(Before)

To be honest, I just figured out how to add a picture to my blog! So, my first picture needed to be in color and about color! Bold beautiful color! Most people are very hesitant to add strong colors on their walls, and for good reason. Many people have tried and failed to get the 'right' shade of color on their walls and have debated about the 'accent' wall having the strong color against the remaining white walls. Will it make the room seem smaller? What wall should I put the color on? etc. So, let's cut to the chase and give you some guidance.

1) It REALLY helps to have before and after pictures to convince yourself and your loved ones that color can be a wonderful thing.

2) Strong colors work really well with other strong colors. (see the picture above) If you are working with a pure hue, then the supporting colors should also be a pure hue. If you are working with a greyed down muted color, then the supporting colors should also be greyed down.

3) Most people make the mistake of choosing one strong color to put on one wall and leaving the rest of the walls white. NO, no, no. Contrasting colors such as a red wall against a white wall, are attention getters. It is not the red color, it is the contrast of the red against the white. In this example the contrast will jump out at you, making the room seem smaller. What you want to do is have equally strong colors on the supporting walls (see picture above), or, perhaps the strong color on all the walls.

This 'living room' was 9' x 10', doesn't it look much bigger?

4) If you have nice architectural features you should show them off by utilizing alternate colors (see the picture at the top). If you hate the architectural features, hide them by painting everything the same color.

5) Keep everyone healthy, purchase low to zero VOC paint. If you are scraping off old paint and your home was built before 1978, please read my blog on lead poisoning.

6) Finally, save yourself some grief and hire a professional to help you. Two hours of consultation will save you hours of painting and repainting your rooms. It will also save you the cost of the gallons of unused paint that will be sitting in your garage for the next 10 years. :)