Mangion Mangion & Partners, Malta Architects, Civil Engineers and Planning Consultants

Colour…getting it right is such a hassle! Should we opt for reddish tones, blues, greys or browns? How about a striking scheme? These are the thoughts running through everyone's mind when selecting the colour schemes of the rooms in their home.

Let's be very honest - there are no hard and fast rules on the colour choices within a decoration scheme. Colour is subjective, mood-evoking, and is chiefly dependent on the individual user of the space. Having said this, a few basic tips are never amiss to keep one's colour spectrum on track.

A quick overview of the world of colour will immediately disclose the fundamentals in hue classification. The primaries are red, yellow and blue and they represent the source of all colour combinations; then add shades grading from black to white; and chroma which gives any colour a dull or bright quality. Complementary colours, as opposed to contrasting colours, are hues from the cold and warm spectrum respectively, which work well together in their pastel or muted versions.

Preliminary planning carried out before injecting colour saves on chromatic blunders at the end of a project. The volume of space, layouts, lighting, textiles, wall coverings and solar orientation all have an effect on the projected colour schemes. The classic rules always hold: bolder, warmer colours advance towards the viewer, making spaces seem smaller, whilst lighter, pastel shades recede, making spaces look larger. For this reason it is safer practice to render ceilings in a paler version of the wall colour. However a bolder personality could demand more daring interventions.

The solar orientation of any space could radically alter colour schemes, for example north-facing windows usually admit bluer natural light and this could either freshen a warmer colour scheme or make a cold-colour scheme unpleasantly frigid. The trick is to flip these limitations into favourable situations.

When starting from scratch, the decision on wall paint should be taken towards the end since it is far easier to match a colour to a preferred fabric and room scheme than the other way round. Colour is the most effective and immediate solution when it comes to updating an existing décor scheme. A change of colour automatically changes the perception of a space, and the easiest way of going about this is to draw out dominant colours from particular items to be retained within the room, for example the colour of an item of furniture, an oriental wall hanging or a prominent glass ornament. Creating a personal colour sample board from magazine cut-outs narrows down the vast selection and draws out focal colours, while sample pots are available for further visualization.

The end result should be an alluring space and a pleasant atmosphere, and it is by no chance that different spaces within the home necessitate different treatments. Living rooms and lounges, for example, require colours which attract one into the space and provide help to unwind and relax. The kitchen, in many cases the hub of the modern home, is the space where most family-time is spent. Colours here should complement the cabinetry and be lighter on the eye. Dining rooms and entrance halls are the home-owner's perfect opportunity to splash out on colour, making bolder statements for conversation topics and to entice the visitor into the home. Bedrooms are indeterminable and dictated by personal taste: whereas a deep rose could instil romance, pebble-blues and chrome reflect the typical bachelor's pad.

Before making a choice on colour, the psychology behind these shades makes the long-term effects worthwhile: yellow is cheerful and promotes well-being; blue, depending on its shade, could be royal or calming as well as melancholic. Orange speaks out for vitality and restlessness; green is linked to coolness and tranquillity and purple is reverent but can be soothing in its tinted range. Another useful tip for colour novices is to experiment with bolder colours on selected feature walls, and to use darker chromatic schemes within rooms which are used at night, such as studies. This way the impact of the bold colour is subdued.

It makes sense to select a focal colour together with shades and tints of the same hue: darker and paler versions of the same colour will create the harmony within the space. It is not vital to use a secondary complementary colour to balance out the main, however it is ideal to break the tonal unity created by the focal colour. A variation of this might be to coat wall surfaces in one shade and have furniture and soft-furnishings accented in the original colour.

Colour adds interest to any unremarkable space. Be careful to avoid excess as this could be tiring, unpleasant and might leave you desperate for another redecoration ordeal.