by Ma. Teresa Baniaga

Created on: November 26, 2008

Living rooms are the center of any house. It's not the kitchen, because that is the heart of the home. The living room, on the other hand, is the core, the midpoint, the axis of family life. It is used by everyone in the family and therefore, its character and mood should appeal to all. To create the desired effect, care should be taken in conceptualizing its overall theme using the right pieces of furniture and the right colors.

If you are planning to redecorate or refurbish your living room, expect that choosing the right living room colors can be quite fun and challenging at the same time. It is best to enjoy the process and not be daunted by the task. Be positive that you can come up with the most suitable mood for your living room.

When choosing paint colors for a living room, strive to achieve a calm and tranquil atmosphere. Bringing about peace and tranquillity to a room is not just about the arrangement of the furniture or the whole space being neat and tidy. The colors and hues should be able to bring about serenity and not clash with each other. Remember, the living room is a place where everyone should be able to chill out and relax.

One way to achieve this is to minimize the number of colors to three dominant and complementing colors with a few variations in the hue. Remember, less is better. The main color can be the wall paint, and the other two in accent pieces like throw pillows or the curtains.

It is also possible to paint the walls in a neutral color, and then paint an accent wall with a bright or arresting hue. The accent wall may become the focal point of the living room. Bear in mind, though that a really bright or arresting colour used on an accent wall works best in a large and bright room. For smaller and darker living rooms, stick to the three-color rule.

Also, when considering what living room colors to use, always take into consideration the colours and shades already existing in the room like your pieces of furniture or the paintings on the wall. If you are bent on using a color that does not match these, you might want to consider changing your furniture or existing items in the living room to achieve the desired effect.

The occupants' ages and lifestyle also dictate the mood, tone and hue of the living room. What is the living room for? Is it a formal area for grown ups and visitors, or is it a combined family room where the family congregates every night? Are there little children in the family? If so, will they feel comfortable in the living room that you want to create?

Before plunging into your living room redecorating task, come up with a mood board, a board that interior decorators make to put together a concept for a room that they want to design. They do this by cutting and clipping pictures from magazines, fabric samples or paint colors and arranging them on a board for them to be able to see the whole picture, so to speak. It will also help you a lot to concretize all those decorating ideas floating around in your head so that you achieve a unified and sensible scheme.

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