Whether decorating or re-decorating a space in your home, you will find yourself facing many different decisions. A lot of them revolve around the issue of color, and that includes the flooring as well as the paint, furniture, fabrics and more. Yet, carpeting choices go beyond color with styles, fibers, patterns and other issues to consider. Among them all, though, it is color that can be the biggest sticking point and challenge.
Tips for Getting Started
As one expert said of finding carpet colors to work in your home, “It can be tough to visualize the color in a large space, judging from a tiny swatch. A color change can have a dramatic effect, and sometimes even though a change is desired, it can be a bit scary.”
You don’t want to let fear drive towards neutral hues or less colorful options, though, and so we offer the following tips:
- Choose the most limited option first – What we mean is this: As you begin to decorate a room, start by choosing the color of an item that has the most limitations. For instance, if decorating a living room, begin with the sofas and chairs since their palettes and prints are the most limited. Yet, with the bedroom, it ends up being the flooring rather than the bedding that is the most limited. So, you can go for the carpet color first in that room.
- After the limited options, then the rugs – Once you have made your choices from the limited number of furnishings, you can then start to narrow down the flooring; leaving the walls and ceiling colors for last as they have the widest number of choices.
What if you are too nervous to invest in a bright or bold color? Then move on to the next tip…
Go Ahead and Choose Neutral Colors
Did you know that neutral shades are the most commonly chosen in wall to wall carpeting? Why? Carpet can make a huge impact in a space of any size, and if you choose a very bold color it can be overwhelming. So, you can opt for a neutral, but when doing so, be sure you are choosing a hue that is going to work well with the bursts of color used to give the room a bit more warmth. Even if you are opting for a mostly neutral palette, something like cream or beige can have warmer yellow hues or cooler blue accents.
Speaking of Accents…
If you are looking for a mid-point between neutral and colored carpets, you can always turn to the “Berber” style carpets with flecks of color against a neutral base. Not only can they add color and pick up accents like the colors chosen for furnishing and walls, but those flecks can hide dirt and debris easily!
It may seem daunting to choose a rug color, but with these simple tips it should be easier than ever. Start with the most challenging or limited options (i.e. furnishings) and then move on to the rugs. You’ll soon see you have plenty of options that work well with your style!
