Last week I attended a seminar on using color to create moods. It was hosted by Century Furniture as part of the House Beautiful Design Institute. It was a day filled with seminars on design trends and book signings for designers and readers. The presenter for the seminar was color expert Kate Smith (not to be confused with the “God Bless America” Kate Smith).
Kate is a color expert who lectures and offers a color certification course. Yes, for the low, low price of about $800 you too can become a color expert. Ok, that said- it was a good presentation and she did pass along some good tips about creating mood with colors. Here are some of her tips:
- To create tranquil, calming, and restful rooms use varied cool tints, tones and shades in subtle contrast to one another. ( A tint is a color that has white added to it, and a shade is a color that has black added to it) Think “spa” colors.
-
soothing colors with blue undertones - Nurturing, caring and encouraging comes through by combining light cool colors with soft warm hues, with little color contrast.
- If you’d like to create a mood of stability- go for classic colors that connect to history. Think royal blues, navy, rich jewel tones and contrasting neutrals.
-
Couldn't be much more traditional than this! - For a dreamy or romantic mood, use “girly” colors that don’t have a lot of contrast. Think sexy 1930’s hollywod glam. Lots of pearly shine, but not big color pops.
-
Very girly - If whimsical, imaginative and playful is your goal, choose “joyful” combinations with a lot of contrast. Think bold, intense colors, like primary colors.
-
This was the hardest to find! I had to look at a LOT of bad pictures. Owww!
Ok, time to vote on these. What’s the mood you like the best? Maybe it’s one that you haven’t seen yet. Tell me the mood you want to create and we’ll come up with a color palette for it.