Color is fundamental in home design—something you’ll always have in every room. A grasp of how to manage color in your spaces is one of the first steps to creating rooms you’ll love to live in. Do you want a room that’s full of life?  Professional?  Or are you just looking for a place to relax after a long day?  Whatever you’re looking for,  color is the key to making a room feel the way you want it to feel.

Over the years,  there have been a number of different techniques to help designers approach this important point. While all of them are useful, they can get a little complex. But good news is that there’re really only three kinds of decisions you need to make about color in your home:  the small ones,  the medium ones,  and the large ones.

 Small color choices are the ones we’re most familiar with. They’re the little spots of color like throw pillows,  mirrors and baskets that most of us use to add visual interest to our rooms. Less tiring than painting your walls and less expensive than buying a colorful sofa,  small color choices bring with them the significant benefit of being easily changeable.

Medium color choices are generally furniture pieces such as sofas,  dinner tables or bookshelves. Color choices in this range are a step up from the small ones in two major ways. They require a bigger commitment than smaller ones,  and they have a more powerful effect on the feeling of a space.

The large color decisions in your rooms concern the walls,  ceilings,  and floors. Whether you’re looking at wallpaper or paint,  the time,  effort and relative expense put into it are significant. So it pays to be sure,  because you want to get it right the first time.