Colors I Love to Hate:
Gray & Blue Colors can be lovely but here's the hitch... In my experience light blue and light gray don't get any more dirty than Beige or even white, they just seem to show stains more than other colors and are harder to keep looking clean. This is really evident in Rugs or Carpeting. If you put white carpet in one area and 'baby blue' in another area you will find yourself spending more of your valuable time trying to keep the blue carpet looking clean. The amazing thing is that the blue carpet is no more dirty or stained than the white carpet, yet every imperfection just seems to scream out at you. Please do not take my opinion the wrong way, Blue and Gray have their place in interior design but I prefer to reserve these colors for ACCENT COLOR and not the base color palette. Although, many experts use these colors as thier Base to bring 'Nature' to an interior space. For instance; using 'sky-blue' as a base color with a lot of natural colors as accents (Colors that occur naturally outdoors, such as, differing shades of brown, green, etc...).
You may also notice another blue & gray phenomenon that you had not anticipated when you chose those base colors for decorating, You can become trapped into only using certain colors for your accents. Certain shades of blue or gray will only allow you to design with other like colors (Gray, Blue, Silver, Black, chrome, glass, very light wood tones or very dark brown wood tones... do you see where this approach can drive a home decorator crazy?
There are truly so many options in home design and the task is daunting enough without trapping ourself into only using certain colors out of the vast array that exists today so use your imagination and don't be afraid of the BOLD colors of blue and gray (deeper and muted tones) will still allow you the latitude to design with style and maintain with less effort.
Article By Charles Beason
Charles is a Flooring Design Consultant. His base of operations can be obtained at
www.rugrunnerbiz.com
Color and Mood - How Color Affects Mood
(These are examples of mood altering base colors)
White = purity and clarity
Red = power and strength
Pink = sensitivity and love
Orange = stimulation
Yellow/Gold = energy
Green = harmony in mind, body, and soul
Blue = healing and calmness
Violet = spirituality
Brown = earthlike and natural
Black = seduction (sometimes Depression)
Another trick you can use with area rugs is to divide your space into more meaningful settings...
Alas, a topic for my next Article.