Colours, Shapes & Materials
In an interior, and much like everywhere else, everything is a matter of balance and harmony. Imagine yourself in a space made of a single material. After a while, as you live in it, you grow tired of it, you feel suffocated, you no longer feel entirely comfortable. And rightly so, because every material radiates a certain energy.
Materials, light and shapes define a space beyond the objects that occupy it. To this, we add colour. Of course, scents and sounds also come into play—everything that awakens our senses—but for now, let’s focus on the physical elements.
A well-proportioned apartment with beautiful old wooden flooring, lovely light streaming through a wide bay window, and a wall painted in a soft tone instantly makes you feel good. You want to imagine yourself there, to spend time there. On the other hand, we tend to avoid cramped, angular, dark and dull spaces.
It is important to balance materials. Fabrics, wood, stone, glass, metal… pay attention to what is present in your space. Each material emits a certain energy. Even if you love a total look (rattan, for example), you will balance it with textiles, a rug, or perhaps a glass table. I don’t like to talk about strict rules but rather common sense—while always paying attention to your initial feeling. Since your space is directly connected to you, it is natural that someone more discreet may favor wood and soft colours, while someone with a stronger temperament may confidently choose a red wall or a stone table. Once again, there is no standard—you must follow your desires and choose elements that evoke something within you.
I would like to draw your attention to a useful tool: the colour wheel and complementary colours.
We will talk about hue, brightness and saturation.
-Hue = the nature of the colour: yellow, green, blue, etc.
-Brightness = indicates whether the colour is light or dark.
-Saturation = indicates whether the colour is vivid or muted.
Beyond tone-on-tone combinations (a lighter green with a darker green), complementary colours are generally used to create harmonious pairings. Complementary colours are those whose hues are opposite each other on the colour wheel.
The four base colours that form all others are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (CMYK). From these, all other colours are created—that is, those found in between: mixing cyan and magenta creates purple, magenta and yellow create orange, yellow and cyan create green.
Dare to use colour!
At first, if you are not very confident with colours, it is advisable to use complementary colours to help you create combinations rather than limiting yourself to tone-on-tone schemes.
For example: pink with green – orange with sky blue…
Once you have chosen the hue, you can then play with brightness and saturation.
Pink can become pastel and green pistachio (bright but less saturated colours), or a vibrant orange (saturated and bright) paired with sky blue (also bright and saturated). A light colour can still appear dull to the eye—take beige or taupe, for example!
People often think white is necessary to brighten a room, but many colours can bring light—the result depends on their saturation and brightness.
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