Belle Interior Designers-Uganda: Colour your Interior

Belle Interior Designers-Uganda: Colour your Interior: I was never admitted to design school only because I never applied to join one. This however did not affect my love and appreciation for...

Colour your Interior

I was never admitted to design school only because I never applied to join one. This however did not affect my love and appreciation for fashion and design but I have come to realize interior designing is what I have most of my attention on. 

With more exposure, I have observed that people are now more open to having unique creative Interior design in their homes. However, one would wonder whether things like color paints, flowers, pots, light fixtures etc existed before or were they so expensive then and cheaper now? Of course NOT!  I want to believe that we were too conservative to apply any of these to our homes.

Speaking of indoor paints back in the days, these by default were white, off white or cream. Most of the floors unless tiled, had to be maroon in color…

match your colors before you start

Thanks to the many interior designers and paint houses out there, we have learnt to appreciate the difference color can bring to our homes. Now that you have a huge selection of colors at hand please use them right bearing in mind that color will bring relaxation, fulfillment and satisfaction if painted to your expectations (done right) and the total opposite if your expectations are not met.

Colors affect the illusion of space in a room. A monochromatic color scheme (one/similar color with different shades) like off whites, cream and beige will give you an appearance of more space while warm colors like deep red, orange, brown will give an impression of a smaller space. On the other hand cool colors like sky blue and light green will give an openness, calm and airy appearance.

When choosing new colors for your home, do not limit yourself. Have a variety to choose from and match the paints before you start.  Paint a section of the wall and observe it for a few days at different times. It is a good idea to paint one shade lighter than your sample swatch. Most times, the color on your sample will look brighter on a big wall than on a smaller one.

Do not use strong colors like red on areas that are frequently used. This color can stand out better on hallways and staircases where you just pass by and don't really stay as often like your bedroom.

Mix and match the colors you love...

As much as color plays one of the major roles in making a good interior, the quality of material plays a key role you therefore need to be sure of the quality of paint, brush and other material necessary for the job.

Note that while choosing a color for your home, bear in mind the furniture and other key factors, for example dark colors on walls will be complimented with bright wall fixtures and curtains. 

brown brings a warm feel to the room but remember not to over do single colors. 

 

All said and done, the bottom line is to choose a color that makes you comfortable and happy not the color that makes your Interior designer happy. At the end of the day it is you living within those walls...

Till then…

Sarah

Start Designing your Interior

When you hear of Interior designing what exactly runs in your head? Many answers I could get to this question, thank you. However, as many think of a beautifully designed house, I need to advise you on how beautiful this can be or how this beauty can be achieved.

When designing or decorating your interior, you need to have several principles in mind, to achieve whatever look you want, some of which are, Unity and harmony, focal point, balance, rhythm, details, scale and proportion, color among many more. These I will elaborate a little.

Unity and Harmony; when designing a house, we look at it as big room linked by, corridors, hallways and at times stairways. Interior designers always aim at creating a story line and you all know for sure a story has to be coordinated…therefore, aim at creating a story line for the house by having unity and harmony. For example, picking 2-4 colors and use them in various shades throughout the entire house will create the unity and harmony we are talking about.

Focal Point; this must be dominant to draw attention and interesting enough to get the viewer thinking of the story behind. The Focal point therefore MUST have a lasting impression. This is enough to teach you that a television set should not be the only focal point here, it can be an art piece with some lighting, a painting, a contrasting color on one of the walls, you name it….all you have to know is that Interior design’s worst enemy is boredom!

Balance; You have heard someone say “this room is soo busy!” or “these colors got my head spinning” or “something seems not right” that is due to lack of balance. Balance in interior designing should be key in order to have equal distribution of visual weight.

For balance to be achieved, some rooms are designed exactly the same, for example, 2 corners have same objects repeatedly in the same positions. However, you have to be careful not to create monotony here.

The latest trend has rooms designed with different objects that have equal visual weight or eye attraction. This design is less contrived in feeling but more difficult to achieve.

Rhythm; this is continuity, recurrence or organized movement. People who love music could correct me if I’m wrong. You have to bring, repetition, progression and transition/contrast to achieve this. Rhythm will then bring sence of movement to your space causing eye movement from one design element to another.

Details: I’m glad that we Ugandans have started appreciating details in design. Unlike color, people always ignore the details and this kills design or makes it boring in the long run. However, please note, details should not be obvious but should aim at enhancing the overall feel of comfort in a room.

Scale and Proportion; these two are inseparable. Both relate to size and shape. Scale is concerned with the size of an object compared to another and proportion has to do with the ratio or amount of one design element to another.

Color; I’m sure most of you love this. Yes i love it too! Color has a definite impact on the atmosphere you to create when designing your interior. You therefore have to make sure you have made the right choice.  Don’t miss our next blog on how to choose your color right!!!!

till then.....

cheers,
Sarah

Welcome

Hi there,

I just signed up for my blog!! so excited and more because i get a chance to start sharing with you the many interior decoration ideas that i have learned over the years.

So what you have to do is follow me and invite your friends too....please also feel free to post your comments to make it more interesting.

cheers..
Happy 2012
Sarah