How to design a monochromatic room

Last time I wrote for mydeco.com we built a monochromatic (single colour) scheme using cushions based on red. Today, let’s do a whole room with one of my favourite colours - blue-green. Where I live in Australia is soaked in blue-green, no wonder it’s a favourite of mine.

Here are some lovely Dulux blue-greens to get you in the mood…

Dulux blues and greens

And some gorgeous mydeco.com products in variations of blue-green…

Turquoise products at mydeco.com

I often start a design with an object that catches my eye and makes me drool ….. like this stupendous clock  from Rose and Grey.

Oversized antique clock, blue

Unfortunately postage to Australia would be my food and fuel budget for the week, but I am still VERY tempted! So, the room might start like this…

Basic room with feature clock

Throwing on some matchy-matchy colours gets a pretty dull result…

Matchy-matchy colours

Let’s brighten things up! Because I L-O-V-E textiles, I usually start there – cushions, rugs, upholstery, curtains; I usually think about walls and floors later and keep them pretty plain.  Here are some mydeco.com blue green rugs – notice the lights and darks, the brights and dulls, and that some are introducing hints of other colours.

Some blue-green rugs at mydeco.com

Because the existing furniture is white I’m going to pick the Birdwalk rug by CB2 (lower left corner). It has the kind of dulled down, desaturated, greyed colours that I love (more on this in my upcoming post about colour and personality). From last time, you know that varying the saturation and value of a single colour can make very interesting designs. Change the paint and add feminine accessories – et voila!

Completed monochromatic room

Starting with a different rug takes the room in a completely different direction. I took the hint from the selection of rugs (designed by colour experts) – brown obviously goes really well with blue-green (well, it wasn’t obvious to me until I tried it).  Vary the browns just as you varied the blue-greens – everything is united but also interesting.  This room is so warm and cosy compared to the first one (and has a slightly tribal feel, as blogged by Natalia).

Monochromatic room - alternative design

Challenge – do a few warm-ups first (like I did) using my colour study post for guidance. Then design a monochromatic room (in 3D)  using your chosen colour.

Looking forward to seeing the results!