If you enjoy the positivity that bright or bold colors bring to a room, you may long to use them in interior design but wonder how to make them work without overpowering the room. Perhaps you love neutrals but are looking to add a little interest to a white or gray space. Getting creative with color is easy when you follow a few guidelines and will work well whether you are doing one room or the entire house.

Analogous colors

Analogous colors are simply the colors that reside next to each other on a color wheel. This gives you an easy way to use colors that will match without a lot of guesswork. For instance, blue and green go well together and can be useful if you want to paint a wall blue and accent it with green furniture to create a fun and energetic room that is at the same time calm and serene.

Orange and yellow make great companions in a kitchen. Use light yellow for walls and bring the kitchen to life with orange cabinets or other accent pieces, such as a tablecloth or orange dishes. Pink and purple are analogous colors that will freshen up a kid's bedroom with a powerful punch of color.

Consistent color patterns

Take advantage of colors in the same family to make transitioning from one room to the next smooth. Choose a color you love and use several variations of that color to create consistency. If you choose green for your focal color, make the transition easy by using aquamarine in one room, mint green in the next, and emerald green in another to create a positive flow of color.

Bring on the contrast

If you are still a little afraid of going all the way with bold colors and do not want to sacrifice your neutral decorating style, contrast is the answer. Bring life to a neutral living room by painting an accent table orange or purchasing an orange accent chair or sofa. Rugs are another great option for adding color to a room and can easily be undone if you want to try another color.

Learning about colors and how they work together is the first step to creating a colorful and cheerful home in interior design. In fact, playing with colors is one of the fun aspects of interior design and you get to watch the magic happen. Whether you are going bold all over the house or simply want to refresh one room, the right color combinations will bring amazing results.

For more information about residential interior design, contact a local company, like Stage 7 Design.

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