Choosing the right colors when designing your home spaces is probably the key component to creating beautiful interior designs.

It’s hard to believe that something as simple as color can have such an impact on our lives, both mentally and visually. Small spaces seem bigger and large spaces become more welcoming and warm. Color can visually raise or lower a ceiling and certain colors can even hide imperfections.

So how do you choose the right colors for the rooms in your home? And how will you know which colors work well together? First it is important to start with a color that you like. Don’t pick a simple color scheme because a designer or magazine tells you it’s “right” and then live with colors you hate.

Use a color wheel

Start by purchasing a color wheel at your local arts and crafts supply store. The color wheel can serve as a guide to help you select the right color combinations for your space. You will then want to choose your favorite color and use it as the base for your color scheme. From this point you have several options.

Obviously, the simplest color scheme involves taking your favorite color and using it in a room in different shades. This is called a monochrome color scheme which simply employs the use of one color.

Using an adjacent color scheme involves using three colors that are next to each other on the color wheel, such as yellow, yellow-orange, and orange. An adjacent color scheme is pretty safe and tends to work well in just about any room.

A complementary color scheme combines two colors opposite each other on the color wheel, red and green, violet and yellow, and blue and orange. If you choose this color scheme, it’s important to have one color as the dominant color and use the other two as accents.

The split plugin color scheme uses a primary color along with colors on either side of your plugin. This combination can include greens, reds and violets. It can be a difficult color scheme to create, but it’s also extremely eye-catching when done right.

Make you look like a color professional

You don’t have to be an interior designer to put together a color scheme that makes your home look beautiful. By simply educating yourself with a little color knowledge, you can make your home look like it was designed by a professional.

By building the right color scheme in a room, you can create an atmosphere that suits the particular needs of your lifestyle.