"Great blog! I've been here several times and always find your posts informative and interesting, especially for a relatively color-challenged person like me.Alrighty then, let's take a look at what Anna's working with here...
Our house is in the northern Arizona desert and it's a very neutral-toned area: lots of creamy pinks and sandstone colors. We like a fairly serene color scheme, but of course color is good.
So here's our color dilemma: We'd like something soothing in the bedroom, keeping with the mood we've got in the rest of the house..but also something stimulating.
I'm not a fan of colors schemes that seem disjointed in living spaces (i.e. "I like this color and this one and this one, so I'll slap 'em all on the walls in different rooms"). I'd like the entire house to flow, color-wise.
We've been really into blues lately; but while that turquoise color you featured is fantastic, it may be a bit much for us. Is it possible to find a soothing, yet stimulating color?
Color swatches are just bewildering me right now! Looking forward to your ideas!"
-Anna
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To give you an idea of their existing palette, here are some snapshots of other rooms in the house:
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My first reaction actually has nothing to do with the bedroom, but instead, "where did that kitchen color come from?!" As far as flow and cohesive palettes, I'm wondering how the bright blue kitchen walls fit into the picture of serene colors. But that's for another post some other time.
Our dilemma at hand: Anna wants to know if there exists a serene, yet stimulating color. My answer would be "It's personal."
Everyone has a different reaction to colors. What one person considers exciting, dynamic and uplifting might give another person a headache. Conversely, a calm, soothing tone to one might appear dingy and depressing to another. What I'm getting at is that there are no recipes when it comes to the psychology of color. Personal tastes, the desired goals of a design, and the context of a color all come into play.
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I love the idea of incorporating a graphic onto the wall above the bed. A sense of organic movement would be quite lovely. Be careful not to continue the pattern exactly as it is on the bedspread, but instead take inspiration from it to create your mural.
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I'd love for you all to weigh in too, as there are always multiple solutions to any color quandary.
What would you suggest Anna do?