How To's The Ultimate Guide to Decorating with Color 05/01/2019 Share Did you know that the color scheme of a room often influences your thoughts, affects your mood and reflects your personality? Decorating with color is incredibly important so we are challenging you to look at the colors in your own home to see how they affect your life and then look for ways to add more color. To help you to tackle this challenge, we created this ultimate guide to decorating with color! WHAT DOES EACH COLOR MEAN? Blue rooms are known for being calm, trusting, loyal, relaxing and serene. Yellow rooms are known for being happy, optimistic, inspirational, energizing and uplifting. Green rooms are known for being relaxing, harmonious, stable, restful, filled with life and full of balance. Red rooms are known for being confident, energetic, passionate, courageous, intense and strong. Purple rooms are known for being luxurious, wealthy, creative, wise, romantic, sophisticated and dramatic. Orange rooms are known for being wholesome, attention-grabbing, vibrant, enthusiastic, friendly and warm. All of these colors are divided into 2 categories: WARM & COOL COLORS Warm colors include red, orange and yellow. They are all vibrant, add liveliness, provide intimacy and inspire activity when used in a room. Cool colors include blue, purple and green. They are all calming, relaxing, refreshing and serene when used in a room. HOW TO ADD COLOR TO YOUR HOME: [Quote by Dr. Augustin at Design With Science] Color can be intimidating, but it can also be so rewarding because of the mood and personality it adds to a room. If you are intimidated by color, start small. We aren’t suggesting you go out and buy a large yellow sofa or an oversized, expensive piece of colorful artwork. The saying “go big or go home” doesn't apply to color in a home, adding color to your home can start small and simple. Try adding color through pillows, coffee table books, or even in everyday items like floral arrangements, hand towels or a framed photo. Combining colors in a room can also be an intimidating task, especially if you don’t know what colors pair well together. Take a look at these beautiful color combinations to try in your home: Sources: Dimples & Tangles, Calico Corners, The Kitchn, Liberty Interiors Sources: Etsy, Domino, Emily Henderson, Elsie Larson Sources: Aren't & Pyke, BHG, Pinterest, Imperfect Interiors Sources: Digs Digs, Pinterest, Ann Lowengart Interiors, Pinterest Sources: Caitlin Wilson, Interiors Addict, Domino, My Chic Nest Sources: Pinterest, Style At Home, BHG, Room Jojo Sources: My Domaine, Pinterest, Elle Decor, House Beautiful Sources: Meredith Heron, Pinterest, Summer Thornton Design, Digs Digs OUR BEST TIPS FOR USING COLOR: We talk a lot about decorating mistakes here at SwatchPop and our goal is to teach you how to fix them. Decorating using color comes with its own set of decorating mistakes. We narrowed them down to 4 of the most common mistakes we see regarding color and sharing our tips on how to avoid them and fix them...... #1 Choosing a color because it is trendy. Stay true to yourself and pick colors you know you already love. Don’t talk yourself into using a certain color if you know you don’t like it. Look to your closet and see what colors of clothing you are drawn to, it is a good indication of colors you would want in your home. #2 Matching everything exactly. Using the exact same color for everything in a room tends to look or feel cold, too formal and uninviting. Try using a variety of shades of that same color instead. This will create a color scheme that is easy on the eyes and refreshing to live in. #3 Being afraid of change. Neutral interiors are safe. They are beautiful, but safe. Try adding a little color here and there and see how you like it. If you never try using color, you’ll never know if you will like it. Step outside your comfort zone and try something new. #4 Rushing the process of picking colors. The biggest advice we have is to test out new colors. Take your time and do your research to see what colors will work best in your space. Get paint and fabric samples or ask a designer for their advice. The goal is to have a plan before making a quick decision and regretting it later. We hope that this color guide has opened your eyes about different colors, helped you realize what colors you want in your home, inspired you to look for ways to add color in your home and to create a plan to do so! This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. All opinions and recommendations are our own.