Out of Curiosity:: Color Palette Determined By Climate?
A couple of weeks ago, I posted about HGTV’s 2011 Dream Home. Probably my favorite room in the house was the family room (called “gathering room” on the HGTV website).
As I was reading over the description of the room, I saw this comment by the designer of the house, Linda Woodrum:
I don’t think that’s a color palette I would necessarily use in the South where it’s hot a lot of the time. But it works really well in a cooler climate.
Interestingly, I’m in Texas, and this is a color palette that many of my clients have wanted. I see it used (and use it myself) all the time! So what do you think about this?
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
I am in TX as well and I see those colors not only in my house but 90% of my friends' homes.
I don't think color matters as much as client color preferences. I have designed around the mood wanted in a room, the client fave colors but never because of climate.
In the Southeast, where it is sooooo hot much of the year, color can play a significant part in giving the illusion of coolness. I like a bright pallette, but here people tend to choose a darker color scheme so that rooms seem to be even cooler than they actually are… And, since we hope to sell our house in the foreseeable future we have elected to keep this color scheme until then. Believe me, when we move back to Colorado, we'll have a much brighter home than we have now.
Classof65
I think fabric is much more of the issue than the color. When I lived in Austin, then west Texas, then Houston and now Florida, the weight of the material mattered much more than the color of it – does that make sense? Although, recently I did a high rise condo on the ocean and that made me use only cool blues, greens and greys so as not to interfere with the view.
It doesn't matter to me one bit. I just decorate with the colors that I love. Not to mention, our climate changes A LOT with the seasons. During the winter, our daytime highs can be in the single digits, but during the summer our daytime highs can be in the triple digits. But I'm not going to completely change out my decor all the time because the weather is changing. It's very cold outside right now, so should I paint my blue-grey walls orange? And during the summer when it is hot, should I paint them back to blue-grey. Don't think so!!
Hi Kristi,
My dining room, living room, and bedroom all face southwest. Each room has huge windows so that we can enjoy the view. I live in Southern California and we have the long, hot summer for about 10 months of the year (not this year!). These rooms are constantly exposed to intense sun. I tried the color thing last year because my bedroom was feeling claustraphobic and hot, hot, hot. I painted my bedroom a soft, cool neutral blue-gray. It really made a difference–it just feels so much cooler and liveable now. I am still loving it in spite of the fact that we are having a real winter (for us) here in California and it's cold. I warmed the room up with faux fur throws and pillows, which I'll change out when the weather warms up. Anyway, I think there's definitely something to be said for considering climate and color–even if it might just be psychological!
Sindy 🙂
I don't consider the climate per se, but I definitely consider the room's exposure. When we first bought the home we're in now, I papered all of the walls in the living room with a very, very deep peacock blue wallpaper that I loved, but because the room only had eastern and northern windows it always felt very cold in that room. When I redecorated, I painted the walls in a warm, persimmon color and the room is much more inviting, year round.
This is probably one of THE most beautiful color palettes I have ever seen. I'm always struck speechless by how much I am relaxed and peaceful and just happy to see hues such as burnt oranges, deep yellows in a room. Though I'm more to have a more orange theme (I find it the most relaxing of those warm colors), this theme is just as nice. I love it!
I said I consider climate. Most of my life I have lived in a 4 season climate. I am more of a summer person, so I decorate so it looks best in that time of year. I always feel my rooms are out of season in the winter (I just haven't gotten into changing with the seasons). So I guess I think about it, but I don't know if it changes what I do???
Also, when I lied in Seattle, the lack of sunlight definitely made an impact on what I used in my decor. I needed light. It was too gloomy for me.
This is probably one of THE most beautiful color palettes I have ever seen. I'm always struck speechless by how much I am relaxed and peaceful and just happy to see hues such as burnt oranges, deep yellows in a room. Though I'm more to have a more orange theme (I find it the most relaxing of those warm colors), this theme is just as nice. I love it!