Since color is the basis for all decorating schemes, becoming "color smart" is vital! Understanding what color is, how colors affect you and how they relate to each other builds confidence in your ability to make wise decorating choices.

Explained scientifically, color is light, which is carried on wavelengths that the eye perceives and transmits to the brain. The brain processes this information so that you "see colors".

Objects are "colored" because of their pigments. Pigments absorb some light colors and reflect other light colors. An object that you see as blue in fact absorbs all the other light colors but blue light. This unabsorbed light is reflected onto the eye, and the brain "sees" it as blue.

Every discussion of color and the relationship of one color to another begins with the color wheel, an arrangement of 12 colors in a circle in the order of the spectrum. (A rainbow in the sky exhibits the colors of the spectrum; so does light passing through a prism.) The color wheel sets related colors close to each other and complementary colors opposite each other, making the color wheel an important reference point when selecting a color scheme. Colors that fall opposite each other on the wheel (red and green; blue and orange; yellow and purple) are called complementary colors. When two complementary colors are viewed side by side, they intensify each other so that, for instance, red appears redder and green greener. For this reason, a decorating scheme based on complementary colors is bold and exciting.

Adjoining colors (also called analogous colors) are those that exist next to each other on the color wheel. Decorating with adjoining colors produces a relaxing and welcoming ambience.

Triad colors-three colors equidistant from each other on the color wheel-produce high-impact decorating schemes, particularly if one of the three colors is used predominantly and the other two play subordinate roles as accents.

Colors are said to be "warm" or "cool". If you like to live in a cozy setting, wrapped in an ambience reminiscent of a summer day, you'd be wise to select a decorating scheme based on warm colors. If you prefer the calm that prevails in colors that lack sun-drenched touches, you'll be happiest in rooms decorated with cool colors.

Look again at the color wheel. Draw an imaginary line vertically through the middle. The cool receding colors fall to the left of this line. The warm advancing colors fall to the right. However, these are not absolutes: for there are "warm" reds and "cool" reds, depending on the amount of yellow the red contains (making it a "warm red") or the amount of blue it contains (making it a "cool" red). Any color can be made warmer by increasing its yellow content, while any color can be made cooler by increasing its blue content!

Colors look different in different lights. When contemplating a color to use in decorating, the light in which it is seen will greatly affect the way you perceive it. This is important to remember when picking wallcoverings in a store lit by fluorescent bulbs. Be sure to view samples of wallcoverings (or paints) in the rooms in which they will be used -both during the day and with the lights on at night, so that you get a true sense of how they will appear.

			Colors have a real impact on how we behave and feel. This is partly a result of automatic behavioral responses to color. It is also partly due to learned responses influenced by age, sex, cultural background and other factors. This means your choice of colors will affect how comfortable you will be in your surroundings. For example; green encourages feelings of emotional well-being; one feels tranquil and refreshed in green surroundings. Pale green tones are particularly soothing; they are an excellent color choice in a bedroom. Green's popularity is so universal, it is often considered a "neutral" color.
			Red is a passionate color, perceived as aggressive, strong and vital. Because it stimulates the appetite, red is a favorite color for decorating dining rooms. Yellow's popularity is easy to understand, for it reminds us of sunshine and warmth and is always uplifting and cheery.
			Though viewed as utilitarian and earthy, brown has a subtle richness and is associated with comfort and warmth, making it a favorite decorating color. Blue is a calming color you can enjoy forever without tiring of it. Blue is sometimes considered a "neutral" because of its enduring qualities and ability to partner with so many other colors.
			Universally feminine and soothing, pink suggests innocence, softness and good health. Purple, sophisticated, mysterious and perceived as "expensive", is known to settle emotions and suppress appetites, but it is a difficult color to live with in large amounts over long periods of time.
			Easy-living white, associated with purity and truthfulness, comes in many shades, both "cool" and "warm", depending on its blue or yellow content. Black, a distinctive, bold and classic color, is a great background shade for layering on other colors, though it can be oppressive in large amounts.

Your personality, your favorite "look", favorite colors and your individual rooms will all help you target the color family you will select for decorating.