Decortating Tips - Color & Design

When it comes to decorating your home, the array of choices can be overwhelming. Flooring is just one aspect of your home’s décor, however, it’s especially important as it is should be considered the foundation of your overall design. Learn how you can choose the color and design that is right for you.

Carpet Color and Your Decorating Plan

In any decorating scheme, color is usually the first and most important element. The mood, tone and function of a room are influenced by the dominant colors that it contains, and likewise, the colors used in a room set its general ambiance. Nothing shows a professional touch in a room like the creative use of color, and today’s decorator is fortunate in having a virtual rainbow of color options in carpeting.

Many decorators consider the floor the "fifth wall" in a room, and its color is as important as those of the walls, window treatments, or furniture. A good choice in carpet color can make the rest of the decorating job easy and satisfying.

Colors fall into three general areas – hot, cool and neutral. Hot colors, like red, orange, or the popular "neon" tones, create a livelier, exciting feeling, and elicit a more active emotional response. Hot colors are popular for flooring in family rooms, kitchens and casual entertaining areas. Cool colors, like pale greens and blues, suggest a more restful, serene environment, and are frequently used in more formal rooms and bedrooms. Neutral colors – off-white, beiges, grays – work both ways because they compliment other colors in a room’s decorating scheme, and are appropriate carpet choices for any room of the house.

The color you choose for a room’s carpet may be dictated by the room itself. Small, narrow, or rooms with low ceilings will appear more spacious with a neutral carpet that subtly blends with the wall color. A large or disproportioned room will become cozier when carpeted in a strong color that contrasts with the wall. Darker carpets will make the walls seem taller; lighter carpets will capture more light. By making the right carpet color choice, you can enhance the positive features of your room, and compensate for architectural shortcomings.

The endless options of colors in carpeting are a blessing, but a blessing that should be carefully managed. First, always examine the carpet in a variety of lights. What looks like a pearly gray under fluorescent light at your carpet retailer may become a darker pewter color when installed in a long hall with a small amount of natural light. Examine the carpet sample in the room where it will be used in the daylight and at night. Also, place it in the center of the room, against a window wall, and in a dark corner. By doing this, you should be able to get an accurate sense of how the carpet will look in the room under all lighting conditions.

Also, avoid "matching" colors. More often, rooms are successfully decorated when they blend colors and tones rather than match them. Wheat colored carpeting, putty colored walls, and eggshell ceilings will create a more pleasing flow of surface colors than everything done in beige.

And be mindful of manufacturer’s names for carpet colors. One manufacturer’s "hunter green" may be another’s "autumn clover," and there are more "navy blues" than there are navies in the world! Use your eye, not the description, and you won’t be disappointed in your selections. Keep in mind that you may be living with your color choice for years. The color that puts a spark in your eye today may cause you to grimace in a few months – be sure to think "long term" when choosing your carpet color.

The selection of carpet color in a room is integral to the design process, and can make or break the success of the room’s decoration. With carpeting as your flooring choice, your design options geometrically expand, and you will be able to create the complete professional look you want for your home.