It’s probably the thing we less worry about, but the rooms’ color is a very important matter to think about. Many of us have a favorite color, or saw a nice color somewhere and it’s decided. What we seldom think about is that the color of the room is the first thing to pick out and what gives the mood of the room. Then, there’s the furniture and the whole decoration which has to go accordingly to the paint work. So, what can help us on deciding the color of a room? When you renovate your home, it’s a good idea to write down all the rooms you have. Next to each room, make a list of keywords specific for the room in hand, and what you do in that room. For example the bedroom is a place where you mostly sleep, and before sleep you stare at the walls. You need to relax, you need peace and quiet. You will probably need a list of moods you mostly have in every room. Sometimes calm, other times stressed, energetic and so on. Try to say the mood in your head and wait for the first color that comes in hour head. Don’t think of colors, think of states of mind, mood and activities. For example say “sleep, quiet, dream” and associate them with a color. The reason why there’s no rule for a particular room color in all homes is that we all respond differently to colors. You will see that most of the times, bathrooms are white and recently blue. This is because white is the color for purity, hygiene. Lime used for sterilization is white and this is a rather general rule in people’s mind. But this does not apply for everyone. I could tell a few conventional rules about colors but that would mean that we all apply to those rules. Yes, you can do that in fashion or decorating a public space, but in your home, you don’t have to follow conventions, you have to follow your own moods and their corresponding colors.

Another thing you could do is paint the room after a piece of furniture that caught your attention and intend placing in that room. It is not wrong, because the selected item is the reflection of you mood as well. When you have the object, choose the paint that matches it and work around them to make everything else match. If you have a crowded room, the walls won’t be the element that gives the predominant color in your room. It will be the furniture, so put more accent on that. However, if you choose to keep it simple, with few pieces of furniture and decorations, choose the color wisely, because it’s going to be the element that gives the general aspect.

When choosing the color of the room, you will probably look at different shades of the same color. This go from a lighter one to a very dark. A powerful, juicy shade for walls and a lighter shade for furniture is not such a good idea. It will look like a dungeon. Keep the walls more subtle with a light shade and bring out the rest of your room with the accents in the furniture or other objects. Also, the room will appear to be larger if painted in light colors. But, if you want a feeling of intimacy, you can go with the darker shades. Make sure you have smooth transitions between rooms, especially if they are not separated by doors. Don’t use shocking contrasts because they “hurt” your eyes, just like walking out of a dark church into the bright sunlight.

Don’t rely on the sample colors given in stores or on the paint cover. Take a piece of wood, paint it in the desired color and take it in the room throughout the day. Place it on the wall and see how the color behaves in different lighting. Imagine how the whole room would look like and living in this color for a few years. Don’t make hasty choices, take your time in thinking it through. Think about this a few weeks before getting ready for redecoration. It’s not a thing you afford to neglect, and I’m not talking finances.

I am talking about furniture, of course. I have old, classical furniture in my home from my mother. It would be a pity to throw it away, given that I grew up with it. But when I go out to buy something new, I can’t find anything classical to go with it. So I go for the modern pieces. How do these two mix? Let’s find out.

It is not wrong or gaudy to mix them. In fact, if you make the right choices and arrangements, you can bring out the quality in both styles. Remember, not every piece matches, it is not an easy task! You have to do the right matches to obtain quality, and as usual, you have to follow a few steps:

1. The first thing you have to think of is a common feature in both styles. This can be a color, an accent, a decoration, an accessory. This will help you homogenize the pieces of furniture, unifying the whole.

2. If the modern style is predominant, be careful what classical items you choose. Place these items in a more decorative, than functional way. For example, placing an old bedside table in a modern room is a good idea, but don’t keep all your stuff on it. A nice little clock that goes with it will do. Otherwise, it’ll look out of it’s place.

3. A heavily decorated furniture can bring down and darken the rooms atmosphere. Try balancing this with modern accessories. A beautiful sculpted table can be brightened up with a few modern, ’60′s chairs, like this Brno model. This rule goes with the entire texture of the room. There’s nothing wrong in mixing the natural, floral, random lines of carved decorations, with the straight and smooth lines of the modern style.

4. When you’re done, don’t stand in the middle of the room and admire it. Don’t even try to evaluate your work from this position. You want a more objective point of view. Try taking a picture from a corner, going in the kitchen and looking at the picture. You’ll have a clearer vision of it. Show it to your friends or even strangers, without telling them anything. See their reaction.

5. Never-ever cut the room in half. Don’t do something stupid like arranging in classical style around your bed, and doing a modern decoration in the other corner of the room. It’s just disgusting. Mix them so you can’t feel the two styles separately, make them blend together so that when you look at the room, you can’t decide what style it is, but if you look at the pieces separately, you can tell.