Separating Your Rooms With Colors

Use coordinating colors for rooms that can be seen from each other. For example, if you have a dining area in a liviing room, you can make it seem like a separate space by using a different wall color and floor treatment from the living room. If the living room has cream-colored walls and an orange rug, for example, you might paint the dining area walls orange and leave the floors bare. The sense of separation is clear, yet the colors harmonize with each other.

Choose lighter or darker shades of rooms that open off each other. For example, if the living room is blue, you could paint the foyer a lighter or darker blue. If the bedroom is yellow with green accents, you might paint the hallway outside it green with yellow accents.

Bedrooms and other private rooms, like studies, workrooms or bathrooms, should be painted the colors chosen by the person who uses the room. Children's bedrooms, for example, need not harmonize with the living room, dining room or kitchen.

Consider keeping the woodwork or trim the same neutral color, such as white or off-white, throughout your home. That way there is an overall feeling of unity, no matter how different the wall colors are.