Choosing a color for your floor can often seem like a daunting task because there are so many colors to choose from and color trends have changed. Here are some basic tips for choosing the color of your next rug or rug.
When choosing a color for your new rug, never trust the color you see at the rug center or in the retail store. Most commercial rug or rug outlets have fluorescent lighting, which can trick your eyes. Fluorescent lighting can alter your perception of certain colors, especially blue or gray colors. If possible, always borrow a sample board with at least two or three of the colors that appeal to you and take them home with you. Now you can see them as they will appear in your lighting and setup and get a better idea of how your final choice will fit into your home’s design. I often have people come into our design center with an accent pillow, fabric swatch or some other item in their decor that they would like to match or complement and this is a good starting point. However, always take a sample home with you so you can see how it will look in your home.
Another thing to remember when selecting floor colors is to consider your walls. The color of your walls will often affect the color of your new carpet or vice versa. I just had such an occasion with a client not long ago. She decided on a neutral beige color for her rug. After the installation was complete, its beige color seemed to take on a pinkish hue. His first thought was that we had installed the wrong color in his house, so I grabbed the sample board with the chosen color and went over to his house to inspect it. The rug turned out to be exactly the color she had chosen. However, her new paint choice, which was light burgundy or pink sand, gave the appearance that her new carpet also had a blush color added. This was due to light refracting off the walls and affecting the color of the carpet. Although the color seemed off, she was happy with her choice because it matched her cherry wood furniture perfectly. Please, she doesn’t let this scare you into choosing her color. Just remember that when you use light or neutral color tones, they will take on the undertones of your surroundings.
In reality, there is only one truly drastic mistake you can make when choosing your floor color and that is choosing a color that overwhelms your room. If people notice the color of your floor more than the colors you’ve decorated or accessorized, then you have a problem. If you choose a color that’s too bright or a color that clashes with your walls, drapes, and furniture and jumps out at you when you walk into the room, you’ve made a mistake. That is the reason why I prefer to use the more modern colors that are deeper, bolder and muted. Trying to decorate with bright pastel colors can be challenging to say the least and sometimes you end up with an effect that goes way beyond the color palette you intended. Deeper, more muted colors tend to blend well with their surroundings and rarely overwhelm your hard work designing your home.
Always use complementary colors. If you’re not sure how colors complement each other, you can use a simple artist tool to reference which color will complement another. This tool is called a color wheel. Its original purpose is to find what colors to mix to achieve a certain color to paint, but it can be a very effective tool for decorating. You can buy a simple color wheel at any good art supply store. However, there are now some high-tech ways to check for complementary colors. If you go online, you can find various tools that will help you find colors that complement each other. There are even tools that will choose the entire color scheme for you. We have some examples of these tools and how to use them on our website.
Choosing the color for rugs is slightly different than choosing the color for wall-to-wall rugs. Area rugs are most often used as accent colors to complement your design, although there are times when the same rules apply, such as when using a large area rug, or using a rug to segment or define a living area. the room as a design scheme separate from the rest of the room.
Whichever way you use it, color is going to make or break your overall design plan, so don’t be afraid to use it to your advantage. Just follow a few simple rules and always use your gut feeling (your first instinct is usually the best) and don’t be afraid to make a statement. Use some bolder colors and colors with more depth. This will leave a lasting impression on those you decorate for. Those you love and care about deserve a rich and perceptive environment in which to live.
