Classic Design Series, Part 3: Color Schemes Date a Room

The first thing that people commit to and that usually motivates them, is color.  It's easy to remember the general color of a friend' new house, or the colors used at a beautiful showroom or spec home.

House Beautiful 2015 Color Trends, "Monet meets Molly Ringwald"

People come home, and they think, "You know, I have always liked grey... (or whatever color they saw)" and they start planning.  Any motivation like that is powerful!

getcareydaway.com, "Tranquility Base Here..."

But remember: the color scheme dates a room almost as fast as the patterns, as you can see from decades past:

1940 Living Room with mauves, green, black, and cream

1966 kitchen with blue and green

1985 Mary Gilliatt pastel and cream living room with shiny upholstery fabric

So what can a homeowner do to invest in the right timeless colors?  One idea is to borrow color from a by-gone decade, not your local discount retailer.

yourhomeonlybetter.com, "A Color Story: By Decade"

Plan on painting again in 10 years.  For sure.

meadowlakehome.com, "A Sea of Tan"

Plan on a new rug or couch down the road.

ksarahdesigns.typepad.com

Plan on moving your art around.  Art has a funny way of completely matching the trendy colors of a decade.

1957 Living Room with modern geometric art

Art is part of a group of items that REALLY date a room.  I'll write more about that in my next post.