


As well as the overall appearance and feel, the colours you choose can also affect your productivity in your home workplace. That's why it's important to ask yourself a few questions before you begin decorating, to make sure this space will truly fulfil your needs.
Do you want a relaxing environment, or do you need your workspace to be more stimulating? Will you be having visitors at your office? Should the look of your office fit in with the rest of your home? Whatever you decide, your home office should be a place where you will enjoy working. Choose the colours and style that suit your needs best Take a look at the psychology of colour.
Use warm accents to brighten up your home office if it is painted in cool or neutral colours. Add vibrant coloured artwork to stimulate the senses.
Some colours motivate, while other colours can distract. So by choosing the right colours you can make your home office a better place to work. If you are easily distracted, you may need to surround yourself with soft colours to relax and calm you and help you get down to work.
If you find motivation difficult, you may want to surround yourself with brighter colours to provide you with more energy. Decide which colours best motivate you, and project the right image for your working environment.
Cool colours such as blues, greens, and purples are passive in nature, receding into the background. They don't distract or disturb, making them a perfect choice for a home office. Cool colours help to quiet the nerves, lift the spirits, and soothe the soul. Psychologically, these types of colours are calming and meditative, lending well to thoughtful concentration.
Think green! Natural, restful, yet rejuvenating, green is perhaps one of the best colours to use in spaces where the main goals are thinking and creativity, which is why this colour is often chosen for classrooms and study areas. Ranging from soft, subtle sages, to soothing sea greens, to the deep, dignified forest and hunter shades, greens ease stress, stimulate the thought process, and promote feelings of balance and harmony.
Warm colours such as reds, yellows, and oranges, are active and actually appear to move towards you, making rooms painted in these tones appear more intimate and cosy. Warm colours are cheerful, invigorating and great for creative spaces and for people seeking stimulation from their work environment. These colours can be used to help awaken the mind and enliven the spirit. Warm, muted colours tend to work better than bold, bright colours in office environments. Psychologically, bright colours are very stimulating, but also tend to be distracting in working spaces.
Whites representing peace and purity. The colour white can be used to give an open, spacious feeling to a smaller work area. Soft, muted, or tinted whites are the best choice for the main wall colours in offices. Pure, bright white, when used in large quantities, can strain the eyes in a brightly lit work environment. Instead, use bright whites for trim and mouldings to create a crisp, clean look.
Ultimately, you need to evaluate your own response to colour, because it varies from individual to individual. Remember it is your space. Make it a place where you want to be, and you're sure to be more productive!
Choose an image. We suggest sticking to fairly simple, two-dimensional pictures or designs that don't rely on elaborate shading or perspective. And the fewer colors the better. If your child has trouble selecting a favorite, check out the clip art sources at left (Daphne Jensen found her image on a CD-ROM of clip art). Any image that can be traced or printed onto transparency film will work.
Location, location, location. Decide where you want the mural. Do you want to incorporate architectural details? For instance, you might paint a jungle animal "sitting" on a radiator.
Make the transparency. There are three ways to transfer an image to transparency film: use a fine-tip marker to trace the picture onto the film, photocopy the picture onto the film, or use an ink-jet or laser printer to print a computer image onto the film. Decide which will work best for your image, then purchase transparency film (boxes of 25 sheets start at $4) at an office supply store. Note that different types are sold for tracing, photocopying, and various printers.
Project your picture. Borrow an overhead projector from a school or church or rent one from a rental shop. Experiment with the distance you project from and the size of the image on the transparency to get the mural dimensions you want. (For the mural Daphne made, the baseball diamond on the transparency was 5 inches tall, and we set the projector 10 feet from the wall to enlarge it to almost 4 feet tall.) Use a pencil to trace the outline of the projected image (including any shaded parts) onto the wall.
Select your paint. Interior latex paint, which comes in quarts, is best if you're painting a few colors and filling in relatively large areas. For detail work, use artists' acrylics, available in tubes and bottles at craft and art supply stores. You'll also need appropriately sized paintbrushes.
Paint like a pro. For a more realistic effect, paint the background before the foreground. Step back from your mural regularly to see how it looks from the distance it will be viewed from.
Here is the full Pantone color release for Interiors & Furnishings, and Pantone’s own color stories regarding all nine color palletts! I don’t normally quote content, but as the creators, I thought you might be interested in reading Pantone’s reflections about the creative process behind this year’s color trends, straight from the source. Everyone will have favorites, but I love “The Comics” for this group’s fearless and pure color bravado. Throughout this week, I’ll take a look at the color palettes individually, and hopefully contribute meaningful thoughts and impressions on making these diverse color groups work in your home, in 2012 and beyond…
“The nine palettes for 2012 are: Nonchalance, Subtleties, Resilience, Indigo Effects, and Transcending Time, Back to the Fuchsia, Reflections, Nouveau Neon and The Comics”.
“The simplicity and casual ambiance in this palette, called Nonchalance, are easy to read and enjoy. The reassuring colors coax a feeling of tranquility and relaxation with no suggestion of anxiety in the surroundings. The comforting pastel pinks, ethereal blues and soft egret white wrap us in carefree baby blanket colors, harmoniously blending with the more mature taupe, gray and grape tones”.
Subtleties are just that – a close connectivity between the color families, sliding effortlessly into a seamless collection of hues that are either closely related or quietly complementary. The atmosphere they present is effortless and compatible: hazy coral, soft yellow green, faded rose, stonewashed blue and tinges of gray and green artfully set against a tasteful brown earthy red.
Resilience represents a group of sturdy hues that work very well together. It speaks of hand-hewn objects of substance, sustenance and solidity in a range of natural, outdoor shades. There are nuances of the deepest browns, varietal mushroom tones, foliage green and greenish yellow. A dash of flamingo orange adds an exotic touch to this otherwise organic grouping.
Like the twilight colors of a descending night sky, Indigo Effects evokes a mood of broad expansiveness and depth – enveloping and protective, yet mysterious. The colors are variations on a blue theme – celestial and majestic blues, purpled and deep blue indigos – all deftly brushed with contrasting strokes of maroon, mauve and moody gray.
Transcending Time is a palette that speaks of continuity – inspirations from the past, both style and color-wise, which continue well into the future – containing hues that heirlooms are made of, including elegant wine and plum, warm beige and wood tones, as well as classic rose. A touch of frosted almond adds a soft and subtle glimmer to the atmosphere.
Bold, daring and audacious, this is a group of tantalizing colors that makes no excuses for the attention it creates. Back to the Fuchsia celebrates the energy generated through the provocative melding of dancing reds, purples and pink, all highlighted by a variety of fuchsias. Jewel-toned peridot both accentuates and complements the hotter hues.
Glossy finish and color are a magical coupling, fascinating the eye and riveting attention. Metallic or glassy surfaces undulate and move and twist and turn, taking colors to new dimensions. Included in this arresting palette, called Reflections, are tones and tints that spark the imagination: Turkish sea, blue moon, garnet, beluga, cloud dancer as well as the classic silver and gold.
The colors of the Nouveau Neon palette are not the phosphorescent neon’s of yesterday. They are instead a collection of exuberant shades that bring a fresh new perspective to combinations. Asian-inspired bamboo yellow-green plays with orange Popsicle® and berry purples, while citrus colors toy with pink and raspberry. A flavorful butter-rum tan is the unexpected accompaniment to all of the vibrant colors in the palette.
Taken directly from Pantone’s press release, and chicago unveiling of the Spring/Summer 2012 Color Trends Report.
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We recently published our Autumn / Winter 2012/13 Lifestyle Trends for the Home book, featuring four key trend directions, complete with 40 colour swatches with closest Pantone reference, actual material samples per trend and hundreds of original images styled and photographed by our team.
The books are a result of 6 months work, from our initial trend panel where we invite industry experts, forecasters and ‘unusual thinkers’ to share their ideas for the future with us, through to editing and honing the trends into workable and commercial trends for our global audience.
For A/W 2012/13, we have covered four main themes; Undone, Curiosity, Grey Gardens and Wild Spirit. Our books include a Colour Evolution component, demonstrating how colour is evolving changing and trending from season to season so that you know the key colours and how they develop over time.
To place an order for one of our limited edition trend books, please contact us at enquiries@trendbible.co.uk or see our Agents page for your nearest regional agent.
http://www.trendbible.co.uk
Historically, wood is used in decoration for the beauty and comfort it offers. With other materials such as steel becoming less popular, wood has made a return to household interior design with its varying shapes and interpretations. This completely natural material is invited in all parts of the house, but is usually in bathrooms and kitchens. Used mostly for floorings and finishes, wood has a strong heritage of household use. Even trees that were uprooted by the wind or fell in a rain storm, once shaped and polished, are perfect for creating unique tables, chairs, and shelves.
Natural fibers for a sober decoration
Natural fibers are specifically selected for their beauty and practicality. Sisla comes from the leaves of the agave cactus, from Mexico. This is probably the most sophisticated fiber, as it blends sweetness and consistency. Cior, another fiber offers a more rustic appearance and generally used to create a relaxing environment. Another fiber, sea grass, is a great fiber that is mainly used because of its resilience to humidity. Last off, the banana fiber, also known as abbaca, once dried and braided offers a material with various color tones.
Concrete, a material for a sober decoration
For years, concrete has mainly been reserved for construction uses, but today this material is used frequently in home decoration. It is used on walls, floors, and even appears on some furniture. Of course, these uses are purely decorative. Some designers favor concrete for its flexibility and malleability, but also for its reminiscent nature. Recently, technology has granted the ability to create light weight concrete, streamlining designs, and removing all of its weight in terms of decoration. That aside, concrete has a great ability to blend well with other materials such as wood textile and even steel.
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2011 brings forward old ideas remodeled according to new trends, effortless elegance, vivid colors, striking and out of the ordinary combinations and contrasts. This year, we should all embrace colors that we wouldn’t normally associate, combine intense shades with balancing tones and think out of the box, giving our home a brand new personality.
Dare to celebrate neon shades, using fluorescent green, yellow or pink, delivering thus new accent elements to your freshly decorated interior. Since these powerful colors tend to draw attention, combine them with neutral shades such as white and gray that will soften the visual impact. The striking atmosphere thus achieved will definitely be one of a kind.
Make up elegant color combinations like black and gray, black and silver, light blue and gray, emerald and white, gold and white, orange and gray, lavender and white, tan and black. You can also mix styles, using a minimalist interior with accent furniture elements, like an art nouveau armchair in neutral, natural colors (black leather, cinnamon or brown velvet).
The Romantic style will never be outdated when it comes to interior remodeling. Apply pale shades of pink and gold, use various textiles – mostly white – printed with floral motifs, add flowing veil drapes and curtains, place thin pale carpets on natural wood floors, accessorize the interior space with elegant paintings depicting mystical images or natural sceneries and give your home a fresh touch with flower vases.
When it comes to creativity and high spirits, let your home speak for itself with daring colors. Use orange if you are slightly conservative, blue if you are a calm person, red if you are highly active, energetic and impulsive and pink if you are affectionate, playful and spontaneous. Whatever color you choose to apply, be sure it fully represents your personality, delivering the desired atmosphere.
Gold is still in being one of the most elegant and noble colors. Apply gold accents if you want to achieve a glamorous interior setting and use matte, antique shades to avoid opulence.
Go for a dramatic effect by mixing vivid shades of colors, such as red and mustard yellow, turquoise and yellow, orange and green, yellow and brown. Use softer shades and you will achieve a calm and relaxing atmosphere.
As always, it is up to you to enable these suggestions to perfectly fit your personality and your home décor. Choose whatever inspires you and let your creativity decide upon the best combinations, delivering
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