Paint one wall a different color to create a focal point.
The number of colors available on today's paint market can make choosing the right ones a daunting exercise. Add the wishes of family members for colors you wouldn't choose in a million years, and what should be a pleasurable experience can morph into a stressful one. Take control. Mesh your creative impulses with practical color choices and the fog will lift, leaving you with a rainbow of color on interior walls that are sure to delight family, guests and, especially, you.
Instructions
1. Focus your paint picks on families of color to minimize the body of choices you'll face at the paint store. Eliminate, for example, all shades of yellow if this color has never been a favorite. Ask paint store staffers to explain how a color wheel works. Take advantage of trial-size containers of paint colors. Brush large squares of multiple colors onto walls to see how each looks in morning and afternoon light.
2. Create the illusion of a large room by using color to create optical illusions in small spaces. Begin by painting the room white or a light color to open up the space. Define the area between the ceiling and the wall by painting a stripe of color around the entire room. Repeat the accent color when choosing linens and accessories.
3. Treat disproportionately sized walls to a combination of light and dark colors to trick the eye into thinking that the room isn't as rectangular as it looks. Paint long walls, for example, a light shade of green and both short walls dark green to optically alter the length of rooms often referred to in jest as "bowling alleys."
4. Use one dark paint color to create a focal point in each room that also serves as a headboard, "canvas" for artwork or an accent frame for a shelving unit or another large piece of furniture. Begin by painting the entire room a light color. Apply several coats of jewel-tone paint to one wall and then arrange the furniture or hang art on that wall to complete the illusion.
5. Call attention to your beautiful furniture by painting walls neutral shades of taupe, gray, cream or sand so they visually recede and the furniture grabs center stage. Repeat textile pattern colors already in your seating pieces, matching prominent colors with small lampshades, pieces of art or room accessories.
6. Personalize bedrooms by choosing colors that reflect the personality and tastes of the person occupying the room. Give in to pink if your little girl adores the color. Take into consideration feedback from folks most likely to frequent the room that burgundy for a study, den or home office makes a great color choice.
7. Brighten tiny bathrooms by painting them white and adding a dark ceiling color that coordinates with your fixtures or floors so the room feels more intimate. Stick to colors for the kitchen that are soothing and warm, particularly if you spend a lot of time there because you enjoy cooking and it's like a Mecca to family and guests drawn to this room as a favorite place to "hang out."
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