It’s often said failing to plan is planning to fail. A good décor job is usually the result of a combination of deliberate planning with a fair measure of experimenting. Before you roll up your sleeves and embark on your apartment décor makeover project, take time to discover your style and choose your colours.
Style
Many décor experts advise that it’s vital to define your decorating style before you start a project. Though they are right, the emphasis on choosing a style can be daunting. The truth is most people are drawn to a variety of styles. So don’t get intimidated if you are finding yourself at a cross road. Remember, deciding the décor style you prefer is somewhat like going into therapy. Style ultimately is the total sum of who you are and what you aspire for. To define it you need to answer the following questions:
- How do I see myself?
- What do I like?
- What do I want to be doing when I am at home?
- How do I want my guests to feel when they at my home?
You will also find magazines an invaluable source of inspiration. Take time to peruse them and you will find yourself gravitating towards certain elements. Make a point of collecting photos of rooms you like and file them alongside your answers to the above questions. Whatever you finally settle on will probably fall under one of these style groups:
- Casual: simple details with low luster finishes
- Formal: Strong in symmetry and high luster finishes
- Contemporary: artistic and bold, often sculptural furnishings
- Architectural: inspired by architectural styles
- Around the world: inspired by places; English, Arabic, African
- Geography: inspired by locale; beach, tropical,
- Lifestyle: inspired by hobbies and interest: sports, rustic, urban chic
Colour
Like defining your style, choosing your colours can be a journey of self discovery. If you have settled on your personal style, you are well on your way to choosing colours that will work for you. Let’s look at a few principles of colour that should guide your choice:
1. Use a colour wheel or chart to view the full spectrum of colours at your disposal. Mixing and blending varying amounts of different colours is what creates the beautiful hues we see in home décor today.(You can try out our colour chart here: http://www.crownberger.co.ke/colorchart)
2. Consider using a basic colour plan like one of the three below
- Monochromatic: select one colour and only use its tints and shades
- Complementary: Select two colours that are opposite each other on the wheel e.g. yellow and blue
- Analogous: choose a colour on the wheel then choose one, two or three neighbouring colours on either side of it on the wheel.
Understanding these basics will demystify the selection process and will make experimenting with your preferred colours easy.
If you allow yourself to enjoy the process of defining your style and choosing your colours, then the journey of decorating should be quiet enthralling, no matter the surprises that lie ahead.
My style is complementary. I have looked at your chart and I have a question, to achieve a complementary look, do I pick a colour from the different colour groups that you have in your chart e.g from oranges & from blues?
The idea behind a complementary colour plan is to create contrast and
vibrance by using colours that complement each other. So when you have
chosen your main colour on the colour wheel, its complementary color
will be positioned directly opposite it on the colour wheel. It is
easier identifying complementary colours from a colour wheel than from
a chart.