The Dark Room Solution

Light! More light! Usually, people who want to paint their rooms get the advice to paint them in a light, neutral color. This can work if you like neutral colors, but if your passion is for saturated dark color, you can do a lot with it on the walls of your home.

Black is the ultimate neutral. Surprisingly enough, black walls can be a great alternative to the usual whites or beiges that most people think of when they ponder a neutral wall scheme. With the right lighting and furniture accents, black walls can be dramatic and sophisticated. Care must be taken, however, to brighten the room with light furniture and decorations. Consider pairing black walls with colorful accents like red, teal, purple as well as lighter shades such as pink, baby blue and lilac for interest.

Brown is an underrated color that can bring saturated warmth into a room and serve as a backdrop to just about any color accent. A chocolate brown wall is great for showing off brighter colors while lending some color to the room scheme itself. Chocolate brown and blue combinations have recently been popular, but chocolate brown goes great with reds, yellows and greens.

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Red is a color that has long been used sparingly in the wall palette, except for red brick fireplace areas.. However, a rich, dark red can lend a room sophistication and elegance that’s hard to beat. Burgundy is a great color to put on walls and goes well with many colors and textures. A good dark red is matched well with black (but not too much!), white, antique browns and accents of the cooler colors.

Blues have long been a part of the wall palette in their lighter shades. However, a deep royal blue can make a wonderful wall color when paired with white, yellow and other light accents, furniture and decorations. Blue panels can also lend a significant amount of color without being garish or blinding.

Greens also are a common wall color in their brighter varieties. A forest green, though, can be understated and soothing to the eye. Paired with browns, yellows and creams, the darker greens can provide an elegant solution to your walls.

Purple is somewhat hard to use for a room, as the color walks the line between warm and cool. Some of the darker purples, such as aubergine (eggplant), can work well with a variety of colors. The richer purples, such as royal, can pose more of a challenge to match so that the purple doesn’t overwhelm the room. Light greens, creams, rich red browns and yellows can provide great contrast to a purple room.

The ceiling and the floors can offer some contrast, especially if you’re worried about your dark room being too dark. Light colored ceilings and floors can give the illusion of height that dark walls accentuate. Another method of contrasting is painting the walls different colors. One wall can be used as an accent wall and painted a dark/light color, depending on how dark/light you want the room to be. Two-tone walls also provide a way to use dark colors without darkening a room too much.

Don’t shy away from dark colors! They may require some more thought as to accents and dark/light combinations than your average light wall color, but they can make a room striking and unusual. Coming to the dark side, in this instance, isn’t all bad!


Article source: http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/the-dark-room-solution-588759.html

Choosing Decorations For Your Beach Home

A beach home just isn’t a beach home without the proper decorations to match. Using nautical decor for your beach home can add to its flair and authentic feel. However, when it comes to nautical decorations for your home you’ll find that it’s hard to find a good selection of items for your theme in most stores. However, with the help of the internet you can find many sites that cater to people interested in beach and nautical themed rooms and homes.

So how do you start decorating your beach home? First, choose a color palate that reflects the colors of the beach. Do you prefer the greens and blues of the water, or do you love the neutral tones of a sandy beach? Do you want a soothing, relaxing retreat, a crisp nautical look, or do you prefer the bright colors of the tropics? You need to establish the tone of your project first in order to create harmony with your decorations and accent pieces.

After you have the backdrop established enhance the beach theme by choosing furniture made from natural materials such as rattan, bamboo, teak, or classic driftwood. Beach homes typically use furnishings that are more relaxed and less formal. Add to the effect with nautically themed accent furniture like boat shaped bookcases or nautical decor tables. Next add a selection of beach and nautical accents.

There are many options for wall decor and nautical accent pieces that will be a perfect fit for your taste. Wonderful choices include a ships wheel, anchors, seabirds, nautical clocks, lighthouses, a globe, nautical mirrors, portholes, life rings, ships bells, signal flags, or a model sailboat. Even nautical instruments such as a compass, telescope or barometer can make interesting decorative items.

Choose a beautiful painting, photograph or print with a sailboat, lighthouse or beach theme. Display your favorite shells found while combing the beach. How about a picture frame or mirror decorated with shells? Just remember, there is such a thing as overkill when it comes to home decoration and it’s something you want to try to avoid with theme rooms.

Another important aspect of the nautically themed beach home is the lighting. The right lighting can create the ambience needed to complete the whole look of your beach home. An anchor lamp, lighthouse lamp, or gimbal lantern can be the perfect accent to any room, without going overboard.

Finally, add a finishing touch to your living room, family room or bedroom with textiles. Create a cozy, relaxed atmosphere with nautical themed accent pillows or a throw blanket. There are also many different nautical and beach themed shower curtains and bathroom accessory sets available.

Again, decide on a color scheme and mood to create harmony with your decor, and then carefully select decorative items to fit your theme. Focus your attention on what you love about the beach and sea, and before long you’ll have a stunning beach home.


Article source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/choosing-decorations-for-your-beach-home-4166324.html

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