People often ask when they are refurbishing their homes or just decorating a single room that they would like to create the 'wow" factor. So how is this created? Well first of all you must accept you need to change your ways about colour and how you live. Move out of your comfort zone and try something different.
People often are attracted to colour or shape but very often creep back to something neutral and safe, they are often too nervous to try colour in their own homes. A good exercise is to flick through 2 or 3 magazines and cut out a few pictures that catch your eye. Do this with a friend and then discuss what you like about the picture, it could be the colour, the item itself, it's shape or it maybe the scene or the material the item is made from. Start to list a few key words associated with the pictures and then apply them to your decorating board to help you identify a colour scheme or a pattern for a fabric. This will start your ideas flowing about how you may want to decorate and furnish a room.
Always try to make each room stand out from the next but don't go over board. What I mean by this is that each room should have it's own identity but the next room must have a connection with the last, this way the house will flow more easily, feel relaxed and calm. A place that is stress free and feels like home and not just a place you live in.
For example, rather than painting one room red and another blue and another green etc choose one colour for the whole house and alter the tone /shade lighter or darker from one room to the next. The house will flow instantly and moving from one room to the next will feel effortless. Add the colour in the room by altering the way you light a room, experiment with a floor lamp instead of a ceiling light, create moods with lighting, soft furnishings and window treatments, blinds, curtains or shutters for example. Add strong colours that contrast with the wall colour by using lamp bases, art work, vases, clocks or cushions. Think carefully about the flooring, make sure a room does not blend as a whole by choosing the same colour from floor to ceiling. Use a contrasting colour on the floor to the walls, add some wallpaper as a feature or add a vibrant rug or grand fireplace that makes a statement to the room. Go bold on texture and mix different materials together creating a tactile environment.
If you like a piece of fabric or item of furniture, even if it is just one cushion, use this as your starting point for colour and build the wow factor into your room from here.
Here are a few examples of how rooms can have the wow factor with just a few simple items of furniture or by adding a bit of colour which can be carried through out the whole house.
