Expert advice for stress-free home color decorating decisions
Wednesday, August 27th, 2014

Choosing a color scheme…It doesn’t seem like it should be that difficult, does it?
But, in my experience as a designer, assisting homeowners and homebuyers in selecting the right colors can be a lengthy process. After all, these will be colors you’ll be living in for awhile and you want them to be perfect.
Recently I read an article on Houzz.com called
“Decorating 101: How to Choose Your Colors” that gave some great wisdom for choosing just the right color palette. Designers from all over the country weighed in. Here’s some of the advice they gave:
*Choose colors based on what mood you are trying to achieve in the room. For example, are you going for dark and cozy, or bright and lively?
*Only follow color trends if you truly like the color…and remember that just because you love to wear the color doesn’t mean you’ll want to live in that color.
*Pick your paint color last, after you have chosen your investment pieces, the things that will be most costly to replace.
*If you love the outdoors, consider using the colors in your landscape. “Sometimes the best colors can be found right outside your door!”
*Try changing colors from room to room, but keep a consistent feeling in the house by keeping a common color from room to room.
These are wonderful suggestions! With so many options these days, it can be a challenge to make easy work of choosing which colors to use.
Our clients ask my advice all the time as they ponder and sometimes agonize over color choices. Many people want to know where to start.
I usually suggest choosing larger investment pieces first and picking neutral colors. These would be pieces like the sofas and chairs, draperies and rugs. That way if you decide later down the road to change your colors, you can work around your neutral pieces easily. Changing your whole color scheme will much easier!
Once you’ve chosen your neutral pieces, you can go to town selecting your paint colors! Many people like to coordinate their smaller accessories like pillows and table accessories with their paint colors.
What are the trending colors these days? This is another question I am often asked by homeowners. What’s popular these days is a beautiful medium to dark gray accessorized by dark teal and berry red. I love the calming warmth of the darker grays combined with these brighter accent colors.
Something else people want to know is what I suggest in choosing furniture. I always recommend picking quality furniture that can withstand the trends and fads. These would be pieces with cleaner lines as opposed to overstuffed pieces, or darker wood pieces. There’s definitely a trending away from the darker wood tables and oversized sofas to lighter, traditionally styled transitional pieces with clean lines.
One of the best things you can do to make decorating any room much easier? Start with a space plan and plot out where everything will go before you buy anything. Making a plan will help you know how much room you have for furniture and can even help you plan your paint colors.
But the best advice I can offer? Relax and enjoy decorating your home, and choose colors you’d love to live in!
Tags: Color, Grey, Interior design, Paint