Armocromia and Furnishing

At least once, each of us has come across this word: ARMOCROMY.
Although it is not yet a science, many of us have tried to study it or have it studied by an image consultant to define our own palette and therefore find the right colors to enhance our self-esteem.
Through this method, by undergoing a careful analysis of your complexion and undertone, it is possible to find the macro-categories you belong to (which in turn are divided into subgroups that will not be discussed in this article): SPRING, SUMMER, FALL AND WINTER.

However, fashion is not the only sector to have been overwhelmed by this trend, but also the Design and Architecture sector has made this topic its own.

Colors influence our emotions and produce more or less pleasant sensations in us.
In furnishing, the choice of colours is often preceded by the choice of style and, only at a later stage, the colour is chosen with the inevitable result of having a total lack of harmony within one's home.
Flooring, textiles and decorations must coexist in a confined environment in a harmonious way.
Recreating a comfort zone at home is often not so simple, but having a harmonious environment certainly means enjoying an environment that arouses in us emotions such as well-being, protection, relaxation and that allows us to disconnect from everything that is outside the walls of the house.
Before looking at the individual macro-categories, it is a good idea to define some principles that, regardless of the chromatic choice, will help us create harmony.

1. Start with a neutral, light base.

Beige, dove gray, white are the perfect base from which to start to furnish a room. These colors visually expand the space and do not put limits on creativity. Furthermore, considering that often a single room has multiple functions (relaxation, study, smart-working) and could be in continuous change, these colors will not be binding in order to carry out these activities.

2. Choose a predominant color and a complementary color.

Avoid falling into monotony by creating boring and visually flat environments.

3. Balance the colors

The 60-30-10 rule is still in force, which aims to balance the colors used within a confined space, in order to create harmony:

60% predominant color + 30% secondary color + 10% accent color.

The 60% is nothing more than the main color of the scene, that is, the first color that catches the eye when entering a room and can be divided into larger objects (walls, textiles).
The 30% percentage is about half of the predominant color and serves to define the contrast without moving the attention from the main color.
The remaining 10% is usually a much brighter color than the first two, and is present in objects that are often small in size compared to the entire room (for example a cushion, a lamp, a finish).

4. Pay attention to the light.

This last point is of fundamental importance for the correct success of our intent, that is, to create a room/house in color harmony. It is good to remember that light plays with colors: it illuminates them, transforms them, creates shades. Each color, therefore, depending on the light to which it is exposed, gives a different response.
It is therefore very important to evaluate in advance the exposure of your home and its rooms. 
In particular, in the case of new constructions, it is a good idea to divide the various rooms according to the orientation of the building: to the north are the rooms that do not require a lot of lighting (stairwell, pantry, closet); to the east is the sleeping area, favoring optimal awakening through the right inclination of the sun's rays; to the south are the rooms that require adequate lighting (dining room, kitchen, living room) and finally to the west are the rooms dedicated to relaxation such as the living room.

This last point is of fundamental importance for the correct success of our intent, that is, to create a room/house in color harmony. It is good to remember that light plays with colors: it illuminates them, transforms them, creates shades. Each color, therefore, depending on the light to which it is exposed, gives a different response.
It is therefore very important to evaluate in advance the exposure of your home and its rooms. 
In particular, in the case of new constructions, it is a good idea to divide the various rooms according to the orientation of the building: to the north are the rooms that do not require a lot of lighting (stairwell, pantry, closet); to the east is the sleeping area, favoring optimal awakening through the right inclination of the sun's rays; to the south are the rooms that require adequate lighting (dining room, kitchen, living room) and finally to the west are the rooms dedicated to relaxation such as the living room.

Light therefore becomes a fundamental furnishing component and each room deserves an appropriate lighting study which will obviously depend on the activities for which the room will be intended.
Natural light, which obviously depends on the percentage of transparent surfaces planned in the design phase, should be carefully integrated with artificial lighting.
Specifically, it is divided into:

• Direct lighting, when the light beam is projected directly onto the objects to be illuminated without any type of reflection. Direct light is recommended in work and study environments using for example a table lamp but it is also of fundamental importance in environments such as the kitchen or bathroom. Just think of under-cabinet lights to illuminate the hob or chandeliers (whose height will depend on the height of the ceiling and the area of ​​the room) to illuminate the dining table.

• Indirect lighting, when the light beam hits the objects to be illuminated after a reflection generally on the ceiling or against a wall. It is perfect for creating warm and welcoming atmospheres and often balances the light contrasts produced by direct sources.

According to some lighting studies, within a space it is good to balance direct and indirect lights according to the natural brightness and not to prefer only one type.
Choosing, therefore, a warm or cold light makes a difference and could compromise or reevaluate the choice of colors.

Once you have seen the main rules for furnishing a room with harmony, you need to take into account some "tricks":

• If you want to visually enlarge a small room, you should avoid dark colors on the walls and prefer light, bright and reflective colors.

• Horizontal lines, like those on the floor, visually enlarge the space while vertical lines along the walls make it look slimmer.

• If the ceiling is low, it is advisable to paint it white and paint the walls in contrasting colors.

Having established these basic concepts, let's now analyse the various palettes defined by the colour analysis.
As already mentioned, color harmony identifies four macro-categories which, respectively divided into further subgroups evaluated by defining: undertone or temperature (hot or cold), chromatic value (light or dark), intensity (high, medium, low).

The four macro-categories refer to the names of the time periods of the solar year:
SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER

Light color value, high intensity and warm undertone. Spring gives us bright and warm shades.
Perfect with a vintage style, pinks and purples, greens and yellows are preferred and, like the season they belong to, they are a mix of colours that recall flowery meadows.

Light color value, low intensity, cold undertone. Contrary to what you might think, the summer palette includes cold and light colors, pastel and pearly, but also mauve, denim blue and gray.

Dark color value, low intensity, warm undertone. Just imagine the colors of the foliage to immediately have in mind the palette of this season: browns, reds, oranges, yellows with warm tones. Beige, nude colors perfect to match the depths of teal or rust.

Dark chromatic value, high intensity, cold undertone. Electric blue, fuchsia, lime yellow, black and gray colors that make up the palette of this category often combined in contrast with white or ivory

Choosing whether to furnish the entire home based on a single palette, or assign different palettes to each room of the house is undoubtedly a completely personal choice. The advice is always to find the right balance between colors, lights and furnishing styles.
Based on this, you could choose a reference season and use it as a guideline for all environments. Please note that, as already mentioned, each season has different subgroups (identified by the different combinations of chromatic value, intensity and temperature) so, the palettes available are many and allow us not to deviate too much from the chosen macro category (spring, summer, autumn or winter).

But…how to choose the right palette to decorate your home?
As already written above, colors have the power to arouse in each of us, more or less intense and more or less pleasant sensations. Therefore, analyzing these sensations well in front of main colors is certainly the most suitable starting point.
Choose the color that excites us, that relaxes our sight and mind and that often gives us an inexplicable but pleasant sensation.
Once identified in the palette of belonging, analyzed in the natural and artificial light present on site, all that remains is to follow these small rules, apply a little common sense to not exceed and create our environment in color harmony.
Based on how long it will take, it would be essential to use color harmony also in public buildings such as hospitals (assigning very different colors depending on the departments), schools, libraries and in places used for commercial activities (food, clothing, furniture and furnishings, newsstands, health care, herbalist shops and much more) strategically designing also the furnishings recommended by visual merchandisers.
Harmony, in conclusion, creates balance and connection between man and the space that surrounds him.

Tags