Cold and warm color

Color has various characteristics that need to be taken into account when choosing one for a particular interior.

One of those characteristics is that cold colors tend to recede, while warm colors advance.

Colors are separated into two groups, cold and warm. If the color wheel is separated into two equal parts with a vertical line on one side we will have cold colors, with green the first cold color, and on the other side there will be warm colors. Yellow and purple are divided into two parts, green-yellow and blue-purple are cold, while orange-yellow and red-purple are warm.

How light affects color

Many of us have encountered a certain problem when choosing a paint for an interior. After being applyed on the walls, the paint color can look completely different from what was on the sample. There are several reasons why this can happen.

Creating a lighting scheme in an interior

There are three basic factors to be taken into account when planning a lighting scheme for an interior. These factors must be clarified at early stages of design, as they influence the amount of light, the position and type of luminaries.

Those factors are:

a. The purpose of the room
b. The dimensions of the room
c. Decorations

Using achromatic color in interiors

Achromatic colors are the black, white and all the greys. The difference between chromatic and achromatic colors is both physical and psychological. Color is a result of an object absorbing the white light and reflecting a single or several rays. Depending on what color rays it reflects we get red, green, blue etc. Black absorbs all the colors and doesn’t reflect anything, while white reflects all, absorbing nothing. Greys are a mixture of black and white.

Open plan interior: yes or no?

Open plan interiors have a particular fascination due to their spacious, airy appearance. Even a small flat will look broad if the walls are removed. But when it comes to living in an open plan interior it comes out that people miss the feeling of a wall behind their back and need more privacy. Open plan interiors are good for some people, but they don’t work for others. According to my observations, open plan interiors are suitable for singles, or couples without children, who don’t need to have much personal space and privacy. But when it comes to families with children or elderly people, open plan interiors prove to have some shortcomings.

Color harmony

Colour harmony is an extremely broad concept and it can’t be strictly defined. It is something very subtle and fragile, and even the following the design rules isn’t a guarantee that a harmony will be achieved. Generally colour harmony is defined as aesthetically pleasant combination of colours. Harmony creates positive feelings. If it is an unexpected, complicated harmony it can raise joy and amusement, more traditional types of harmony create a feeling of comfort and relaxation. Harmony is what makes an image complete.

An interior with a lack of colour harmony can never feel comfortable and pleasing. Still there are some rules how to create colour harmony.

Balance in an interior

When an interior shows a lack of balance I become restless and anxious. The human eye naturally tries to bring everything to balance, because it is something that lies in the roots of nature. Even the human body and inner processes are kept in a balance, breaking of which may lead to bad sequences.

In my understanding balance is the feeling that everything is in its place. So in a balanced interior a person feels calm and satisfied, while misbalance makes us imaginatively move the objects and try to arrange them so that they come to balance.