Room Color Schemes
Room Design Ideas And Advice

Add to that the need for the property to 'work' on a practical level and stand up to the wear and tear of regular visitors and you have quite a job on your hands.

Go through your vacation property room by room and try to envisage how your guests will use each one. Not only do you need to consider your own likes and dislikes but also those of your potential visitors.

Decorating the rooms of your vacation home is more complicated than decorating your own home.

You need to remember that guests won't look after your holiday home in the same way that you would so some things - house plants for example that need regular watering - just aren't an option.

You need to look at the property on a room by room basis but never forgetting that you will want to achieve a general style or look for the interior of your property that flows from one area to the next - particularly if it is open-plan.

No one is saying you property needs to be the same color throughout but room color schemes that clash in adjoining rooms will never give the harmonious and relaxing feel your guests need.

Whether your taste leans towards contemporary or antique, some element of style or color needs to bring the property together as a whole.

Remember that visitors will have expectations of your property before they arrive - they may have been looking forward to this visit for months.

The person paying the bill is likely to be the person who also stays in the Master Bedroom and they will expect their accommodation to be more opulent than a Guest or Twin Bedroom which will quite possibly be occupied by children.

The same applies with other parts of the house.

A Master Bathroom should should always be luxurious and ‘grown up’ whereas a Family or Guest Bathroom can be more relaxed and even fun.

A new shower curtain and towels is probably the cheapest and easiest way to 'lift' a bathroom using either a bright colour, as shown here, or a fun character like Mickey Mouse or Betty Boop.

Kitchen color schemes need to be given careful consideration – particularly if your kitchen opens onto an adjoining room - but it is certainly an area where you may wish to inject a burst of color.

If you are lucky enough to have a breakfast room in addition to a dining room, make sure you define this as the casual eating area - a great place for feeding the kids.

One of my favourite room color schemes is blue, green and yellow and we used this to good effect in our Florida property breakfast room having taken inspiration from the pool, grass and sunshine we could see through the window.

Check out what free kitchen design tools are available online - you could save yourself some serious money by remodelling a tired kitchen yourself.

Not a room you want to spend a lot of your vacation time in but there is no area of the property we can afford to ignore.

The hub of the house - perhaps the only room that all members of the party will use so vital that we get it right. Living room color schemes are very important for setting the tone of the room.

If you are fortunate enough to have a Breakfast Room at your vacation property you may want to give your Dining Room a more formal look.

Room color schemes can go some way to creating the right tone for a roomand you will need a color scheme that suggests that this area is perhaps more appropriate for adult dining than kids with ketchup-y fingers!

A game room should be fun whether you decide to go for a sports theme or something more unusual.

Whether you have a purpose built room or are perhaps converting a garage, you want this to be an area where your guests can relax and have fun.

A loft seems to be uniquely American but European properties may also have a room with a similar use – perhaps where you might provide things like a selection of books and games or a computer. This should be casual area and you can have a bit of fun decorating here.

Another area where you should aim for a casual atmosphere is a conservatory. sunroom or garden room. To give a co-ordinated look and a feeling of space, you may like to take your color scheme inspiration here from the view outside.

Not strictly a room but a much used part of the vacation property is your lanai, patio or garden area. The outside space at your property - particularly if it has a pool - is very important and will most likely be the part of your property where your guests spend most of their time.

We also have more detailed advice on Inexpensive Patio Furniture and, something quite new to me... Weather Treated Patio Pictures.

Last on the list but responsible for that all important first impression.

To summarise, choose room color schemes and decorating ideas on a room by room basis whilst never forgetting that we must also view it as a whole.