Sep 18 2009
Using Color in Smaller Spaces
Use color even in the smallest of rooms to liven things up Make Connections with Color Many people worry about decorating in small spaces with color. It’s been said (as per urban legend) that color makes small rooms look even smaller. This is barely based on facts, but it’s been blown entirely out of proportion. In fact, color is one of the best ways you can define a room, and anchor it. Here are some ways you can use color wisely in smaller spaces “Join” two rooms by utilizing a single color theme for both. Of course, you’ll probably think of this technique with rooms that are open to each other, such as with a kitchen and family room, but you can also use the same method for rooms that simply fall within each other’s “sight.”
If living rooms have an arched opening through to the dining room, for example, or if the kitchen flows into your dining furniture, your bedroom has a small bathroom attached, and so on, you can “join” these rooms by sharing the same color schemes. Let’s say, for example, that you’ve got a favorite color combination and your house is particularly small. You can use that color combination in every room to some capacity — whether it be hallways, dining area, kitchen, living room, bathrooms — to give a sort of visual “flow” that continues throughout the house. Use Solid Color to Add Depth You can add depth with solid colors.
For example, changing a bland space that’s all one color (say, white) with elegant oak furniture to one with the depth of layered colors makes things appear bigger. For example, you can paint a living room all blue and then paint the walls and door openings red, which accentuates the space nicely and gives depth. In a kitchen, you can use white cabinets and white refrigerator as accents in a corner, and then add a horizontal line to visually separate walls, which makes a small room look bigger. Layer Colors to Add Depth Layer on glazes of color to give walls depth. You can also separate walls into blocks of color to give them more visual depth. This can be especially useful if you’ve got a large wall to cover. Using just a single color of any type can make the wall look very large and very flat. Using something like patterned wallpaper is simply overpowering for such a large space.
However, you can layer soft “color tones,” used to complement furnishings, and yet visually recede so that you look at the whole room instead of just the wall itself. Using Accent for Emphasis If you want upholstery and wall colors neutral, you can simply accent with a particular color and then layer it throughout the entire room. For example, if you like red, it might be overpowering on your walls, but you can use it on couch cushions, in wall pictures, or on foot stool coverings. If you use even bright colors sparingly but carefully, the bright colors will provide accents but won’t overwhelm any space. Lastly, you should use the accent color you’ve chosen throughout the room, and not simply concentrate it in one particular area.
Neutral Tones Should Be Varied Even if you like all-white rooms, for example, you can add some variation was neutrals to give it a less sterile look. For example, tone on tone stripe can add visual interest but still maintain a quiet “neutral” effect. That is, it’s quiet like a neutral, but still has a slight change of tone that gives the depth you need without the starkness of a bright, eye-popping element.
Have you perused the terms commonly used for art glass? Most people find them numerous and perplexing, so much so that I threw in a ringer right in the title. For starters, mica isn’t glass at all, as most of us learned in elementary science class. Rather it’s a mineral that flakes nicely into translucent sheets. Thus it is an ideal material for lamp shades, as demonstrated in the famous “coolie” shades made by Dirk van Erp.
Looking for a way to create cozy comfort without the stress of redoing your entire bedroom? Consider this list of economical decorating ideas as a way of revamping your boudoir.


