MAGIC OF COLOUR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19156, 23 October 1925, Page 16

MAGIC OF COLOUR.

It has been known—and stated—for a long time that colour has a very direct effect on the nerves, that it can make for cheerfulness and depression, warmth and coldness, dignity and frivolity. But it is not generally recognised that the correct use of colour can change a very small room into a quite large one. It is amazing that so many decorators, when the choice of colouring is to a certain extent left to them, use reds, yellows, greens, and certain shades of brown that make rooms look far smaller than they are —in spite of the fact that the great drawback to modern rooms is their smallness. If such colours as blue, tan and grey were used the apparent size of rooms would be increased greatly. Blue is certainly the greatest increase!of size. It gives a lofty and dignified air to any room, provided the richer and more heavy shades are used. Grey, if a lighter colour is desired, gives a great conception of space, but this is sometimes considered cold. Next to blue comes tan, for this gives to a room a sunny appearance that cannot fail to make it look larger and more airy. Not only by colours themselves, but by the way in which colours are combined and used in conjunction, can rooms appear to increase in size. There is a novel manner in which a room can be made to look higher than it really is. Low-roofed houses are quaint and easy to work, hut they are apt to look " poky " unless treated in the proper way. To obtain the appearance of a high room, colour should recede as it goes upwards. That is to say, the colour should get less and less heavy all the way up until it reaches a cream or white ceiling. The skirting board could lie painted black or dark brown, followed by a wall paper in which the predominant colour should be a light brown or fawn. A fairly deep frieze of a dark shade of cream should be surmounted by a pure white or very light cream ceiling. Thus, the colour is recoding all the way up the wall, and an appearance of good height is obtained. In just the same way a room that is too tall in appearance can be lessened in height by making the colour recede down the wall. The ceiling should be of as dark a shade as possible, the frieze black or some very dark shade, the wallpaper a little lighter, and the skirting board white or cream. If a sense of spaciousness is required, the walls should be kept quiet and subdued. If the walls are toned softly and any vivid contrasting colours allowed to emanate from the furniture and soft furnishings, a much more airy effect will be obtained than if the process is reversed, which is so often the case. -