Colonial homes feature muted shades found in nature.
Colonial style originated in the 1600s and lasted 200 to 300 years. The style was a reaction in part to 17th-century English architecture. Colonial decor features rich fabrics and traditional designs with a very specific color palate. According to the Creative Home Decorating Room by Room website, natural pigments were the inspiration for most colonial hues, which have a muted tone.
Warm Colors
Several colors that situate on the warm side of the color wheel are used in colonial color schemes. Wood was readily available as a building material in colonial times, and colonial homes often abound with wood furniture or fixtures, thus making medium to dark browns acceptable paint colors for colonial decorating schemes. However, there is a subtlety to colonial decor. Use muted red as an accent color. You could use it on a single wall, or on a single piece of furniture such as a desk or shelf, or to paint the moldings and a room's trim.
Basic Colors
If you want to be as accurate as possible to the way in which colonialists decorated their rooms, paint the walls of your room cream. Cream color often was used for walls as it provided a clean, bright appearance that the color white naturally gave, yet without washing out the color of the room. The cream color simultaneously brightens and warms a room. However, if you like the minimalist quality of white, you can use it as a paint color. Colonialist styles often included accents of white found in lace accessories, such as tablecloths, doilies and other linens.
Cool Colors
Certain cool colors on the color wheel have a real presence in colonial decor. Blue was quite prevalent in colonial homes--although this didn't include all shades of blue. For example, the shade of blue found on Chinese blue-and-white porcelain often was used. A very muted, blue-gray color also is a suitable paint color for a wall or furniture. Gray and a light, very muted green also found in colonial kitchens and living rooms is suitable for single wall colors or pieces of furniture.
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