PAINT – so many colors – so little time…..

When starting any type of project how do you select a color?

When our clients Heather and Joe bought their house they wanted to change the front door color. They wanted something classy, yet distinguished. They wanted a dark, rich color – but felt black and red had been overused. Blue seemed too obvious a choice for their new tan house with cream trim. They went to Home Depot and began their search. They gathered paint samples and brought them home and put them up to the front door. The best way to select a color is to use natural light. It is best because the lighting in the stores is fluorescent and it doesn't portray the color properly. Another helpful hint, tape the color choices to the wall and look it in different times of the day (for example dusk, lamplight in the evening, or first thing in the morning.)

Heather & Joe selected a gorgeous blackberry plum and changed their door handle to a black with a matte finish and it looks beautiful. Such a transformation! What draws people to certain colors? Where does the inspiration come from? For the inside of their house, Heather chose an item that gave her that creative color inspiration. It was a hand-painted box with all the colors, style, and feel that she wanted to emulate throughout their new home. She selected a beach theme. Pale yellow, soft blue, creams, and tans. This became her inspiration when selecting the wall color, bedspreads, accents, and overall home décor. Other people use pictures for their themes. Fabrics can also be a wonderful inspiration to select a color palette for your home. Heather does not claim to be a decorator, but she uses many DIY creative websites to bring those design ideas to life. Heather loves to get inspiration and prefers to create instead of purchase pieces for her home. She has ‘upcycled’ as they say many pieces of furniture. It is rewarding to take a piece and rework it into a whole new piece. Sometimes the transformation is unbelievable! So, look for inspiration and get out there this summer and freshen up your home.