Living Room Color

Take the flower wall paper down; it's time to start really thinking about living room color schemes. Most people never even thinking about living room color schemes, because the colors are already chosen for them with the furniture that they like, and the home that they have purchased. Think about how many people buy furniture unstained, or uncovered, and at the same time, purchases a home that has yet to be painted on the inside. Right, not too many people do that, so we must focus on the obvious truth about living room color schemes, much of it is already chosen for us.

The best way to approach living room color schemes is think about what you can do, not what you can not do. This means to look at whatever you have the ability to change, and change it as much as possible to match some type of living room color scheme.

A living room color scheme is simply a coordinated effort amongst all the colors in the room to create a group, or scheme that is noticeable from a distance. Think about the stripes on a traditional prison uniform, the color scheme of that is easily identifiable as black, and white. Some rooms have single color schemes like brown, or red, or white. While most have multiple color schemes.

One of the most iconic living room color schemes of all time is the hunting lodge color scheme. This is a deep brown color that most of the furniture comes out to be, matched with a dark green wall paper. The brown and green is then matched with natural wood accents from handmade furniture. This color scheme works well together because the green and brown contrast one and other to a point that is pleasing to the eye.

While not all will want to go with the hunting lodge color scheme, there are plenty of other living room color schemes that one can utilize. One popular living room color scheme is that of grey on the walls, and tan on the furniture. The grey helps to keep the furniture the focal point, while the tan keeps the eyes from becoming too overwhelmed with color, this is a good example of a modest living room color scheme.

Interior Design Ideas

Interior design ideas these days are dime a 12. If you watch a television show that is dedicated to interior designing for one hour, once you come out, you would have enough knowledge that you can design for complete home. The main drawback of a television show when compared to applying these ideas in life is these are tough to document. If you don�t sit next or in front of the TV and scribble down madly onto paper piece, it is really difficult to remember all the ideas that you get watching the show. The key for a successful interior designing is planning.

Replicating or trying to copy an idea or design from a TV show for your home could include additional planning or steps which might not be shown in an hour or a thirty � minutes of a show. This being the reason it is necessary for one to go through the entire dry run of the design or idea before we actually execute it. There is a fair chance for figuring out and taking corrective measures to make sure a hassle free application.

The only resource for ideas and information for interior designs is not Television. Books always remain as a better help for designers of any experience and background. The information we get in the books is more or less explanative and thought-out material when compared to a TV show. As book demand more basic information and material than a Television show can have in a limited segment of time. Not only this, books are written by two or three authors together for such subjects and are also edited before it is released to the readers in any form. So, the information would be edited and re-written by two to three parties. Exceptions for the rules are always there but, this would be the normal scenario.

If you feel reading a book is time consuming for tedious task, then you can always choose to read a magazine article as another source of information for interior design. You always have the benefit of pictures or visual representations of the designs and its concepts in a magazine that you can look into or hold on for a particular period of time. Professional interior designers collect all these articles in big numbers along with the visuals and keep them in a format that can be accessible to everyone easily. This is a perfect source for getting specific information, feel or look that is difficult to describe in actual terms of industry for a client. Terminology used in these articles are self-explanatory although people who don�t have much expose to this jargons might find it difficult to understand few phrases or concepts that are used to define the interior design areas. Most of us are aware of the words �modern� and �traditional� design but, the magazines would not find it difficult to say �Americana� or �Minimalist� for these terms. You need not think its incomplete just because you are not aware of these phrases, you have to understand that the process of learning takes time and hence is exactly termed as a process.

Color Design

Why do we choose particular colors for our home? It is because we either like them or have seen them in a magazine or someone's home. Most times it is because we have a favorite color deep in our mind and may not even be aware of it. But, some of us have trouble deciding on which colors we really want to use in our own home. So, what do you do?

Let's take it step-by-step:

1. Look around the room and see if there is a color you like in the items present.

2. Take the item (or a sample) to the paint store and choose some color samples that work with your item.

3. Tape the samples to the wall in the room you want to paint.

4. If you are happy with the sample you should only purchase a quart at this time. Why? It is hard to make a decision from a small paint sample. Or, ask the paint store if they can provide larger paint samples.

5. Paint a 5' x 5' square and live with it for a few days or more. Now you can place other items and fabrics near the color to see how they coordinate. Also, you can view the color during the day and at night when colors change due to the lighting.

6. If you're satisfied you can purchase the paint, pick the sheen and paint the walls!

Also, paint sheen is another decision, but easy one to make. The sheens are as follows and are usually dictated by the room's use:

� Flat has no shine and it hides imperfections on the walls. But, it is harder to clean than satin or semi-gloss.

� Satin or eggshell have a very soft sheen. But can be cleaned easier than flat.

� Semi-gloss has a shiner finish and can be cleaned much easier. So, it is good for high traffic areas such as kitchen and bathrooms. But, also emphasizes imperfections.

� Gloss is the shiniest and best to clean, but it emphasizes the imperfections the best.

Interior Design Colors

Many homeowners will put a considerable amount of time in determining the best use of color in interior designs throughout the home. They will take the size of the room into consideration and the way the room will be used. Some people choose to use bright colors in dark recesses of the home, and use darker colors when they are trying to achieve a warm effect.

The use of color in interior designs can set the mood in any room of the home where color is applied. The colors can be consistently used throughout the home to evoke a sense of uniformity and well-being. Some people choose to apply lighter shades to walls, and then apply a darker but complimentary shade of the same color to the ceilings in every room of the home.

In the use of color in interior designs, homeowners have the opportunity to blend themes with the colors that they choose. For a boy's room, parents might choose to use darker colors such as blue to compliment the sports theme and motifs that they apply to the walls such as ballpark murals and those that mimic an international raceway that is typically the choice of an avid NASCAR fan.

Many homeowners will choose to the use of color in interior designs throughout the home so that they will blend with the wallpaper. The wallpaper that is used, as bordering around the ceiling, will be more attractive if the use of color in interior designs serves to bring out one basic color that is in the wallpaper.

Some border colors can become more vivid when the coloring on the wall is directly opposite of the wallpaper that is applied. This arrangement is normally chosen for rooms of adolescents that have a distinct liking for shades of pink and want their room to be fit for a princess and adorned with carriages and crowns and sometimes feathers. The finishing touch on rooms that are this elaborate would consider the use of color in interior designs that could be considered complete with the addition of wispy curtains and a complimentary light fixture.

Casting Calls for HGTV's Design Star

HGTV is looking for contestants to compete in the next season of Design Star.

It has signed up Mark Burnett, the creator of "Survivor", to produce the show. The winner will have the opportunity to produce his/her own show.

To apply, e-mail David Polanzak at dpo.casting@gmail.com with the following information:

Name:
Age:
Hometown:
Phone:
Photo:

Submissions are due by Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010

Crescent Shops

Take a look at this proposed retail space!

Extended Home for the Holidays

The hours have been extended, so I reposted! Check out the website for details!

720 Goldenrod, Holland, MI

Concept Sketch

Breakfast Nook Before

Breakfast Nook After

Breakfast Nook Before

Breakfast Nook After

The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Holland presents Designer Show House 2009, "Home for the Holidays." From November 13 - 28 this home can be toured by the public. Please check the website for specific dates and times. This fund-raising event benefits after-school and summer programs made possible by the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Holland.

Visbeen Associates teamed up with Benchmark Wood Studio to recreate the breakfast nook in this beautiful 1920's home. With Wayne Visbeen's vision for the room, Benchmark's skilled craftsmanship and Missy Pratt's

If you're interested in seeing more "before" photos of the entire project, click here.