Mature Women’s Guide to Creating a Cozy Room through Color

By  Alesha E. Churba, CAPS, CD –

Creating a cozy home that is inviting using color when you are in your prime can be accomplished using some tried and true guides. Follow along as I share some principles home decorators and designers use to make a room look great every time.  Additionally, I am going to throw in some extra ideas to keep in mind so that you, as a mature woman, can make your space feel comfortable and cozy.

You may have heard of the 60/30/10 rule.  This is a rule decorator’s use when developing a vision for a room.  This proportion is balanced when viewed with the human eye.  Let’s go through what each of the ratio numbers mean to you and to your room.

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The sixty percent is the main color of the room, as you may have guessed.  This could be, for instance, the walls of the room.  It doesn’t always have to be the walls however.  If you have a large amount of windows in the room or architectural elements like molding and a large fireplace choose these as the main color.  You will have to decide what is taking up most of the space visually in the room.

If you have pre-existing items in the room, look at the largest pattern or object in the room first and choose colors from it as a starting point for color choice. This could be the draperies, large furniture, upholstery fabric, a large area rug, or a piece of artwork. This will create unity in the room.

The thirty percent is the next prominent color of the room.  This is usually the furniture or upholstery color. These colors don’t have to be exactly the same but in the same color family like different shades and tones of brown or blue, etc.

The final ten percent is the accent color.  This is where you can play and get creative.  Add the accent color with pillows or accent pieces. The ten percent provides just enough of a color to create interest.

As promised, I am sharing more tricks to help you create the most comfortable space for you.  If you divide your colors by value from darker to lighter as you decorate the room from floor to ceiling, you will have a winning combination.  For example, in nature, the darker colors are found on the ground and medium colors are surrounding you with the lighter colors up above.  Keep this in mind for your own room.

Please, don’t assume that because a certain color is “in” it is the best color for your space.  When choosing your wall color, stick with colors that are warm but not too yellow since as we age, our eyes see color differently. The muscles in the eyes become weaker beginning in our forties so they see less clearly and require more light. On top of this, colors appear more yellowed as we age. What may appear orange to one person could be very different from the orange the other person is seeing.

Choosing color for your space should be a personal process since this is your home.  Make it cozy by keeping the 60/30/10 guide in mind and keep it balanced with the darkest color on the floor surface and the lightest color on the ceiling.  With these ideas in mind you will have a cozy, comfortable space that is uniquely your own.

Written by Alesha E. Churba, CAPS, CD, of A.E.Churba Design, LLC. Pocatello, Idaho.  A.E.Churba is a Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS) designing and decorating with her client’s futures in mind.  She can be reached by phone (208)-313-6414, by e-mail at Alesha@aechurba-design.com or through her business website http://aechurba-design.com/default.aspx.

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Mature Women’s Guide to Creating a Cozy Room through Color
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