For interior designers as well as for just about any kind of visual artist, there’s no such thing as an absence of color. Even entirely white-on-white rooms contain areas of color due to shadows and reflected light, whether from the sun or from electrical sources.

The interplay of light and dark will make parts of a room, such as niches or shelving, appear different to the eye even when they’re painted the same color as the walls.

This phenomenon isn’t only of theoretical significance. Colors for a room should be chosen with an understanding of how they will look under actual conditions. The type and intensity of light will affect perceptions of a color, as will its location in a specific space and its proximity to other colors.

Q. We recently purchased a seaside home that has fairly large rooms. Even so, the oversized furniture, which came from our previous home, looks awkward in this new setting. Please help us address that problem. And can you also suggest how to achieve a crisp, cool look in a living room with a dark pine floor, wood ceiling and exposed rafters?

A. Paint and slipcovers can help visually reduce the size of the furniture. And those same elements will be important in brightening the living room.

The virtually all-white room shown in the photo has a casual and serene look that may be similar to what you want to achieve.

No one facet of the design stands out in this model. Its simple lines and almost monochromatic color scheme, punctuated by the pillows and books, would serve to alleviate the awkwardness of out-of-scale furniture. Note, too, that the changing angle of daylight will produce color variations in a room like this one.

In your own setting, I suggest applying shiny white deck paint to both the floor and the ceiling. That type of paint is appropriate for a seaside setting – not only because of its nautical connotations but also for its reflective quality and ease of maintenance.

The room I chose as an illustration is featured in “50-plus Vacation Homes,” edited by Andrea Boekel. This Images Publishing Group book is distributed in the United States by the Antique Collectors’ Club.

Stunning interiors from all over the globe are dramatized in photographs that will cause viewers to gape in envy. In fact, it’s hard to believe that mere mortals inhabit these heavenly houses, which seem more like fantasy retreats than actual vacation homes.

Still, the designs of some of the settings do offer ideas that could be applied in real-life situations such as your own.

• Rita St. Clair’s column appears every Sunday. Write to her in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006.

source : www.dailyherald.com