Modern houses often have rooms that flow into each other, often without any door or dividing wall at all. This means that the decor of two or more rooms can be seen at one time. 

Colors in these adjacent rooms, since they are certain to be seen in relationship to each other should always be harmonious.

Today, more than ever, people need their homes as a refuge from the pressures and tensions of the outside world. Far more important than decor that follows fashion, or blends with the home owner's complexion, is a place to live that harmonizes with and reflects the owner's temperament. 

First… let's do a little test… don't worry, this won't hurt a bit and you won't need to study first.

• Notice the chair against the wall in your living room.
• If the chair is wood or upholstered is it the exact same color as the wall behind it?
• If it is… well you will hardly notice it… right?
• What if the color is same as the wall, but the furniture is highly textured? Well… because of the shadows in the texture as well as the shadow the actual furniture casts on the wall you will see some difference in color… but not much.
• It's subtle… but you need to notice this as it is a key in learning about color and it's effects in your rooms.

That's it… yep, that was the test. Just watch a piece of furniture through out the day. Watch how the color of the wall that is shadowed changes and really notice these subtle changes. If your walls are white… what color do you see on the wall where the shadow falls? It's not white anymore is it? 

I will have to break this lesson up into several parts. Read each one in order and by the end you will have mastered Choosing Interior Colors For Great Rooms!  (that's the link for the next article).