Color Harmony
by Loren Keim
Interior decorators tell us that color harmony brings rooms to life. When marketing and selling homes, we find that neutral colors work best because they tend to match the largest percentage of buyers’ ideals and furnishings. Whether you’re selling your home or just sprucing up and redecorating, fresh paint can change the entire appearance of your home.
Light colors tend to reflect light, giving the room an illusion of being larger. Dark colors tend to make the room appear smaller or close in around the person viewing the room. One reason to paint ceilings white is to give the illusion of the ceiling being at a greater distance.
In contrast to neutral colors, bold choices may induce a strong reaction from visitors. Color choices are very subjective, and therefore any bold choice of colors may stimulate a very positive or very negative reaction depending on the individual. Neutral colors have a wider appeal, and white or off-white tends to make people think the room is clean and fresh.
Trim molding, chair rail, crown molding, pillars and other architectural details can either be highlighted or blended into the background with color choices. If he molding is painted the same color as the walls, it will tend to blend into the background. If these same details are painted a contrasting or accenting color, they will stand out against the walls and may frame other details of the room. For example, a contrasting color on the trim around windows accents the window and draws the viewer’s eye to the window.
To make a room really pop, you may use one of three major color harmonizing techniques used by interior decorating experts.
1. The first harmonizing technique is to use a complementary color scheme. The key is to use opposite colors from the color wheel. The contrast can be very dramatic. Examples of contrasting colors include black and white, red and green, and blue and orange.
2. The second harmonizing technique is to use two or three colors from the same color family. For neutral rooms, bright white, ceiling white, and eggshell are all from the same color family.
3. The third harmonizing technique is to use a monochromatic color scheme by varying intensities of the same color.
Several software packages, such as Color Wheel Expert by Abitom Software, can assist a home owner with selecting contrasting or complementary colors.
Loren Keim is a national authority on real estate and the housing market and is the president of Century 21 Keim Realtors in Pennsylvania. He is the author of several how-to books, including “How to Sell Your Home in Any Market” and has appeared on various television programs and radio shows offering advice and insight on the housing market and the recent real estate crisis. In addition to his other work, he currently serves as a spokesperson for Lifetime.
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