This week’s color installment is an introduction to color theory. Most people hear that phrase and turn off immediately. It sounds complicated, like something only trained interior designers know, but it’s not once you understand the basics.

It is an important aspect of decorating that you want to understand because it plays a role in every part of your design. Basically it’s which colors work together and which ones will clash or disrupt the flow of your room.

Familiarize yourself with the color wheel (to make that easier I’ve posted another image of it in this post). The wheel shows how colors work together and what they will create when mixed together. The primary three colors are red, blue, and yellow. These colors mix together to create all other colors that exist.

The second color level is called Secondary. Some of these are purple, green, and orange. These are created by mixing two primary colors.

The next color level is called tertiary. These colors are created by mixing a primary color with a secondary color. Some examples are fuchsia and aquamarine.

So, how do you use the color wheel to help you create the color scheme of your room? By looking at it you can choose complimentary colors so your room will flow nicely and nothing will be jarring to the eye. Generally, the primary colors should be used only in small amounts since they are so bright and bold. If you use too much of those colors you are likely to overwhelm the space.

The color wheel is the start of color theory, it’s not the end all be all. The color wheel only shows the different hues of color. The next post will be a glossary of terms so don’t worry if you don’t know a word that I use, it will all be explained.

You also want to think about tint and shade of colors for your design. The best thing to do is to start with a hue and them use tints and shades to alter it for style and depth.

Let’s use blue as an example. You want blue in your room but you don’t want everything in your design to be the exact same blue… or even just varying shades of blue. Your room would look too intense and also flat at the same time. What you want to do is use blue as the base and then add complimentary hues like green and yellow to break up the space.

There is also a psychological factor to color choosing that you may not be familiar with. Colors affect people’s moods, you want to be aware of this before deciding the main color for your room. For example, blue is a calming color – yellow tends to be an exciting or happy color – red can be an angry color. You don’t want to create a room that is going to make people uncomfortable or combative but you also don’t want people to feel dull or sleepy either. This is part of the reason breaking up the color scheme and using some colors sparingly is so important.

And lastly, knowing the different between warm and cool shades is important because the two generally don’t work that well together. Warm colors are reds, yellows, browns, oranges, pinks, etc and cool colors are blues, greens, aqua, teals, greys, etc. All shades, tones, and hues are included in these categories as well. Most of the time you’ll want to decide if you want a “warm” design or a “cool” design before starting your color selections.

The next post will go into more detail on color theory and will include the glossary of terms I mentioned earlier.

As always, if you have questions please email audrey@tapestry-standard.com or visit The Tapestry Standard and use our free design advice service to help you choose the best scheme for your décor.

Over the next few weeks The Tapestry Standard is going to take you by the hand and guide you through using color to great effect in your home décor. This decorating with color series has been put together just for you by our design experts.

Much of the time when we’re decorating we don’t put very much thought into the colors of our rooms because matching and complimenting can be a big undertaking – a Pandora’s box we don’t want to open for fear of getting overwhelmed. How many times have you looked at your boring beige or white walls and dreamed of adding color? How many catalogs have you poured over coveting the décor and color matching of the rooms depicted within?

Usually that’s where most people stop, they think that they need professional help to get the color and design they want for their interiors. But you don’t. You need only know what to look for and how things work together to put together rooms that will rival the best interior decorators. You can recreate your favorite rooms from magazines or TV or you can create something completely new. You don’t even need to spend a ton of time learning the basics before getting started.

If you are looking to redecorate your home and add color to create a living space unique to your own sensibilities this color series is just what you need. Subscribe to the RSS feed to the bottom right of this page or check back each week for the next installment.

This decorating with color series will explain color matching in a plain way that makes sense. It will help you put together a plan that you can follow that will ultimately get you the home of your dreams.

Happy Spring everyone!

I wanted drop a line to let you know about all the new William Morris tapestries that have just been added to the store. William Morris is one of the most popular tapestry lines we offer and we’re excited to be expanding it.

You can look at all the new additions here: William Morris tapestries.

William Morris was an English textile designer, artist, and writer associated with the English Arts and Crafts Movement. In 1861, Morris founded a design firm in partnership with the artist Edward Burne-Jones, and the poet and artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti which profoundly influenced the decoration of churches and houses into the early 20th century. His chief contribution to the arts was as a designer of repeating patterns for wallpapers and textiles, many based on a close observation of nature. He was also a major contributor to the resurgence of traditional textile arts and methods of production.

The new designs we have added to the store showcase people and ceremony as well as the stunning colors and patterns of nature. A few of the new additions are The Brides Maids, Departure of the Knights, The Ceremony, The Musicians, and more.

Visit the main page to all the new William Morris designs. These tapestries are artistic and colorful and their design makes them a perfect fit for any type of interior decor.

As always please send any questions to customerservice@tapestry-standard.com. We are always ready to help you choose the right tapestry for your home.

Cause you could have fooled me.  Maybe I’m the one off here, but it IS May, right?  And since May is a month away from Summer, you’d expect it to be warm, right?  Well, thus far…it feels like late October here in the Northeast.  I mean, 48 degrees with rain?  Seriously?  It just makes me want to crawl under the covers for a few weeks until Summer gets here.  I constructed a counter attack on the gloomy weather this weekend though.  Hung up this beautiful landscape tapestry that just screams, “Spring!”.  Yay!  It helped a little.  What else can possibly combat chilly rain and cloudy skies?

Gearing up for the Summer is something that I’ve always enjoyed.  Not just adjusting my decor to follow the seasons, but just enjoying a warm breeze.  And getting ready for all of the fun outdoor parties I like to throw in the warm months.  I can’t wait to grill outside again!  Today is deceptively sunny and warm looking.  It really isn’t that warm.  Sigh.  I guess this awesome cityscape wall tapestry will have to wait for a month or two.

If you live in the frigid Northeast, why not at least make your home seem Summery with these great tapestry wall hangings?  You will notice an immediate improvement not only in your decor, but also in your state of mind.  Ahh!  Summer is here!

What is negative space?  Well, it is the space on your walls between wall hangings.  Most people don’t think of the impact negative space has on their overall decor, but it really does play an important role. 

A great example of using negative space is if you have a very large wall.  Obviously, you don’t want to fill the entire wall with stuff – it would look overcrowded and the sheer size of the clutter will be overwhelming to the eyes.  So, how do you properly handle a space this large?  It’s easy.  It is all about symmetry and leaving the proper amount of negative space.  Since negative space gives proportion to a room, it kind of acts like a balancing element.  You can do many things with a large wall space.  You can create a very simple look with one large tapestry, hung in the center of the wall.  This leaves uniform negative space around the art work.  This style will draw your eyes immediately to the tapestry, using the negative space as a frame around the piece.  This works well with light colored walls, but not so well with darker colored walls. 

To get around the darker colored walls, you can break up your wall into multiple pieces using negative space.  Instead of hanging one very large tapestry, you can hang three or four smaller pieces.  For an interesting look, use tapestries that are not uniformly shaped.  For example, two square tapestries, one vertical rectangular, and one horizontal rectangular creates an interesting presentation of art.  The dark walls still frame each piece, but the negative space is “chopped” up into smaller sections. 

Play around with the negative space aspect of interior design.  I guarantee you will notice an immediate difference in your home decor.

For a large section of the country, the past few days (and the forecasted week ahead) looked pretty gloomy.  Cool temperatures, very little sunshine, clouds and rain rain rain.  There is nothing like gloomy weather to take the fun right out of Spring.  There are measures you can take to keep the gloom outside and make your home decor cheery and, well…Spring-like.

I know I’ve written about Spring cleaning.  If you haven’t already performed your yearly overhaul cleaning…now is a great time to do it.  You are pretty much stuck inside anyway.  So, clean if you haven’t already.  Next, all you need to do is add some color and a bit of nature.  Hang photographs of flowers or meadows around your home, or hang a delicate floral wall tapestry to lighten the mood.  Color is more important than anything, so make sure to hang something with bright Spring colors.  Light greens, yellows, oranges, reds and rich blues and purples will not only lighten your mood…they will create depth to your home decor.  Everyone reacts to colors, whether on a conscious or subconscious level.  Brighter colors are more intense, and they can really be uplifting.  The trees outside are green, so why shouldn’t you have bright green accent pillows (if it works with your decor, that is)?  Add a splash of color – I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

If you are looking for inspiration, visit The Tapestry Standard and browse our landscape wall hangings.

We want your feedback! What do you like about The Tapestry Standard, what do you think could be better? We want to provide our customers with the best possible shopping experience each and everytime they visit our store. So I’m asking you dear blog readers, what tickles your fancy? Want to see more vertical hanging wall tapestries or would you prefer decorative tapestry accent pillows on the home page? Let us know so we can make The Tapestry Standard the online utopia for you, our valued customers.