beiges that are pink-, yellow- or gray-toned and includes a variety of light and dark selections. Taupe refers to a particular beige section that is a balance between gray and yellow in tone.  

Black, or more recently, dark brown has been added to spaces to help balance a color scheme. Like white, black has a neutralizing effect and offers a break to the eyes as it surveys all the colors of a space. It can also add depth and dimension to any room. Likely you have black in your room if you own any electronics, wrought iron or stainless steel appliances, so you may not need to add more if any one of these is present.