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How to Choose the Perfect Color for Your Living Room

How to Choose the Perfect Color for Your Living Room

Choosing the right color for a living room is essential. The color of a room helps to set its mood, and there are few rooms in which you will spend more time than your living room. Every home is different, but there are a few general trends and tips that may help you to select a color that you will love and keep on loving as time goes by. 

Keep continuity in mind
While you don't have to have exactly the same colors throughout your house, it is a good idea to choose one or two that work in almost every room. As tempting as it may be to select a color that only works in the living room, the color may appear jarring if it doesn't match with adjacent rooms. You want a sense of continuity through your home.

Ideally, choose a few colors to put in every room, then think about accent colors. An accent color won't disrupt the continuity of color through your house, but will allow you to put personal touches on each room, including the living room.

Experiment with different lights
Many homeowners fall into the trap of selecting a color that looks perfect in one light, only to discover that it doesn't look how they want it to in another light. During the day, your living room will be exposed to bold, natural light, but at night, it will be colored by gentler electric lights with more yellow tones.

Scott Sanders, principle of the NYC design firm that bears his name, explained his strategy to House Beautiful. Homeowners should select three shades of the color that they think they want: One should be the exact color, one should be a shade lighter and one should be a shade darker. Take these shades home and put them up in different spots around the room. Look at how they look in different areas of the room that get more or less light, and how changes in light over the course of a few days affects them. This technique can be helpful when choosing a color that works in every light.

Be wary of bold colors
There are some situations in which bold colors can work, but they can also be very tricky. The first potential issue to be aware of is the potential for a bold color to become "dated." Often, bold colors are in season or in fashion, making them look appealing at the time of decorating. Before long, however, design trends will adopt new colors, making the old look "last year."

Another issue is the effect that bold colors can have on light. Yellows in particular can be tricky in living rooms that get a lot of light. The yellow tones are amplified by the sunlight, making a room extremely bright. Conversely, yellow tones can sometimes be helpful in rooms without much light.

Choosing a color that works for you is essential in your new home. Picking one that you'll love for years to come may be tricky, but if you keep a few of these tips in mind, you may find just the right hue.

HMS Home Warranty is an industry leader with over 30 years of creating success for clients and providing peace of mind for customers.  To learn more click www.hmsnational.com.