Choosing Color in Decorating
Jun 25 '00
Color!!! Who hasn't had a terrible time deciding if the green they want to paint the living room will look good? Or, if the pink in that pillow will look really garish in the same living room? I know I have, so, I want to share a few tips that work for me.
First, Look at your wardrobe. What colors are used most often? Which colors do you LOVE? These are the colors that are most likely to please you when decorating your house. For me, these colors are currently greens and reds. Notice I said CURRENTLY. I once was from the blue and mauve school, but, have recently noticed that my taste is changing. When I realized that I have almost NO blue or mauve in my wardrobe anymore, I decided it was time to change the colors in my home.
Second, Browse the paint aisle at your local home center(s). I prefer the colors at WalMart, simply because those colors seem warmer to me. When I checked the Dutch Boy colors that another local store carries, the paint chips all had a different cast to them, as if they were all based on yellow. Yellow happens to be a color that looks terrible to me, so I passed on the Dutch Boy options.
Browse the paint aisle, taking paint chips of colors that appeal to you. Do NOT buy any paint at this point!! This is very important. Go home with your paint chips, place them against your curtains, upholstery, carpets, etc. See if you like the combinations. If you do, it is now time to narrow down choices and do a "Sample Board".
Sample Boards are made of cardboard, wood, poster board, anything that will allow you to place some of a paint color on them and still have room to add things like fabrics, wallpaper, border, etc to see how the items you love tie together. For my living room, I chose a green color and painted my sample board with it. (I purchased a quart of the green paint I liked.) Then, I added a sample of my fabric from my slipcover, my pillow, and a piece of the border I wanted to install in my living room. I then placed the sample board in the living room and spent a good deal of time looking at it. I examined it in daytime, at night, with lamps on and with candles burning (something I enjoy tremendously!). After I had looked at the colors in all lights, I decided that I did want to go with that color.
Anytime I look at another room for color, I use a Sample Board. To me, this is the easiest and cheapest way to decide if a color is going to work in YOUR house.
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Epinions.com ID:
Melissa_M
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Location: Fort Pierce, FL
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