Decorating 101

Years ago, I took a Decorating 101 course through the local community college. I learned a great deal, much of it I still use to this day.

Still can't say that about high school algebra, however.

Our last assignment was to create a Design Elements and Principles Notebook. I have held onto this notebook and often times will pull it out for a little inspiration and refresher.

I thought it would be fun to go through parts of the notebook with you and share some of the things that I learned. I am NOT by any means a professional but I think I do a not-so-half-bad job of decorating my home. I would like to encourage anyone who is reading this to offer up additional advice in the comments and, if you are so inclined, even supply links to your own blog of posts you've done involving decorating. I'd love to hear from you and share ideas!

I thought I would start off with talking about color. The use of color, particularly the use of paint on walls, is one of the most important decisions you can make when it comes to decorating your home. Paint gives you the most bang for your buck. Plus, the wonderful thing about paint is that you can always repaint if you decide the color isn't right for you or you just want to change things up a bit down the road. Sure, repainting may be a bit of a pain in the you-know-what but it's nothing like laying down a new tile floor and then realizing you've made a terrible mistake.

I cannot recommend enough buying a color wheel. You can pick these up at any craft store for just a few bucks. These handy little tools come jam-packed with lots of info on color combinations. If you are planning on decorating with more than one color and you're not sure what colors work well together, a color wheel can literally walk you through this decision.

The DIY Maven has a great article on understanding the basics of the color wheel.

To start things off real easy, I wanted to talk to you about just one color. Or, I should say, the use of just one color. This is called a Monochromatic color scheme.

From About.com:

A monochromatic color scheme uses a single color on most every room surface. In this type of scheme, various darker shades, grayer tones, and paler tints of the main color may be included in the palette. In addition, the one color is often paired with white or another neutral.

The use of just one color may sound boring but, on the contrary, it can have a beautiful and dramatic effect:

This room is a great example of a monochromatic color scheme using only the color blue. A few different shades and tints of blue are used throughout the room with the addition of white and dark neutrals. No other color is used. Simple, isn't it? Yet, oh-so-beautiful!

If you're not comfortable with combining colors but want a professional look, try going the monochromatic route. I think you'll be please and surprised at just how easy it is to create a stand-out room using this simple color scheme.

As I'm coming to the end of this writing, it occurs to me that I should have probably gone over the definitions of hue, shade, tone & tint. I'll cover that in the next Decorating 101 post next week along with a lesson in Complementary color scheme. Until then...

Happy Decorating!