Warm or Cool—The Right Colour for Every Room

Dola RC Dola RC
Hampstead, Fisher ID Fisher ID Classic style dining room
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'Colour provokes a psychic vibration. Colour hides a power still unknown but real, which acts on every part of the human body.' What Wassily Kandinsky felt through his artist’s mind has been supported by a number of eminent scientists. Colours have a deep impact on our lives. Ancient architectural treatises like vastu shastra and feng shui also acknowledge the stimulating effect of colour on our mind.

Sir Isaac Newton developed the colour wheel in 17th century. He put forth his views on the relationship between neighbouring and opposing colours on a colour wheel. With his colour wheel, differentiating between warm and cool shades became very easy though he himself never used such terms to define colour. Slightly modified versions of the colour wheel still acts as a crucial guide for architects and interior planners today.

Warm colours are those that evoke a sense of liveliness and geniality. Use of a cool shade, on the other hand, creates a calm and relaxing interior. To build a comfortable and stylish home we need to achieve the right balance between warm and cool colours. Today we will discuss a few ways of achieving this balance in the interior of your home. Enjoy!

Mix it up in the living room

To build a cheerful living room go for a mixed colour palette. If you use bright colours to deck up your walls choose subtle shades for your furniture and upholstery or vice versa. Though neither black nor white qualify as a colour, but contemporary design considers white as cool and black as a warm shade. This is quite different from what feng shui believes. In feng shui, white is considered extremely energetic so an all white interior is generally discouraged for spaces for relaxation. In a living room however you can introduce both black and white with accents of more vivacious tones.

Go hot in the dining room

A hot and energetic colour scheme is particularly suited for a dining room. Like your formal living room, it is another space for a social or family gathering. So shades of red, orange and yellow work well for this area. According to your tastes and necessity of complying with the available space, you can tone down their dominating effects by using neutral shades like beige, taupe and grey. Earthen shades go well with luscious red tones. Though warm in nature wood texture also introduces a nice balance.

A subtle kitchen

The kitchen provides you with greater liberty, but as always you need to be cautious with it. A warm kitchen interior feels quite comfortable as long as you do not overwhelm it with an array of ravishing shades. You need to keep in mind that the fire element is already exaggerated here. To balance it you can introduce cool hues, but only minimally. A kitchen completely dressed in cool blue or green can prove to be depressing. But shades like chartreuse, lime green, spring bud that have an underlying yellow tone would not look so sombre. 

See how Raycross Interiors used a combination of warm and cool tones to stylise this kitchen. If you are using wood or wood effect laminated cabinets or flooring then you have a greater freedom to go for a cool colour, for wood will offset any excessive coldness in atmosphere. An all white or black kitchen décor looks stunning for this space too.

A bedroom for relaxing

There is no doubt that a bedroom requires a restful ambience. Going for strong colours in this space can disturb your sleep pattern and repose of mind. More than cool and warm hues, insist on decorating this space using a soothing colour scheme. A relaxing bedroom can have shades of pink, mauve, green and blue. Use bright colours like orange and yellow as small accents. For example, you can buy flaming orange cushions if you have a bedroom coated in champagne tone. Lamp shades, small window curtains, table linen etc can have same effects as well. But ensure the overall atmosphere remains calm and peaceful.

Experimental home office

You need not be colour shy in home office. You can afford to experiment with warm colours for this space. But take into account your personal responses to colours and also of your colleagues’ if you share this space with others. While most people think electric blue to be a relaxing colour, some consider it to be an energetic shade. So combining any striking colour with generous amounts of black, white or neutral shades would be more suitable. Vibrant shades can uplift your mood if your region experiences frequent overcast conditions coupled with a nip in the air.

Gentle warmth for the bathroom

Many modern householders do not feel too comfortable to experiment with bathroom colours. So most bathrooms end up looking all white, all black or a compromise between the two. Though you need to create a relaxing atmosphere in this space, you need not shun colours altogether, especially the warmer ones. Use a colour tinged with yellow. Install terracotta tiles or a colourful mosaic in the shower area. Have lighting fixtures in bright shades or a vanity unit soaked in a warm hue. This way you will introduce an element of surprise and your bathroom will cease to be a boring place. Don't forget to check out some trendy tile designs for more colour in your home!

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