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Design
"What is design? It's
where you stand with a foot in two worlds - the world of
technology and the world of people and human purposes -
and you try to bring the two together.
-Mitchell Kapor
Using Color Tricks in Home Decor
by Pamela Cole Harris
Just
as a painter uses color to fool the eye and to create
mood in fine art, so the designer can use color to fool
the eye in home décor. Here are a few tips for the
creative DIY designer (that's YOU!) dealing with
problem spaces.
- Long or large room.
Try
painting a warm color on one wall in a predominately
white room. The warm wall will appear to advance, making
the room seem smaller or shorter.
-
Short room.
Paint one wall a cool color, while leaving the rest
of the walls warm. The cool wall will appear to draw
back, making the room seem longer.
-
High ceilings.
If you want a more
intimate feel in a room with high ceilings, paint
the ceiling a darker color. You can also lower it
further by painting the top part of the wall (say,
12" or so) with the same ceiling color.
- Low ceilings. If you want to make the ceilings appear higher, paint the ceiling a light color and bring the wall color 6" or so onto the ceiling. Another trick for making the walls appear higher is to paint the baseboards the same color as the walls. This makes the room appear taller (just like in fashion!)
Get the picture? Warm = advancing. Cool =
receding. Easy! Hmmmm…do you think that something cool
would help my advancing weight? Ice cream is cool,
right? That's it! I'm off to fool my eye into thinking I
am slim! Tom and Jerry, here I come!
About the Author: Pamela Cole Harris has been a writer, editor and decorator
for
over 35 years (Yikes! Has it been that long?). Her
tongue-in-cheek approach to decorating has made her websites
among the most popular on the net. Visit
HomeAndGardenMakeover.com to subscribe to her
free
home decorating newsletter.
Photo by Lotus Head.