Ms. P. Mytthili has been heading the Interior Design Department at the Institute of Design, Chennai for close to a decade. A postgraduate in Hindi Literature, she holds several diplomas in Interior Design aswell as Interior Decoration. She is also certified in Corel Draw and Auto Cad.

She has many interior designing projects to her credit. Offices, Show rooms, Residences, Exhibitionstall designing and Landscape projects too. Carnatic music, Gardening, Handicrafts and painting are some of her other interests.

Mr. N. Nadeem is the executive director of Institute of Design.

USING RIGHT KIND OF COLOURS IN EACH ROOMS

THE LIVING ROOM

In any home the living room calls for special attention since it is the room in which the family will spend time together and visitors will be entertained.

Planning a colour scheme for a living room means creating a space in which everyone can quickly feel at their ease and ready to socialize. At their worst, living rooms are cold and inhospitable, making it difficult to relax. At their best, they are warm, inviting and so comfortable that you find it difficult to leave them.

Comfort & Comfort

Colour and comfort are key factors in the creation of a successful living room. These two themes come together in the choices you make for the upholstery of your armchairs and sofas, since these are likely to make up the most dominant foreground colours in the room. Solid colours are often a popular choice, and if you follow this route you can introduce a variety of patterns and textures with scatter cushions and wool throws. Alternatively, you may opt to reverse this process and choose a multicoloured upholstery fabric, highlighting a particular colour within it by using plain cushions.

Colour and comfort are also the key themes in creating a living room that is as welcoming to one person as it is to many. For most of us, the living room is a multi-functional space. You will probably want to feel as settled in it when you are alone as you do when you are hosting a party or having your sister and her children to tea. It is horrible to sit in a room and feel you are surrounded by empty spaces. A simple way of resolving this problem is by varying the upholstery you choose for different sofas and armchairs. Not only does this break up the space visually, it also has the psychological benefit of separating different items of furniture so that their presence is not overbearing to the solitary occupant.

CHOOSING A SIGNATURE COLOUR

As in any room, your choice of signature colour will affect the atmosphere created. If you want a feeling of warmth and intimacy, a rich base colour can be a good choice because the walls will darken during the evening and contrast strongly with the areas of light in the room. Choosing a heavy curtain fabric can heighten this atmosphere, so that the room feels well-wrapped, especially on cold winter nights.

Above: The exposed wooden beams are a distinctive feature of this country sitting room. The natural theme continues in the carpet and the background colour on the walls and is picked up in all the soft furnishings.

Bibliography
1. Book of Colour Sketching by Carolyn Warrender's
2. The Complete Decorating & Home Improvement Book by Mike Lawrence

Class Schedule:
Using Right Kind of Colour In Each Room... II
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Courtesy: Institue of Design, No.134,
Rosewood Offices, Nungambakkam High Road,
Chennai - 600 034. Tel. 824 0588