Hi Everyone,

It is so good to be posting my blogs again!  I have not had the oppotunity to post any blogs lately as I have been so very busy doing an AutoCAD and 3ds Max exams with Autodesk. AutoCAD (computed aided design)  is a great tool to create and render with my designs for clients who want to see the design before it is actully done.

My new project  at the moment are four doctor’s offices in the City of London, and I am very excited (as I am with all my projects) about designing them. Our design firm Andreafay interior design were commissioned to decorate and design with FF&E these offices.

While doing some research on colours to use I came across an article I would love to share with you. The article talks about the Luscher Colour Test ,  the colours he used were selected for  associations with physical and mental states.  He showed how our attraction to colours gives information about your personality.  He used 8 colours, and interpreted the results according to the order the person listed the 8 colours, depending on how those colours appealed to them. I have used information from this test, in addition to other sources, for the ‘Colour Personality’ sections below.

Colours and how colours can set your mood and lift your spirits in home or office.

Red

A powerful, energy-filled colour, associated with life and vitality.  Red relates to the physical body:  it stimulates us and raises the heart rate.  It has the longest wavelength and slowest vibration of all the colours.   Good for helping us to focus on tasks that require attention to detail.

Promotes:  stimulates body (including circulation, intestine and appetite), lively, energising, happiness.  When used with its complementary colour of turquoise, red may help to counteract infections.  The red is thought to increase blood supply to the area, and the turquoise to cleanse and reduce inflammation.  Good for depression & negativity, initiative and motivation.

Complementary colour  for red is Turquoise . . .

Use in the a small space can make a space look smaller, and therefore be claustrophobic or oppressive.  When used well, red can make a room feel warm & cosy.  Often used in restaurants or to create intimacy in a room.

Colour Personality:

Choice of red as your favourite colour means you are impulsive, sexy and have a will to win.  You are a good leader.  You want to expand your horizons and live a life to the full.  Red as your least favourite colour means your desire for life and thirst for adventure have become less.

Leadership, competitive, exhausting, extremist, focused, energetic, physical, healthy, vital.

You have enormous drive, but there may be too much going on in your life.  To feel more serene, and for a natural detox, wear turquoise.

Orange

A joyous colour.   It frees and releases emotions and releases feelings of self-pity, lack of self worth and unwillingness to forgive.  It stimulated the mind and renews interest in life.  It is a natural anti-depressant and lifts the spirit.  A fun & sociable colour, although too much can contribute to frivolity and a lack of serious intellectual values.  Orange is for independence and happiness.  The energy of creation. Orange is thought to bring about changes in the biochemical structure, resulting in the dispersing of depression.  It is said that it has been shown to be beneficial in chronic bronchitis, and due to its anti-spasmodic effect, helps in muscle spams and cramp.

Promotes:  vitality, stimulation, self-esteem, independence, inner strength, optimism, creativity, self-expression, happiness, broadens and opens up the mind to new ideas and perspectives.

Orange is good for:  depression, low self-esteem, bereavement and sexual problems.

Complementary colour   Light Blue

Use in the home or  any activity or creative area.  Not ideal for bedrooms or areas of possible stress,  said to stimulate the appetite, so good for dining rooms.

Colour Personality: Demonstrative, constructive, energetic, excitable, sociable, outgoing, hasty, confident, joyous.

Yellow

A  happy, bright and uplifting colour.  It also stimulates the mind, intellect, emotions and contributes to the expression of thoughts.  It therefore aids memory, clear thinking, decision making and good judgement.  It facilitates good organisation, and enables us to see different points of view.

It builds self confidence and encourages optimism.  However, yellow can also be associated with fear and cowardice.  Too much yellow can cause loss of self esteem and self confidence.   Yellow can reveal a person’s weaknesses and help to release deep-seated problems.   It is thought to be effective in improving skin conditions such as eczema.

Promotes:  self-confidence and respect, will-power, self-control, ability to rationalise and reason, intellectual and mental stimulation, flexible thinking, contentment, empowerment

Good for:    indigestion, depression, sensitivity to criticism, stress, negativity, difficulty in thinking clearly

Complementary colour     Magenta

Use in the home, activity rooms, play rooms, entrance halls, study.  Not suitable for bedrooms as it can interfere with sleep.  Not ideal for areas of possible stress.

Colour Personality

If yellow is your favourite colour means you are ambitious and eager to please.  If yellow is your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th favourite colour, you are positive, optimistic and look to the future, never backwards.  You find life easy, and problems just don’t exist for you.  Free from worry, you lead a carefree life; but this does not mean you are lazy.  You can be extremely hard working, although not consistently.  When yellow is one of your least favourite colours, you have had your hopes and dreams dashed, and you may feel isolated and disappointed, often becoming defensive and withdrawn, co-ordinated, domineering, intellectual, courageous, responsible, insecure, achiever, sociable, warm.

Green

Has a strong affinity with nature, and helps us to connect to others and to the natural world.  It is the colour of balance.  It gives a feeling of comfort and relaxation, calmness and space.  It reduces stress, soothing and steadying our emotions.  Green may also have antiseptic properties, and thought to destroy embryonic cell structure.

Promotes:   Balanace, personal development, self-acceptance, compassion for self and others.

Good for:   Stress, fear, self-pity, confusion.  Physical health problems, nausea, cancer treatment, heart problems, blood pressure problems, immune system problems, fatigue, headaches, flu symptoms.

Complementary colour       Violet / Purple

Use in the Home or Office:

Depending on shade, can be used in most areas.   Anywhere you need to relax.  Use with other colours to avoid balance and harmony becoming more like total inactivity and indecision.

Colour Personality

Green as your favourite colour, means you are persistent, possessive and quite selfish.  You are a high achiever and an accumulator of “things” – like a penthouse, a Rolex, holiday flat, CD player.  If green is down the list of your favourite colours, your ego has been bruised and you have been humbled by the resistance to your progress.  Consequently, you can be highly critical, sarcastic and stubborn.

In equilibrium, conscientious, circumspect, harmonious, understanding, contented, cautious, reserved, tidy.

Turquoise

Invigorating, cooling and calming.  It is good for mental strain (nervous system), immune system and tiredness.  It is helpful for feelings of loneliness, and heightens communication, sensitivity and creativity.   Turquoise is thought to cleanse and reduce inflammation.

Promotes:  physical healing, cleanliness, personal relationships, sharing.

Good for:  inflammatory conditions, immune problems.

Complementary colour Red

Use in the Home or Office -

Any room although it’s not ideal for activity areas.

Colour personility -

Calm & collected, communicative, well-adjusted, optimistic, childish, capable, dreamy, aware.

Blue

Calming, relaxing, soothing, cooling.  Midnight blue has a strong sedative effect, allowing us to connect to our intuitive and feminine side.  Good for creativity, and encouraging creative thinking.  However, too much dark blue can be depressing.  Blue affects our minds rather than our bodies.  Blue can reduce inflammation, and be useful for stings and headaches.

Promotes:   calm, peace, relaxation, slowing down, steadying, self-expression, intuition, honesty, truth, cleansing, soothing.

Good for:  infections with fever or inflammation, stings, headaches, period pains, insomnia,  stress, anxiety, obsessions, psychoses and learning difficulties.

Do not use in:  depression, loneliness.

Complementary colour  Orange or Yellow

Use in the Home or Office

Any room except those used for physical activity and play.  Perfect for bedrooms.

Coulor personility -

Relaxed, quiet, not confident, withdrawn, organised, creative, sluggish, sensitive, inhibited, honest.

Indigo

Indigo stimulates intuition and imagination, and is a strong sedative.  It’s the colour of divine knowledge and the higher mind.  Indigo is said to be a powerful anaesthetic and can reduce pain.

Use in the Home or Office

Suitable for quiet places and bedrooms, private retreats.  Possibly in a study.

Violet and Purple

Balance the mind and help transform obsessions and fears.   Violet and Purple bring peace, and combat fear.  Violet has the shortest wavelength of all the colours.  They are also associated with artistic and musical ability, stimulating creativity, inspiration, sensitivity, spirituality and compassion.  They are very introvertive, causing us to look within ourselves, encouraging contemplation and meditation.  It enhances purpose and dignity.  However, too much violet or purple can cause too much introspection.  Violet is said to be very beneficial for psychological disorders, and all disorders relating to the nervous system.

Promotes:  inspiration, imagination, empathy, self-respect, dignity, spirituality, intuition, clarity, confidence.

Complementary colour      Green

Use in the Home or Office

Places of worship.   Pale violet in bedrooms.

Magenta

Uplifting when feeling angry and despondent.  It is associated with compassion, support and kindness. Avoid if feeling chronically depressed.  Magenta is a combination of red and violet, thus combining our physical self with our spiritual self, balancing body and spirit.  Magenta enables us to let go, and move with the flow of life.  Letting go of routine, feelings, ideas and emotions.   Magenta is said to be useful in the treatment of tinnitus, benign cysts and for detached retinas.

Promotes:  letting go of the past, blood supply to the brain, stimulates nervous system.

Good for:   headaches, tinnitus, aggression.

Complementary colour    Green or Turquoise

Use in the Home or Office

Pink

Emotionally soothing and calming, pink gives a feeling of warmth and nuturing.  It reduces feelings of irritation and aggression, alleviates loneliness, oversensitivity and vulnerability.  Whilst red relates to sexuality, pink is associated with unconditional love.  Too much pink can be emotionally draining.

Promotes:  calming spirit, clear thinking, sensitivity, compassion, kindness, forgiveness.

Complementary colour      Pale Green

Use in the Home or Office

White

The colour of purity.  It contains all the colours of the spectrum, and therefore brings peace, comfort, and alleviates despair and emotional shock, facilitating inner cleansing of emotions, thoughts and spirit.    However, too much white can be cold and isolating.  White is unforgiving and uncompromising.

Promotes:  Cleansing, clarifying, hopefulness

Use in the Home or Office

Black

Comforting, protective and mysterious.  Associated with silence, and the infinite.

Promotes:  Self-discipline, strength, liberation, reveals hidden potential.  Energy anchor.

Use in the Home or Office

When used with another colour, enhances the energy of that second colour.  Gives space for reflection and inner searching.  Use as highlight colour in accessories such as picture frames or lamp bases, etc.

Brown

The colour of Mother Earth, brown brings stability and alleviates insecurity.  It can also relate to repressed emotions, and narrow-mindedness, resulting from lack of self-worth.  It has much of the serious nature of black, but is warmer and softer.

Use in the Home or Office

Gray

Associated with independence, self-reliance and self-control.  Gray shields us from outside influence.  Gray is also the colour of evasion and non-commitment.  It relates to isolation and self-criticism.  Some experts believe gray is the only colour to have no psychological qualities, but it can be very suppressive.

Silver

The colour of the moon, which is ever changing.  It relates to the emotional and sensitive aspects of the mind.  It balances, harmonises and is mentally cleansing.

Gold

Associated with the sun, and therefore to abundance and power, wisdom and understanding.  It is mentally revitalising, energising and inspiring, and is helpful for fear, uncertainty and lack of interest.

Promotes:  energy, enthusiasm, balancing thoughts and feelings, wisdom, immune system, soothing.

Very interesting stuff, colour is so very important in the design of your home or office and can affect your mood and even your health too. We at Andreafay Interior Design are colour consultants and will be happy to consult you in your colour choice, so if in doubt call us or your interior designer of choice.

Thanks for reading and following my blogs, it would be lovely to see you on my facebook and Tweeter accounts also. Like my page on ANDREAFAY Interior Design and get a free consultation  anytime.

Cheers,

Andrea

ANDREAFAY Interior Design is in North London, England  and takes commissions on commercial and residential interior designs.

{Images from Google}

What’s current in interior design, loads of  beautiful, lovely stuff. . .  but the one I want to show you images of is the vinyl wall coverings . . they are so many fantastic ones on the market these days. They don’t only look great they also feel great with beautiful textured feel and all.

I love them so much that we have  a featured wall with wall vinyl in our Andreafay Interior Design office in Muswell Hill, North London.

They look beautiful, they feel lovely and they help to make the room warm, cozy, bright and cheerful. A most definite statement!

Imagine this in you beautiful home. . . I sure can.

Oh yes, 17th Century lace and all.

Elegant and wild, rrrrrrrr! lol.

So HOT!

And fun, as this on found in the Interior Design magazine.

Thank you for looking at my blogs, I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

ANDREAFAY is an interior designer based in North London, Muswell Hill. She writes on interior design, home imporvements, archecture, whats hot in interior design and travel.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ANDREAFAY interior design Ltd.  |   020 8374 0886  |  079 6950 4970  |   andrea@andreafay.co.uk  |   info@andrea.co.uk  |   www.andreafay.co.uk.

Muswell Hill, Finchley, Highgate, Hampstead, Whetstone, Totteridge and all UK.

10 Top Tips to Remember When Decorating on a Budget

1. It has been said many times before that PAINT is the cheapest, fastest way to dramatically change a room in just a few hours!

2. Create a theme or an ambiance…even if it’s just a  colour scheme or maybe one you found in a magazine, that would be a good way to start a place and plan.

3. Re-arrange…move things around until you find a pleasing arrangement that works for you, it could be your furniture or your bookshelves!

4. Use what you have! There are so many items around the home that can be repurposed…learn to look at things in creative ways and see if they might meet a decorating need and remember it’s about recycling.

5. Start with larger areas first such as walls, windows, and floors. That will make the fastest impact on the room, and you will see an almost instant transformation.

6. Disguise! If you can’t afford to replace it, disguise it! Cover a sofa, lay a rag rug over that stained carpet, or use fabric to screen an unpleasant view.

7. Find materials in creative places. Use fabric from sheets and quilts, use yard sales to locate furniture to be painted to match your décor, and visit your pound shop on a regular basis for picture frames and candles.

8. Add personality! Inject yourself and your family in to your home with personal items like…photos, vacation finds, or football match tickets in a frame all bring interest and life to your rooms.

9. Look for inspiration. There is no shame looking through books and magazines for the look you desire,that is what they are there for. Adapting their scheme to your budget plan! Let the pictures inspire your creativity, and borrow ideas you love!

10. Start now! Today, make a plan, pick a paint colour, sew a pillow, make some curtains . . . Your home won’t change if you don’t start something, so don’t put it off another minute, and little by little, the decorator in you will transform your house to a home!

Have fun with your projects and remember we are here to answer any questions you may have regarding home improvement, interior design, space planning, soft furnishings or choosing colours for your home.

Enjoy!

ANDREAFAY is an interior designer based in Muswell Hill, North London. Andrea writes about interior design trends and  home improvements.

Want to make a dramatic decorating statement? Investing in new furniture, window treatments or accessories are options, but to make the transformation complete, consider giving your walls a facelift with decorative paint.

Decorative finishes are among the hottest trends in painting today. Depending on the look you’re hoping to achieve, they can add a touch of drama, elegance or charm to any room. And, you don’t have to hire a professional painter to recreate the styles you’ve seen in decorating magazines and on television. Consider these tips from the decorative painting experts at ANDREAFAY:

· Select a small area to paint. Accent wall, living rooms, hallways, bedroom- choose one area to focus on and start. Even a small project can make a huge impact in the look of your home. If you like the look, you can always add more later.

· Choose a decorative paint technique. Determine the look you are going for. Is it contemporary or country? Traditional or retro? These questions will help you determine which decorative painting technique to use. Whether it is stenciling, sponging, waxing, distressing, verde antico rag rolling, or adding texture effects, there are an endless array of decorative paint techniques that can enhance any décor.

· Looking for a dramatic effect, consider adding shimmer. For a dramatic statement use a product like, ShimmerStone or Rust-Oleum spray paints. These versatile water-base coating creates decorative finishes like layered stone, dimensional lace, linen, raw silk and raised ornament with beautiful shimmering effects and luminous undertones -without burnishing or sanding.

ShimmerStone is a shimmering single tint base that can be used on its own, or tinted to a variety of colours using ShimmerStone Colour Concentrates. Available in 15 designer colors like Chocolate Raspberry, Blue Velvet or Canyon Clay, the 2-ounce Colour Concentrates can be used to create more than 90 shimmering, luminous hues – from ultra deep colours to pale pastels – depending on the amount of concentrate added to the tint base.

Ideal for living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms – anywhere a shimmering finish is desired – these paints are durable, yet, easy to repair. It’s water resistant and resists the growth of mold and mildew so it’s also appropriate for bathrooms and other high humidity areas. Plus, it cleans up easily with soapy water.

To learn more about decorative painting techniques, step-by-step project instructions, or need your painting taken care of by our professional team give us a call or email us with your details and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

ANDREAFAY interior design is an interior designer in London, England. She does SHOW HOMES, Residential and Investment Properties and source materials from around the globe. Andrea also write about WHATS HOT in design, Home Improvements and her travels.

It’s just something about the colour red in a kitchen that makes the whole place seem so warm and welcoming. . . Inviting!

Even if it’s just a splash, it creates warmth and peace in every kitchen.

Images taken from Google.

ANDREAFAY interior design  is in North London, England. Andrea writes on interior design, home improvements, travel and whats new and HOT in the world of design.