Choosing the Right Blind Colour & Patterns

Your choice of colour will heighten or calm your mood and alter not only your visual perception but also your perception of temperature. A pale blue window blind in a sunny room will give a much fresher feel to the room than a warm coloured terracotta or pink blind.

Emphasising Space with Colour

Try to choose a colour that you really like and if you are not sure what that colour is then take a look inside your wardrobe, it will give you a clue to your subconscious favourites. Go with a colour that you know you like rather than one that is currently in fashion as you may well tire of it more quickly. If you are still unsure, then play safe with white as it always looks fresh and smart especially with a bold colour as the contrast. Whereas for a more subtle look go for creams and taupes.

Patterns to Compliment any Home

Patterns will radically alter how we perceive a particular space. Used with care they will appear to increase the size of a room or indeed a window height or width. Diagonal lines are very dynamic as it leads the eye upwards and outwards. Geometric patterns make for a striking vitality, adding an intriguing movement to your décor. Floral patterns, by comparison, add an attractive feminine look, making them a more popular choice as a bedroom blind. Checks and stripes are often chosen for more masculine settings such as study blinds.

Unless you are planning a really trendy décor or are using ethnic panels and screens, it is always a good idea to select a pattern that offers a combination of soft colour tones and strong colours; as the more delicate colours will offer visual relief from the stronger tones ensuring that the scheme will be a harmonious whole that you will feel at ease with.

Incorporating Textured Fabrics

Texture offers tonal variation to the colours in soft furnishing fabrics. A linen fabric with a slub finish will look totally different to a lustrous silk in the same colouring, just as a soft suede or chenille fabric will feel sensuous in contrast to a cotton or polyester fabric. A heavily textured fabric will also give depth to a window, as the use of varying fibres will add an extra dimension to your window treatments. If the dominant colour of the curtain fabric is shiny then blinds used as a complimentary window treatment can be made from a light absorbent fabric such as an artificial suede, linen or cotton, calming the effect of the reflective surface of the curtains.

High gloss paintwork around the windows will enhance the impression of space in a room, making full use of natural daylight as the light reflects more readily from a shiny surface.

Bring in Warmth Through Colour

If your home is in a town or city it may have a tendency to feel a little drab and lifeless. Soft light coloured walls and flooring will create an overall effect of warmth and calm. Low key colour tones such as a soft caramel will always look warm and inviting without looking dull and out of date.

The decor can then be spiced up by introducing trendy colours in the window treatments and lively home accessories. The pale walls will make the colours of the curtains or blinds stand out with a greater intensity, making the room feel bright and airy. Little girls love pink and an appealing way to introduce this soft feminine colour is by bring it into the child's bedroom as some form of bedroom blind.

For a more sophisticated female décor, in a teenager's bedroom for example, perhaps decide to explore the use of sexy cerise, or vibrant magenta. Warm colour tones when teamed with other shades from the same palette such as reds, purples or lilacs will create an impact without making the décor claustrophobic.

Cooling Colour Tones

Cool refreshing colours look stunning in the right situation. They are particularly suitable in a sunny south facing room with the play of sunlight on the fabrics introducing a bright Mediterranean feel to the room. It is best not to use cool colours such as blue, green or grey in North facing rooms as the décor may result in a cold and unwelcoming appearance.

Cool colours will create a greater illusion of space, but it is always beneficial to balance coolness with warmth, achieving a calm and harmonious atmosphere. Many of the cool colour tones are directly from nature's colour palette. Blues and greens are the relaxing tones of the water, sea, sky, trees and plants.

Maintaining a Neutral Feel

Living in harmony with nature will create a mellow setting, so introduce as many natural finishes as you can. Wood weave blinds or many of the wood, leather or suede effect roman or roller blinds are a good medium to work with for a natural finish. Lots of plants and the odd flower arrangement will also create a pleasing, relaxed setting. Selecting a luxury blind in a matching colour will draw attention to a particular object in your decoration such as a work of art or a collection of glassware.

Alternatively pale colours increase the feeling of space. If you have a small room with a high ceiling, painting the ceiling the same colour as the walls, as long it is a pale colour, will take the eye away from the join of colour and draw the attention away the height of the room, creating a greater feeling of space.