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Reprinted from Holistic Redesign Color Therapy

The Penny Crabtree Company,

1-866-765-1301,

Penny Crabtree; Instructor, Holistic Redesign Director, Award-winning Author

www.healthyhomedecorating.com

www.pennycrabtree.com

All About Color

For some, a warm and cozy red library or fireplace room makes an ideal gathering

spot. Others would trade the intensity of red for a lighter, affectionate tone. For

them, a blush of rose has the same tonic effect. Ambers, peaches, or corals in

eating areas spark appetites and electrify the conversation; lemon, jasmine, and

golden yellows unleash creative juices in studios and home offices. Pacifying colors—

blue, green, and purple—stay reservedly in the background, coo ling, calming, and

reenergizing weary spirits. Put them in rooms for resting and refueling. Pale, serene

greens slip quietly into a living room, bedroom, or reading room, hushing it with a

whisper. Medium greens connect to nature, grounding and freshening the spirits of a

home office, family room, or spa. Deep greens comfort a library, bedroom, or sitting

room. But lime and parrot greens tend to waken and activate.

Blues and purples work meditative wonders.

Pale azure and glacier blues wash a room in

coolness and unstructured serenity. Proud,

strong blues work responsibility and

contentment into the mo od. Pale purple-

blues prompt reflection and dreaming.

Neutralizers are the "noncolors": browns,

beiges, grays, and white. Perfect for neutral

territories of the house, such as kitchens or

baths, these colors bridge together rooms,

other colors, and moods. They neither

activate nor pacify; they blend, combine, and cooperate. White, another neutral

hue, brings out openness, airiness, and an expansive spirit. It generously welcomes

other colors into a room, framing them and showing them off to their best

advantage.

Activating colors, such as yellow, orange, and red, move forward, warming and

cheering, and inspiring conversation in varying degrees. Red, the intense one of this

group, sparks emotions forcefully. Orange applies less pressure, and yellow merely

suggests. If these extroverted colors please you, put them to work in the activity

room of your house. Ruby, raspberry, o r brick reds pack a punch in entries or halls.

Even people who can't relax amid strong colors find a short spurt of red's

exhilaration comfortable as they pass through a brilliant hall.

Moods

With a quick change of paint on your walls, you'll feel the mood shift throughout the

room. That's because co lor goes beyond your walls and enhances the entire space,

influencing your furnishings, fabrics, and accents.

pg_0002

Reprinted from Holistic Redesign Color Therapy

The Penny Crabtree Company,

1-866-765-1301,

Penny Crabtree; Instructor, Holistic Redesign Director, Award-winning Author

www.healthyhomedecorating.com

www.pennycrabtree.com

Warm colors

The sun-drenched shades of red, yellow, and orange

invite you into a room with their cheery warmth and

intimacy. Warm colors also advance, making small

rooms appear smaller and large rooms more cozy.

Here, a layering of neutral shades (right), such as

those found in the sofa fabric's background, the

whitewashed table, and the iron lamp, helps balance

and calm the intensity and brightness of the coral

walls. Note how the heated shade of coral blends the

tabletop accessories as a unit by softening their

outlines, rather than defining each one separately.

Cool colors

See how switching from a warm coral color to a

cool green changes the feeling of this living

room. Consider the visual temperature of a color,

which has been set by nature, before you splash

paint on your walls.

Nature's fresh, spring shades of blue, green, and

purple calm and soothe. These quiet hues also

recede and make any size room appear larger.

Because they also make a room feel colder, these

colors make sense for a sunny room where the

brightness needs to be held in check. Against the green backdrop, the tabletop

accessories stand out as individual elements because cool colors reinforce their

outlines.

The Color Wheel

When working with schemes that involve two or

more colors, choose your hues carefully. Think of

how the colors work together. In fact, there's an

easy way to determine if colors will be harmonious.

Identify the colors on the color wheel (right), then

determine which of the following categories they fit

and treat them accordingly.

pg_0003

Reprinted from Holistic Redesign Color Therapy

The Penny Crabtree Company,

1-866-765-1301,

Penny Crabtree; Instructor, Holistic Redesign Director, Award-winning Author

www.healthyhomedecorating.com

www.pennycrabtree.com

Complementary colors

are opposing colors; for

example, purple and yellow, or red and green. These

combinations will always contain both warm and cool

tones, contrasting with one another with drama and

intensity in their differences. It's best to let one of the

strong hues dominate. Start by choosing a favorite

color as your main color, then look directly across the

wheel for an accent color. You can even split from the

first color and choose two opposing colors for accents.

Analogous colors

are neighboring colors. For

example, green, yellow, and orange. These schemes

can be cre ated from any point on the color wheel.

The slice of colors you select doesn't have to be

strictly warm-family or cool-family hues. It can span

both hemisphere s. Start by choosing a favorite color

as your main color, then look on either side of it.

Like both colors? Include them. If you only like the

color on one side, select that one and use the color

adjacent to it as your third choice. Divide the palette

into major and minor accent hues to work with the

main color.

In fact, the true spirit of an analogous scheme is expressed best using three or more

adjacent hues. Don't get carried away, though. Use no more than half the colors on

the wheel for your palette.

Using the Paint Chip

Paint, like people,

is influenced by whatever is

around it. Other

colors affect how paint hues

look. On many

paint cards, a portion of a

single color family

is represented in graduated

sequence, with

only subtle differences

between the

adjacent chips. Not so in

most homes. If a

room's scheme calls for

complementary

colors (opposites on the color

wheel, such as red

and green), each paint hue

will look more

intense than it would if shown

with related colors.

To get a closer idea

of the real hue, cut away

white spaces on the paint card. Then, check your paint choice against the colors it

will be used with in your home.

pg_0004

Reprinted from Holistic Redesign Color Therapy

The Penny Crabtree Company,

1-866-765-1301,

Penny Crabtree; Instructor, Holistic Redesign Director, Award-winning Author

www.healthyhomedecorating.com

www.pennycrabtree.com

The small size of color chips also makes it hard to envision that color on an 8x10-

foot wall. What looks appropriate on the small card will appear more intense on the

wall. To get a better idea of how your color will really look, try this oh-so-scientific

technique: Screen off the surrounding chips on the card with your fingers, hold the

chip against the wall, and squint. If you're tempted to go bold, consider stepping a

shade or two lighter on the color card since dark colors will appear even darker

when seen in large amounts. Selecting a slightly grayed-down version of the hue is

another way to soften its intensity. Otherwise, a pale neutral may look washed out,

especially in a room with lots of light; try pumping up the color a hue or two.

Drying makes a difference, too. Usually paint dries to a darker shade. For 99 percent

accuracy, test paint on nonabsorbent white paper and allow it to dry. Sheen changes

color value as well. A flat, matte paint differs in value from the same color in a

shiny, glossy finish. The shinier the color, the lighter it will look.

Texture also alters color. Smooth surfaces reflect light, so a heavily textured wall

will appear darker than a smooth wall painted the same color.

Blending

Dressed in a single color, this room has a well-put-

together look. When that color is given license to

stray a bit, a more full-bodied decorating flavor

emerges.

Matched color

In its purest form, a

monochromatic (single

color) scheme presents only one hue, then repeats it over

and over. This is decorating at its subtlest, and safest: The

space becomes visually cohesive. When the designated

color is soft, coo l sage green (right), the effect is restful

and serene. Though knitted together by the repetition of

color, the space doesn't become boring thanks to the

variety of patterns and textures found in the wood chair,

basket, and wicker.

pg_0005

Reprinted from Holistic Redesign Color Therapy

The Penny Crabtree Company,

1-866-765-1301,

Penny Crabtree; Instructor, Holistic Redesign Director, Award-winning Author

www.healthyhomedecorating.com

www.pennycrabtree.com

Blended color

To add depth to a single color scheme, include tints and shades, which are lighter

and darker expressions of the same color. Or, for an even richer blend, look to the

hue's next of kin on the color wheel. This means going beyond the monochromatic

scheme for an analogous palette of neighboring colors, such as that in this sitting

room (right). Instead of including only various intensities (brightness or dullness)

and va lues (lightness and darkness) of sage green, this setting starts with sage,

then picks up the hues on either side on the color wheel—yellow-green and blue-

green. Peach accents in the draperies, table skirt, and area rug add warmth. Only

slightly more difficult to accomplish than a matched scheme, this blend pays off with

increased vitality.

Balance

Painting your walls two contrasting colors can

produce a dramatic effect. Be sure to visually balance

the two shades you select with each other and with

yo ur furnishings.

One of design's foremost principles is balance. When

done properly, balance creates a feeling of calm and

comfort. You can't buy it, yet it's easy to attain if you

stand back and let the colors in your room speak to

yo u.

The two-tone wall treatment in this room (above

right), is beautifully balanced by the use of color. The

intense blue hue below the chair rail provides an eye-

pleasing anchor for the room because it weighs more

visually than the light hue above it. The blue paint

also allows a separation between the neutral shades

on both the upper portio n of the wall and the area

rug.

At the same time, the blue sets off the light-toned wicker-and-iron chair and

provides a nice contrast to the seat cushion. The wall with the intense blue above

the chair rail (right), on the other hand, appears top-heavy and uncomfortable.

The balancing act doesn't stop there, though. This room's equilibrium is carried a

step further with a well-chosen framed print. The work of art, with its contrast of the

dark frame around a light mat and blue water, echoes the setting's established color

pg_0006

Reprinted from Holistic Redesign Color Therapy

The Penny Crabtree Company,

1-866-765-1301,

Penny Crabtree; Instructor, Holistic Redesign Director, Award-winning Author

www.healthyhomedecorating.com

www.pennycrabtree.com

scheme. Your eye is drawn over to the striped fabric on the window treatment.

Then, the narrow stripes pull your eye back down to the lamp and table.