Colour is one of the most fundamental elements in your property, whether it's at work or at home. You can use hues to brighten up your mood, make the space look larger and smaller, or reflect more light. It can easily identify personal spaces for you and family, friends or colleagues. One of our suppliers, Taubmans, have come up with the 10 commandments of colour to help you plan your building colour schemes ahead of your next painting project!
1. The 60/30/10 rule
Divide your room into 60 per cent of a dominant colour (i.e. walls), 30 per cent of a secondary colour (i.e. flooring) and 10 per cent of an accent colour (i.e. furniture/ accessories).
2. Embrace emotions
Understand the emotional connections that you or your family have to certain hues. Such as does the colour blue calm you or does the colour yellow make you feel happy?
3. Complementary colours
For a visually striking room, choose complementary colours that are directly opposite from one another on the colour wheel, such as red and green, or blue and orange.
4. Analogous colours
For a casual feel, choose analogous colours. Analogous colours are situated next to each other on the colour wheel such as blue and violet, or yellow and green.
5. Bright colours
Embrace bright colours to create the illusion of space. To get this look right, it’s important to mirror the colour of your walls in your flooring. This makes the room feel like one, big open space.
6. Colour combinations
The rule to remember is that cool colours appear to recede, whereas warm colours seem to come towards you. So to make a space seem bigger, use a cool colour on the walls, but to make a large room seem cosier, use warm colours.
7. Add Black
To use bright colours in your building colour scheme, without creating a childish feeling interior, add a few elements of black around the room to lend a sophisticated edge.
8. Warm up, Cool down
Warm up or cool down your property with colour. Reds, oranges and yellows traditionally create a feeling of warmth. Use cooler tones in your building colour schemes like greens, and blue to create a fresher, cleaner colour palette.
9. Neutral Palette
A neutral palette can still be impactful. The key to creating interest is to remember that neutrals don’t have to be just beige, tan or white. Consider warm golds, rich camel browns to put a fun twist on everyday neutrals.
10. Colour memories
Use colours from your past as inspiration. The most impactful choices can be colours from childhood that remind you of fond memories.
If you're looking for professional advice on building colour schemes, wanting to update your building's paintwork, or you're on the hunt for long-term preventative maintenance, Higgins will deliver a cost-effective solution tailored to your budget and property. Request a free paint condition assessment to get started today.
