COLORS GO COASTAL

BLUE UNDERTONES WITHOUT BEING OVERTLY BLUE....

Undertones are tricky beasts.  For example, grays are nothing but undertones - except for the pure concrete colors - it is what makes them beautiful and versatile.  Sometimes the undertone shows up more strongly than we like.  A blue undertone, for example, may be too blue on the walls.  Or is it?  Wall color, especially in an empty room, will look much stronger before furniture and furnishings are added.  Sometime it just pays to wait a little.  The wall color will fade to the background as you add your furniture and decor.

GRAY PALETTE

CREATING COLOR SCHEMES

Choosing a color palette for your home may seem daunting, but doesn't have to be all that difficult to achieve.  Just remember you are creating a backdrop - one that will compliment, but really fade to the background once you have furniture, rugs, draperies, pillows, lamps and accessories in place.  The best wall colors do.  They should sit softly in the background, supporting the overall design, but not trying to grab your attention or upstage your furniture.  Unless that is your design - but that's a whole other story...  Remember the word 'backdrop' and relax....  it's only paint....

COZY BUT NOT DARK

NEEDING OOMPH.....

Sometimes the wall colors we choose are just too saturated for the available light in a room.  If you crave light and wide open spaces - but are stuck with smaller rooms and lower ceilings - you may like to try some of the very light, barely there, grays and greige paint colors to lighten up your space.

TOO WARM

CRAVING COOL....

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Looking through Traditional Home and House Beautiful magazines this weekend, I was struck by the 'cool' palette nearly all the rooms were sporting on their walls.  From the barest hint of cool beige to light grays and deeper hues of blue gray, all were in the cooler palette.  That is not to say that the rooms were cold, or even

BEST GRAY FOR A SMALL DARK ROOM

 GIVE ME A GRAY.....

Gray.  It's a popular color in design, and not going away anytime soon.  In rooms filled with light, high ceilings, lots of white wood trim - it's beautiful and fresh.  But what about a small room, with low ceilings?  Can gray work here?