The tropics are dazzling with color and when you have a house by the shore it is only natural to be drawn to bolder and more adventurous colors.  How to use them in your décor without overpowering it is an art in itself but we find all too often that people shy away from these gorgeous colors simply because they’re afraid to put them on a wall or even a piece of furniture for that matter.  No one should be afraid of color; the world is not black and white people.  Just think how incredibly boring it would be!

Ok, we hear you cringing at the thought.  We can even agree that when you’re standing in an empty white room and you open that can of bright green paint and put the first swipe on the wall if you’re brave enough to get that far it is a very scary thing.  You’ll be second guessing yourself like crazy and if you’re not, someone else will be.  The thing is the walls are only one component of the room and until you get your rug down, your furniture in the room and your accessories displayed it will look wrong.  It takes all the pieces of the puzzle to complete the picture.

Here are a few tips we follow and hope they will give you some inspiration and calm your nerves.

If you don’t see it in nature – DON’T use it. 

The trick to using bright colors is to use natural color combinations.  Elaine Griffin, Better Homes

If you don’t trust your eye – turn to math.

There is such a thing as a 60-30-10 rule of decorating.  What?  We know but believe us it actually works.  If you don’t believe us pick up any decorating magazine and analyze the rooms you see.  This rule actually comes from the Greek formula for Phi (pronounced “fee”).  This formula determines the perfect ration of 1 to 1.61803399.  Ok, don’t panic!  You don’t need your calculator to figure this out.  Basically the premise is that you can divide a space using the ratio proportions and the end result will always be pleasing.  In decorating, designers apply Phi to rooms as a whole, furniture placement, color and accessories according to the article Interior Decorating and the Golden Mean by Home Decorating and Staging.  

The 60-30-10 rule is about percentages and when you apply it to color it works this way.  Approximately 60% of the room should be the dominant color.  The secondary color would be 30% and the accent color would be 10%. 

For instance in applying this rule to a room the 60% might be the wall color.  The 30% might be the color used in furnishings and draperies and the 10% might be accent pillows or artwork.  If you’re not mathematically inclined – don’t worry about it.  We naturally are drawn to this ratio and you’re probably doing it without ever knowing you were.

Choose color schemes based on nature.

Remember art class and the color wheel?  It is a useful tool especially if you can never decide if teal will look good with coral.  It does by the way.  If you’ve forgotten your color theory, you can take a quick refresher with Color Matters and read up on basic color theory.  

As a refresher there are analogous colors (any three colors that are side by side on the color wheel), complementary colors (any two colors directly opposite of each other) and color schemes based on nature.  Our premise (and we aren’t the only ones) is that if it works there, it will work anywhere.

Get a little help from technology!

You’ve heard there is an app for that?  Choosing paint color is no exception.  We are absolutely in love with Sherwin Williams and their Chip It! Tool.  You can upload any photo – one you take or one you find online and voila it will give you the paint colors. You can truly take your cue from nature!

Where do you start in choosing color?

If you have already picked out something for the room and don’t know what colors to paint.  Take a picture of it and use the Chip It tool.  You’ll have your palette right away.  

If you don’t have any idea which way to go there are a couple of things you can do.  Flip through decorating magazines and don’t think just react.  Each time you come to an image you like, cut it out.  Lay them all out on the table.  You’ll see a pattern.  You will tear out things that speak to you.   You’ll notice repeating colors and repeating patterns.  

Go to your closet and just stand there.  What is the first color you see?  It is probably your favorite.  If you like to wear it you’ll like to live in it unless you have a wardrobe of all black anyway.  

Look out the window.  What colors are reflected in the nature around you?  Take a picture and use the tool – there is your palette.  Coastal homes in particular look astonishing when you bring the brilliance of the outdoors in.  

Don’t forget the POP!

And we don’t mean soda.  Every room needs a pop of color to make it stand out.  The pop of color   We know, it sounds backwards but it is true.  If you put on a pair of black pants and a white blouse it looks classic right?  But if you add a red scarf or a bold gold necklace, you’ve taken your ho-hum outfit to a different level right?  It is the same for your rooms. 
actually brings everything together and gives your eye a place to rest.