Elements to consider in decorating your space

A sense of comfort is all that you have to achieve in the decorative scheme of any space. You can do a lot to make a room look more spacious such as playing with colors, texture, and lighting – natural and artificial – as well as using reflective and transparent surfaces.

Color

The points given below will help understand how color can be used to break up an area, to define certain parts, unify a space, and to also add ambiance. It can make a space feel larger or smaller.

Warm and cool colors

Colors such as green, blue and purple are cool colors while red, orange, and yellow are warm. You can sense a warm cozy room just when you walk into it. A warm red can be cooled if you add some blue and a cool green can be warmed if you add some yellow. Walls painted in blue make a small space look larger and the reverse is also true.

Lights effect on colors

The quality of light may affect how the color appears in a room. A room facing the sun for instance will look warmer than another room away from the sun. You can use a cool color such as blue if your room is naturally exposed to sunlight, and artificial lighting also affects color. Ordinary incandescent bulbs will make the colors in a room look warmer and more yellow than they are. They will also make blues look more green and reds look more orange. Fluorescent makes colors look colder while halogen gives out a closer effect to sunlight. Taking into account your artificial lighting when planning your color scheme is therefore very essential.

Color can appear different depending on the color that is next to it and the larger the area that is covered by color, the more that color will take the lead in a scheme. 

Tints & shades

A Tint is made when u add white to a color and a shade when you add black. Lighter colors reflect light while darker colors absorb it.

 White and pale colors

What works best in your designed space are in general the white and pale light-reflecting colors as they have a space-defying effect. Be careful a warm white can make a sunny room feel uncomfortably warm. Instead, try cool neutrals such as cool off-white, pale grey, green-grey, and lavender greys or any pale cool green, blue, or mauve. These colors look best in rooms with good natural light. Please bear in mind that the white scheme is high-maintenance and not ideal for a family with children and pets.

Using strong Colors, Patterns & Texture 

Strong colors can be used and textures can add interest to what are essentially monochrome schemes.

You can introduce an accent color in the form of accessories like for example a collection of vases or some cushions. A fabric panel or a two-tone wallpaper can also do the trick.

A strong color can be used also to paint one wall or to divide a panel and can be employed in the form of a brightly colored rug and perhaps a red chair in a pale grey room.

The pattern most commonly appears in textiles, flooring, and wallpaper. If you want a narrow room to feel wider, a few boards, contrasting horizontal stripes painted on the wall will do the trick.

Large patterns in small spaces work better than small-scale patterns. You can use large tiles laid in a diagonal way which will give your space a stretching effect and a feeling of liveliness, unlike small patterns that look too busy.

Ensure always to use patterns of similar scale and tone. So if you have a collection of objects, avoid displaying them if they don t form a unified pattern such as their shape or color. You can instead use a single over-scaled piece and light it well.

Textures also add variety and depth without creating fussiness. Soft textures are essential to provide comfort to your home like for example, thick wool throws, fluffy towels, and large squashy cushions.

Lighting and Windows

Lighting should form an integral part of our planning whatever the size of the space is. the first and most important is the access to natural light from windows, doors, and other openings.

Increasing the size of windows and openings as much as possible will bring more natural light into your space. You can also consider removing internal walls and doors to provide yourself with a greater sense of space and more exposure to natural light.

Avoid using a solitary ceiling light, it leaves the corners of the room bathed in gloom. Use recessed downlights instead they make the room look larger. Add decorative lighting through the use of spotlights, strip lights, or wall washers. Those are usually used for illuminating paintings, houseplants, bookshelves. The directional lighting can be used in the form of downlights fitted beneath a wall cabinet for working or reading.

Backlight a bathroom mirror or cabinet and set light flush in the treads of the stairs or in the wall flanking the stairs so that they help direct the eye from zone to zone.

Create a sense of movement through the space via lighting by adding a row of spotlights for example along a corridor floor or ceiling to lead the eye away from the narrowness of the corridor and into the next space.

Reflection and transparency 

Use Reflective surfaces such as mirrors and metals, they will give a sense of spaciousness by bouncing the light around.            

Work with see-through surfaces such as glass and Perspex, they also let the light flow in the room.

Employ materials with a reflective quality on your walls and ceiling for example high-gloss paints, lacquers, and varnishes. When applied to the ceiling with good lighting it can be particularly space-enhancing.

Wallpapers with a light-reflecting metallic finish as well as mirrors can be also used on walls. Mirrors with good lighting can provide a better effect, locate them opposite a window or door and try using them for example with decorative lighting in bathrooms or behind a shelf that holds a display of your favorite objects.

Tiles are another option to be considered for your walls. Glazed ceramic tiles are available in a wide range of colors and formats, the white or fairly neutral ones often work in any space especially small spaces.

Glass tiles are better employed in bathrooms and have a watery look whereas metal tiles in stainless steel and copper come with a textured finish that can be used on walls and countertops.

Glass wall panels can also be incorporated in your design in different patterns like the sandblasted design, etched, textured and screen printed glass, for example, the latter offering interesting design and color opportunities.

Be aware of the structural quality installed since safety is always an issue with sheet glass, make sure to hire professionals like ZPMEngineers.

Whether you are a contractor or you’re decorating your home, I advise you to seek help by consulting our Homepage. Our experts can bring everything together to make the entire job successful. Managing projects, organizing your crew on your own can get messy, and it takes valuable time out of your day. Our Engineers will help keep all of that on track, so your project runs smoothly.

Reflection in floors

The first and most common option is to use quality glazed ceramic tiles for floors and avoid the slippery finishes in areas that get wet.

Stone is a more costly alternative that can be used on floors and walls. A highly polished finish most commonly found in granite can have higher reflecting qualities. Stone can come in a huge range of types and colors but its weight can cause a problem if the floor structure is weak.

Metal flooring or stairs are also reflecting surfaces and are worth considering. They are structurally tough available in different styles and are easy to clean. Polished concrete became also a luxury material used in galleries shops and restaurants giving a cutting edge industrial look and can be colored or laid in panels. Poured Resin is also durable and offers a highly glossy surface that can bounce light and color and can be used in treads or floor panels.

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