Did you know that the color pallet of your room can directly effect your mood? Yep, it’s true! Most of us know which colors we like the best, or even a favorite color, but when you start to mix the wrong colors in certain areas of the home, you may be surprised to find that the room doesn’t feel the way you imagined it would.

Every room in your house serves a purpose, so the mood of the room should reflect this purpose. Having the right furnishings are important, but just as important is your color combinations. Below is a list of 5 simple rules to follow when mixing a color pallet according to the function of the space.

Discover Your Color Preferences

Knowing the colors that you love and inspire you is an important first step. Cool Colors, such as blue, green, and purple can have a soothing effect, while warm colors ranging in red to yellow are energy colors. Determine the function of your space, and then choose accordingly your main color. For example: your bathroom and bedroom should be soothing, calming, and relaxing, so a cool color might be your base. Your office, playroom, or kitchen is the perfect place to show your love for orange and red. These rooms need a bit of energy infused in them because cooking, playing, and working require a certain amount of happiness & optimism. Set the tone with your main color by using it on the walls, ceiling, rug, or sofa.

FUN FACT: Red increases the appetite.

1. Colorful Accessories

Once you have selected the main color that works best for the mood of the room, you want to come in and accessorize with a complimentary color. To maintain the vibe you are going for without going overboard, choose accessories form the opposite side of the color wheel. If you chose green sofa to anchor your room, you could bring in some yellow pillows to add a touch of happiness. Apply muted colors such as black or gray in your art or lamps to create the bridge between the two mood invoking colors.

Tip: We always like to start with our main color/item in the room, then move to textiles and fabrics to bring in our secondary color pallet, then use small accessories and accent furniture to bring it all together.

Colorful Accessories

2. Fresh, New Paint

One of the easiest ways to transform a room’s mood is with paint. Maybe your room is feeling too cold with white walls, but you’re still not ready to paint all the walls yellow? Easy solution, bring the yellow to the ceiling or paint the built in bookshelves in a beautiful warm butter color. If the opposite effect is happening and your room is way too high energy, you can bet you have layered too many warm colors. Remove the warm accents in the room and paint your walls a cool gray blue. Paint can be so effective in changing the room’s mood whether it be through applying to walls, ceilings, or furniture pieces. Even changing your baseboards and door color scan have a huge effect on the room.

Fresh, New Paint

3. Elegant Area Rug

Large and small spaces can be instantly be changed by simply adding the right area rug. If you have a lot of pattern and color in the room through textiles, adding a muted color rug or a natural rug can instantly calm the room and create peace in the space. On the hand, rooms with all cool solids could be infused with a patterned mix of warm and bright colors on the floor. Not only does this create a focal point in the room, but also changes the feel of the space without a lot of work.

Interesting: The highest amount ever paid for a carpet was the ‘Vase Carpet’ for sale at Sotheby’s. It was a mid-17th century piece from Southeast Persia which was sold for a record price of $9.6 million. Talk about a game changer! This rug must have really evoked good vibes!!

Elegant Area Rug

4. Window Treatments that Wow

My favorite part of the room usually comes in some form of textiles, most notably the window treatments. You could have the most sad room in the world and add a beautiful pattern of color to your windows, and instantly change the look and feel of the room. 90% of my designs begin with the fabric selections, and that will always include the window treatments. I think a room without undressed windows is naked, and even the simplest window panel can warm up a room. Mixing warm and cool tones through a pattern in your drapes is a great way to get the mood you desire in your space, plus create a finished look to your room. If you are a little nervous about a lot of pattern, that’s ok, you can use solid colors or even add a touch of color in a trim on muted drapes.

Who Knew? The word “Curtain” comes from the word “cortine”…. it has its origins in Latin and Greek.

Window Treatments

5. Handsome Upholstery

Lets talk seating. Not only is it usually essential in any space, it’s also the perfect way to create a mood through color pallets in your room. The right lines on a chair can really contribute to the style of the room, but when you add a bold color such as pink or purple, you are adding a creative energy to the room. Think about how much this could change the way your work in your home office space! Want to keep it neutral and calm, add a pair of denim blue swivels to your living room and now you have a casual comfortable feel to your space for your friends and family yo relax in.

Nation Building Chairs? We love swivel chairs, and sell a lot of them, so we were so interested to find that the first ever swivel chair was invented by Thomas Jefferson when he modified his Windsor chair with components connected to an iron spindle and caster wheels. It is said he was seated in his new invention when he signed the declaration of Independence! Wow- American history I was never taught.

Handsome Upholstery

How We Help

Now you can see why color is so important when designing a room. A room should have a function, and its mood needs to elevate that function. There is a science to bringing the perfect balance of color to a space. Using all the elements of a room from the walls to the accessories will play a part in the science. If the task seems too daunting or you are dead set on getting it right, we can help! Start by going to www.thelinenduck.com and filling out our design questionnaire. We will contact you with a discovery call to discuss our many options from a single consultations to large scale projects design services.

Color is a mood creator and a mood changer. When you need to recreate a space, always start with the function and mood of the room before moving forward with your color pallet.

Remember, color can be infused anywhere from your lighting to the trim on your pillows, and all of those colors need to work together for the perfect end result. Wondering how we can add color to your home and life? We’d love to chat with you about it!

Until next time,
Becky