These days, floor plans are becoming more and more open. Although open plans make for great spaces, they may have you stumped when it comes to using different paint colors in each room of your Atlanta new home. You, of course, have an option to use the same paint color throughout, and then define each space through the furniture and accessories. Many may find that to be a bit too boring though.

The key to selecting colors is to refer back to a color wheel. You’ll notice that the wheel is broken up with cross lines that show complementing colors, triadic colors and so on. Selecting colors based on these schemes will give you a wonderful and unique starting point.

Now, let’s say you want to go with a complementary scheme: red and green. You may want to vary it slightly to soften the colors. Maybe select a sage green for your kitchen and a terra cotta for your sunroom. Now, you have two colors that complement each other well, but they are really standing out as two totally separate spaces and look like they belong in separate houses. Bridge these spaces by adding furniture and accessories of the opposite color. As an example, you may want to use a fabric with different variations of green on the bench cushions in your sunroom and then maybe a terra cotta colored vase in your kitchen. You will see that, even with these slight additions to the space, the rooms will start to flow together and look as if they belong in the same house. To learn more about bridging colors and other design tips, visit www.voiceofcolor.com.