Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Some Important Things About "Colorizing" The Nursery
My Decorating Plan
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Baby on the way? Give your baby a head start in life by colorizing the nursery appropriately.
Color is important for babies as experts tell us that babies can see color before they can see forms and shapes. As children grow they are continually making connections between color and objects.
While the most popular colors for nurseries are gentle pastels such as mint green, sky blue, pinks and creamy yellows, psychologists say children like and thrive around the bolder and brighter primary colors.
In choosing the nursery color palette, parents might want to consider the following: (1) the parents personal color preferences; (2) selecting colors that will enhance the theme or style of the nursery; and, (3) using colors that will not agitate the child.
With all the color choices available to new parents, here's a few color tips we found to get you started:
·Babies cry more in yellow rooms
·Pink is an ideal color for colicky babies
·Red is one of the first colors babies can discern.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
How Color Affects Our Minds
My Decorating Plan
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805.933.0222
We all have favorite colors. We may like the way certain colors look together or, as in clothing, we may like the way a particular color looks against our skin.
Unfortunately, in interior decorating it is not that simple. A professional interior decorator must also give great thought to how a color or palette of colors will mentally affect their clients. This concept is referred to as the psychology of color.
So why do we care about the psychology of color? Think about it this way. You want a cool spa-like room to rest and relax in. But somehow you end up with red walls! Ouch! Calm and cool? No. Red is a strong stimulator and you may find yourself bouncing off the walls with energy rather than resting peacefully with your favorite fashion magazine.
A decorator may also consider your color personality when designing a space for you. It has been shown that certain personality types prefer certain colors to others.
A decorator should also consider the way a room is to be used when selecting appropriate colors for that space. Cool colors will slow us down and give us a calm feeling, while warm colors tend to energize us and stimulate us mentally.
Color theory can be complicated, so in following are a few color concepts that are simple to understand and easy to apply to your next decorating project. You may even discover your own color personality.
Red: A strong, stimulating color. People who like reds yearn for the impulsive side of life. Red is the color of action, love, and courage. You are likely to be outspoken and athletic. You might also have a quick temper and judge things without too much deliberation. First impressions really count with you.
Blue: A serene, cool and stately color. Blue lovers tend to be capable, conservative and sensitive individuals. They are resourceful and know how to carry out responsibilities. And they also know how to make money. While they enjoy life, they find it difficult to truly share their emotions. They also tend to be very serious, opinionated and a little stubborn.
Purple: A stately, impressive color. If you like purple you're an artist at heart. The mundane things of life are far beneath you. You love culture, like to impress people, and tend to surround yourself with talented people.
Green: A calming and restful color. Green lovers tend to be fresh, natural and friendly in nature. You might tend to indulge yourself a little too much. You're very active in community affairs, like to be social, and yearn to have people like you.
Orange: A cheerful and warm color. If you like orange you're friendly, cheerful, and able to get along with practically everyone. You're social by nature, and hate to be alone. Your greatest wish is that the world be a warm and mellow place.
Yellow: A sunny and bright color. Yellow lovers tend to be very intellectual by nature. You might be just a bit stubborn, but your character is profound and your advice sensible.
In conclusion, remember one thing. There is no such thing as a bad color. Only mismatched combinations of colors and people.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Spring Forward To Color
My Decorating Plan
www.mydecplan.com
805.933.0222
Spring is upon us and it’s time to come out of our cocoons. This is a time of year we humans tend to get the urge to spruce up our homes. One way to quickly do a spruce up is to refresh an old paint color or add a new paint color to our home. It’s a quick, easy and inexpensive fix.
Unfortunately, adding color can be daunting to many people and many people can’t even determine what colors they like. Here are two easy tips to help you figure it out.
First, take a look in your closet. We tend to pick clothes in colors that we like and that we feel good in. For example, you may notice that most of the garments in your closet are in the blue family. It’s easy to assume that you like blue – so seriously consider the idea that blue should be a major element of your home color scheme.
Second, walk around your home and look for something that you love, that you would miss seeing on a day-to-day basis. It could be a piece of art, throw pillow, rug, vase, etc. Once you have found this piece, let that guide you toward your color scheme. If you love it, most likely you love it because the color or colors of the item “speak to you”.
Once you decide what paint colors you want to try, get paint samples from your local paint retailer. Paint large squares of the chosen samples on the walls you are going to paint. Let the squares dry completely and check them out over a 24-hour period. If the resulting color is what you had in mind – go for it. If not, try more samples and repeat the process until you get the color you love.
