Deciding on a color scheme for your Capitol Hill rental property’s interior can be very thrilling. Take note, though, that you won’t be able to change the entire interior of your house. But, that shouldn’t stop you from doing what you can! Most landlords and property owners do not allow a renter to paint the interior or exterior of the home. Is that a restriction, though? Or is it just another challenge to express yourself differently? Working with existing colors that you didn’t choose yourself will make choosing a color scheme more challenging and fun.
When choosing a color scheme for your rental property, walk through the house, taking note of which spaces are visible from each room. Using a floor plan, write down those spaces that you intend to use. This is essential information because choosing a color scheme for an entire house is not just about styling individual rooms. Rather, each room should coordinate with others to generate a sense of continuity.
Option 1: Choose Your Base Color
By making good use of your notes, initiate laying out your color scheme in one of two ways. The first strategy begins with choosing a base color for the biggest room or area in the house. Consider the paint and flooring colors, and think about what could work in that given space. What makes neutral paint colors so great is that they coordinate so well with many color schemes. But keep in mind that warm neutrals like beige or cream are very different from cool neutrals like gray. Each one has different complementary colors, and trying to mix warm and cool colors may not be the wisest thing to do.
Option 2: Choose a Focus Color First
Next, begin with a bold focus color and then coordinate everything else around it. If multiple colors are your thing, don’t forget to plan out a scheme first, because you might end up overdoing it. Especially if your central living area is an open space, try to choose furniture and accessories in colors that work well together. One strategy is to choose a single color and then use different shades (which are darker) or tints (which are lighter) of the same hue to add visual appeal and lots of personality without overwhelming the senses.
These two methods are great, but there are other ways to choose a color scheme for your house. If you have a real affinity for a specific environment (the beach, for example), you can use the colors of that place as a guide for using colors in your home. However, don’t feel the need to make every room the same.
While you will want to keep connecting spaces relatively neutral, you can give every room in the house its mood by using different coordinating colors. A multicolored floor rug in a hallway would work well with the many different color combinations in the bedrooms. In so doing, you can create a sense of continuity while keeping your room colors diverse.
Finally, test your palette before you implement any color to make sure you can visualize your color scheme better. Find any items that fit the colors of your color scheme. Arrange them in your space, so that you can try to visualize those colors on a larger scale. The light will be different in every room, and what works well in one space might end up looking less than appealing in another. Here’s an idea: carry pictures or swatches when you go shopping. When choosing items, it can help you get a sense of how new items might fit into your existing color scheme.
When all is said and done, choosing a color scheme for a Capitol Hill rental house does not have to be stressful. If you’re comfortable in your space then you’ve already made a good decision. If you’re looking for the perfect rental to decorate, contact us online or call us at 202-269-0303 to get started today.
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