Color Me Home, Episode 002: Choosing Colors You'll Love!

In this episode, Betsy and Dan discuss several ways that will help you make sure that the next colors you choose are colors that will be perfect in your home!

Color Me Home Podcast, Episode 001: Finding Inspiration for Your Next Color Scheme

Simply White: Making Home Feel Like Home

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It's old news, I know, but the color of 2016 is white. Yeah. White.

Oh, technically it's #OC-117 Simply White from Benjamin Moore, but, for all practical purposes, it's white.

And that seems so profoundly... boring. White? The Benjamin Moore color system is home to over 3,500 bright, soft, wild, calming, deep, muted colors and the best they could come up with for 2016 was white?

A few months ago when the news came out, I thought it was crazy. The bold joke of some group of color professionals at Benjamin Moore who just didn't care anymore. A group of people who, while sitting around sipping designer drinks, decided collectively: "let's go into that meeting tomorrow and tell them white and see what happens! It'll be hilarious!"

Yet, instead of being laughed out of whatever official color meeting took place, nobody got the joke and white was officially enshrined as the color of the year. 

White?

That's what I thought, anyway.

And then I saw some of the photos Benjamin Moore was using in their promotions. I read some of the explanations, the stories, the Narrative (with a capital "N"). And it started to make sense. Here are 3 reasons why I've changed my mind on Simply White.

Read the rest on our blog at repcolite.com

Save $5 per Gallon with Benjamin Moore Color Samples Purchase!

Don't just guess. Know what colors you're getting before you buy. Benjamin Moore Color Samples will show you how our colors will look on your walls, house, porch, or anywhere else you want new color. It is the best method to make sure you're satisfied with your color selection before picking up a brush. 

And now, until the end of September 2015, you'll get a coupon worth $5 off your next gallon of Benjamin Moore Paint* (up to 5 gallons per coupon!) with every Color Sample purchase at all RepcoLite, Port City Paints, and Snyder Paints locations.

The coupon can be used anytime from now until December of 2016, so even if you're not ready for paint yet, it's a perfect way to save some cash on your next decorating project!  

If you're contemplating a project and aren't sure exactly what color is going to be best, stop in at any RepcoLite, Port City Paints, or Snyder Paints store and purchase a Color Sample pint or two. You'll be able to find your perfect color AND you'll take home some serious savings at the same time! It's perfect!

*Savings is good on any of the following Benjamin Moore Paints:  ADVANCE, ARBOR COAT, AURA, BEN, KITCHEN & BATH, NATURA, and REGAL SELECT.  

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

Coupon valid for $5.00 off retailers suggested retail price per gallon of up to 5 gallons of Aura, Regal Select, Natura, Ben, Arbor Coat, Advance, and Kitchen & Bath. Must present this coupon to redeem. Only original offer will be honored, no photocopies or faxes will be allowed. Limit one offer per customer at participating retailers. Products may vary from store to store. Subject to availability. Retailer reserves the right to cancel this offer at any time. Cannot be combined with other offers. Coupon expires December 2016.

Enter Our "Bring the Paint Store Home" Contest!

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Standing at a color display in a paint store can be overwhelming. But how about looking at all those colors from the comfort of your own home?  It's well known that our perception of a given color changes in various lighting conditions.  That's why we always recommend that our customers take some paint chips home and look at them in their own lighting before they purchase paint.  However, that's not always convenient.  

We want to make that a little easier for 6 lucky winners!  Now through February 20, RepcoLite and Benjamin Moore Paints are partnering to give away 6 sets of Benjamin Moore Color decks.  Each set includes Benjamin Moore's Color Preview Deck, their Classic Colors Deck, their Affinity Deck, and finally their Williamsburg Collection.  

No purchase is necessary (though you do need to be able to pick the prizes up in one of our store locations!).  Check out the entry form above and enter as often as you like.  The more you enter, the more chances you have to win!  Winners will be announced on February 20!

3 Reasons to Go Neutral When Selling Your Home!

My wife and I just bought a new home. And while everything ended well, the process of searching was not without its fair share of stress. However, despite all that, I discovered that touring many different homes and asking questions like "can we live here" was also very interesting and very eye-opening to me.

See, usually, I think and talk about paint and colors and decorating from the perspective of a homeowner who plans on staying in his or her home indefinitely. I generally talk about the importance of decorating with color, about putting your personality into your choices and all that. However, as I toured many of these homes, looking for one to purchase and move my family into, I kept thinking--over and over--how I wished the sellers had potentially put just a little bit less of themselves and their personality into the paint jobs.

As I said earlier, it was a bit of an eye-opener for me--and something that I failed to do myself in my own home--but it made me realize that when it comes to selling your home, neutral beats color almost every time. Here are just a few reasons:

1.  Color often requires a repaint. Neutrals never do. Bold, interesting color schemes built around your furniture and decor are tremendously effective ways to infuse a home with life and personality. And if you're staying there, that's great. However, if you're selling your home think about it: the colors are built around your furniture and your personality. New buyers look at them and think: "Wow, almost everything here will need to be repainted before we can put our stuff in here."

Neutral colors, on the other hand, may not pop with personality or excitement, but neither do they leave a prospective buyer thinking "repaint, repaint, repaint" as she walks from room to room to room. 

On the other hand, touring homes with neutral colors, I found myself saying:  "We could put some color in this room down the line, but," (and here's the money-line), "but, we can move in with it just like it is." 

Repainting a room, in reality, is not a big project, but that doesn't stop many people from thinking of it has a huge undertaking. When you fill your "For Sale" home with color, many prospective buyers walk out with an idea that a lot of work and expense is required before the home will be ready for their stuff. When you paint with neutrals, the home is move-in ready.

2.  Color is personal.  Neutral allows for multiple personalities (in a good way). Color reflects our personality, our moods. Colors on the wall of a room help to determine the atmosphere of that room--how we feel about it and how we feel in it. When you decorate your "For Sale" home in colors, you are setting the tone for a given space based on how you feel about it, on your personality.  

Decorating in neutrals, however, gives the prospective buyers the complete freedom to customize that room to fit their family, their moods, their personality. Remember:  when people go through your home, you want them to feel as if it could be theirs. When you've got your personal favorite color combinations spread thickly on every wall, it becomes a little harder for folks to picture themselves in your home. Neutrals on the walls allows the many folks with many different personalities who tour your home to each potentially picture it as theirs.makes this much easier!

3.  Colors on the wall present a finished work.  Neutrals provide a blank canvas to work on. Don't assume that neutral colors are boring and that using them means your home won't have any appeal. You can still introduce color and flair to your decorating through the use of accessories. This is perfect because it shows that your home provides an interesting setting, full of color and life. However, prospective buyers immediately realize that when those items are removed, they've got a blank canvas to put their own mark on.

My wife and I saw this over and over. Certain homes we toured had neutral walls and colorful accessories--and while we maybe weren't interested in the colors used, we spent many nights dreaming about how we could bring our colors into that home in accessories and furniture we bought, painted, or brought with us. 

We weren't thinking about the work of repainting rooms. We were thinking instead about moving in and buying new decor that would help us spread our colors and personality through the home should we buy it. There is a night-and-day difference between those two modes of thinking. If you, as a seller, have people leave your home after a walk-through dreaming about the new decor they can purchase or bring with them, you're way ahead of the seller who's prospective buyers leave wondering how much it's going to cost to cover the lime green bathroom walls.

Of course, color works when selling homes.  Of course, neutrals aren't the only way to go.  However, I bring up these points because I was struck over and over by the ease with which I could picture my family and I living in the homes that were largely neutral.  Conversely, I was surprised how often we left the homes full of trendy colors and said things like "that house looked cool, but it definitely didn't fit our personality."  

It's color--it can be covered over.  And I know that.  Still, I found it hard to overcome the natural tendency to see someone else's color scheme as theirs, not mine.

Bottom line?  Think about it!  If you're selling your home and you're repainting, why not opt for some neutral tones? It might help you get your house off the market quicker!

3 Ways to Compromise With Your Kids about Paint Colors

Once upon a time, probably about 6 years ago or so, my wife and I walked with our kids to the Zeeland Bakery.  Caleb (who was 5 at the time) waited outside with me while my wife and the other kids sauntered into the shop and ordered various donuts and cookies and different types of bread.  (It's always a huge undertaking whenever we go to the bakery).

Anyway, while Caleb and I were waiting outside, a lady walked by with a 1-year-old boy in a stroller.  I smiled at the lady and Caleb smiled at the lady and he even went so far as to say "Hello."  I was proud that the little guy was so polite.  And it was this pride which eventually led to my downfall.

See, as the lady was walking away, but while she was still within earshot, I thought I'd demonstrate how polite and kind my little guy was.  So I said, loud enough for the lady to hear, "Wasn't that a nice little boy?"

Oh, it was a question that he should have been able to hit out of the park.  It was an easy one.  A no-brainer.  All he had to say was "Yes Dad, that boy seemed very nice, indeed."  Had he said that, the lady would have thought I was a super parent because I'd raised such a wonderfully polite little lad.  In fact, I figured there was always the off chance that she'd turn her stroller around, shake my hand and ask my advice as to how to raise her own child.

Yes, my mind was brimming with the possibilities and the glory when Caleb spoke up.  He raised his little voice to match my raised voice and suddenly, as is always the case when this kind of thing happens, the entire world quit moving.  Suddenly, there were no cars--no road noise.  The shop doors quit opening and closing.  The clocks that had been ticking ceased their workings for a few split seconds.  Even the birds and the wind and the airplanes and the fountains went silent.  A whisper at one end of Main Street would have been audible at the other.  And it was into this utter and complete silence that Caleb bellowed his answer, informing me, the lady, her poor, poor child and everybody else within earshot that, "No," he didn't think that kid was all that much.  "In fact," he went on to say, "the kid was actually kind of ugly.  His ears were big and his nose was all turned up and his eyes were squinty.  Like a rat."  As if this wasn't bad enough, Caleb ended by informing me (and all of Zeeland) that he had only said "hello" to the kid because "he felt sorry for him."

Well, I just stared at him in horror and disbelief as he continued to rattle off all sorts of uncomplimentary descriptions that reverberated off the buildings and up and down the silent streets.  Silent, that is, except for the wildly squeaking wheels of the lady's stroller as she pushed her child rapidly away from that horrible father and his nasty little son....

I mention this little episode partly as penance but also because it's the perfect example of how kids think and act.  If you ask for a child's opinion, you're going to get it.  They'll typically tell you exactly what they think.  Problem is, while they're usually honest, they don't always exercise the best judgment.

In an earlier article (which you can read HERE), I suggested that it's important to involve your kids in the process of decorating their rooms.  You should let them pick the colors, ask them what they like and what they hope to see in their rooms.  However, when you do that, you're going to have to be ready for some crazy answers from time to time.  In fact, when you ask an 8-year-old what colors he'd like on his walls, don't plan on hearing him say "Oh, a nice medium-beige with an earthy brown would do just lovely."  No, get ready for black and orange (halloween colors).  Or bright blue and red and yellow (Superman colors).  

So, with that said, if you do decide to let them help you decorate their own rooms (which I still believe to be a great idea), you better have a method in mind as to how to incorporate their ideas without completely abandoning the overall look of the room.  You both need to be happy with the outcome.  And that means compromise.  Here are 3 tips:

PICK AN ACCENT WALL

When your kids choose the brightest yellows and oranges, the flashiest greens and blues, a great compromise is to paint one of the walls--an accent wall--with one of those bright, flashy colors.  Have them settle on which color they like best and see if you can't work that into a small wall--a wall with a window or a door.  

Now, in most cases, when you paint an accent wall, you'd pick the focal point of the room to do this with.  In this case, however . . . well, not so much.  If you're trying to minimize the effect of the color, then picking the focal point of the room is the last thing you want to do.  Just pick a small wall--a wall that's not the first thing you see when you walk into the room--and see if you can't put their color there.  They'll be happy, feeling proud when they see their bright wall and you'll be happy because the room doesn't glow like the face of the sun.

PICK MUTED VERSIONS OF THEIR COLOR

Another great compromise that sometimes works in the paint store is to steer kids toward more muted versions of their colors.  If they love bright reds and yellows, maybe throw out some options like a rusty red or terracotta and a more muted yellow.  Sometimes they'll see these new colors and be completely willing to compromise.  Again, with this type of scenario, both of you can potentially reach a mutually happy outcome.

ACCESSORIZE, ACCESSORIZE, ACCESSORIZE

Perhaps the best way of working wild, crazy colors into a decorating scheme is to bring those colors in with accessories.  If your kids want to see black and orange or some other funky combination of colors on their walls, but you can't bring yourself to do it, then offer this:  coat the walls with a nice neutral color and then bring in accessories that fit your child's desired color scheme.  Bring in lampshades with bright colors, find art prints with the colors, switchplates and any number of other accessories that will serve to fill the room with the chosen colors without overloading the walls and driving you crazy.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The bottom line is this:  when you bring your kids into the decorating picture, you've got to be ready to compromise.  Don't let them decide everything when you hate what they're coming up with.  Likewise, don't decide everything yourself when they hate what you're coming up with.  You both have to be happy with the outcome for this little project to work.  If you hate the room, you're always going to feel irritated when you walk past it.  If they hate the room, don't worry, they'll find a way to let you know about it.  

So work together, have fun, and compromise!

Let Them Help: Decorating With Your Kids' Input!

Every now and then I hit upon something that I know is a good idea. And, though this doesn't happen very often, this is one of those times. There's no way around it: decorating your kids' rooms with their help is a great opportunity for you and for them. Oh, I know there are lots of little bugs in the idea and potential complications--but that doesn't change the fact that it's a good thing to do.  

Taking a room that was decorated with younger kids in mind and turning it into "hip, way cool pad" is a great way to let your kids know that YOU know that they're growing up. Taking down the wallpaper borders of stuffed bears and turtles and replacing it with something more age-appropriate will make your kids feel important. And involving them in that process, seeking their input and listening to their suggestions will make them feel that they are on the path to growing up--they're actually an active force in the creation of their new room.

Surprise Makeovers are Cool on TV, But Not So Much In Real Life

If you still need convincing that it's a good idea to involve your kids in the process, then think about it this way: on TV, surprise makeovers are cool. They really are. But that's because we don't normally watch the recipient of the new room beyond their initial reaction. We see them when they first whip off a blindfold and stand blinking and squinting in the bright lights as they try to take in their new surroundings. Everybody's happy and giggly and the show ends. We don't see the couple standing there 12 hours later, now that the cameras and energetic TV personalities are gone, staring at the new walls and wondering what happened and how anybody ever thought that bright orange was a good look.

 

Your kids feel the same way about their room as you would about your home. Their room is their space--their world away from the world, especially as they get older. Just as you wouldn't likely appreciate it if your husband or your neighbor just dropped by one afternoon and repainted your living room in colors of their choosing, neither will your kids necessarily be receptive to the changes you bring about one day while they're off at school. Your vision for their room isn't necessarily their vision for the room. You've got to make it your goal to discover a mutually acceptable vision.

 

Involve Them, But Remember Their Limitations 

To that end, involve them in every aspect of the process. Take them to the store and let them look at colors. Let them flip through wallpaper books and mural books. Let them explore the world of Faux Painting. However, make sure that you keep the outings short and sweet--no marathon shopping trips that will frustrate and wear your kids out. Remember that their attention spans are not like yours--keeping the trips to a limited amount of time will make sure both of you enjoy the outings. And don't forget to think bigger than just a trip to the paint store or the furniture store: try to tie your decorating trips in with a nice dinner out or something like that. 

 

Taking the kids to the paint store and listening to their suggestions and then taking them out to dinner will be one of those special moments kids remember. If you treat their opinions as valid options and listen to their thoughts and take the time to discuss things with them over dinner, they will start to feel like an intricate part in the decision process. And trust me, I may have young kids and I may not have had much experience in the world of psychology, but I know this is a good thing. You don't have to be a genius to see that by involving your kids in something so small as decorating their rooms, you're basically telling them that their opinions matter and that you value their thoughts. 

 

What If . . ? 

Alright, now you're probably thinking that I'm living in a world where everything is puppy dogs and lollipops. Sure it sounds good to involve the kids in the decorating process, but what's going to happen when they pick out Sponge-Bob Yellow and Bright Red for their walls?  We'll cover that in the next post.

Decorating Made Easy: Decorating with the 60-30-10 Rule

The 60-30-10 rule is a tested concept used by interior decorators everywhere.  It's a simple proportion that spells out the ideal amounts of color to use in your decorating.

To keep it as simple as possible, 60% of your room should be composed of your dominant color, 30% should be composed of a secondary color and that final 10% should be reserved for accents.  Now, maybe that sounds a little confusing . . . so here are some examples:

This room is a perfect example of the 60-30-10 rule in practice.
60% = Lavendar (walls and blanket)
30% = White (bed and fireplace)
10% = brown/tan (chairs, dresser, floor) 

Another great example:
60% = Tan (walls, floors) 30% Brown (couch, tables)
10% Blue and White (pillows, vases, etc.)

A classic example showing that you don't need a soft, muted color on your walls to make this work.
60% = Red (walls, accessories)
30% = Cream (furniture, rug)
10% = Tan (floor, accessories)

Another great example that clearly demonstrates that the main color doesn't need to be calm, simple, neutral or BORING!
60% = Green (walls, accessories)
30% = White (furniture, art prints)
10% = Dark Brown (floors, chair legs)

An example that proves you can use the 60-30-10 rule to work incredibly vibrant and bold colors
smoothly into your decorating.
60% = Blue (walls, light)
30% = Pink (bedspread, chair, painted leaves)
10% = White (trim, doors)

The color options are endless and it's not difficult to see that using this rule helps you keep your color scheme under control and helps you produce an end result that's very focused, very clean and very inviting!

Bad Uniforms and What They Teach Us About Paint

The year was 1976.  The team was the Chicago White Sox.  The Sport?  Major League Baseball.  Yes.  Major League Baseball.

Maybe some of you remember this, maybe this is new to many of you, but for 3 games in 1976, the White Sox sent their players out on the field wearing...yes, shorts.  And not cool, baggy shorts.  No.  Tight, clingy shorts.  With their socks pulled up all the way to their knees.  

This alone would have been bad--a fashion faux-pas of epic proportions--but the designers of this sleek little number weren't done.  They added to the shorts what would have been a boring white shirt were it not for the GI-NORMOUS 1970's black collar.  

Together, the whole outfit was so horrible, I'm pretty sure opposing teams refused to even take the field against the White Sox.  White Sox players themselves likely spent hours in counseling and therapy sessions after being ridiculed and laughed into oblivion by former fans.  

And yet, what's interesting to me is that underneath that ridiculous outfit, these men were still Major League Baseball players.  They are/were more successful than me by a long shot and yet, looking at the pictures, it's almost impossible to think of them that way. 

It's a perfect example of that old saying about how the clothes make the man (or, of course, woman).  When we say that, we know that clothes don't CHANGE who we are, but they certainly affect how we are perceived.

For example, think of the manliest man playing the game today--I'm not going to name names, you just get somebody in your mind.  Picture that player and then dress him--in your mind--in this bozo outfit from the 1970s.  Give him shorts and white socks with black stripes pulled up to his ankles.  Put that little shirt on him with the big fluffy disco collar.  I guarantee if you do that, you'll be unable to take him seriously.  The goofy get-up doesn't change who he is, but it certainly changes who we think him to be.

Now let's shift gears and talk about paint.

Your home--your living room, your kitchen, the exterior of your home itself--can be in great shape.  It can be solid, well-built, brand-new.  It can be composed of the highest quality materials and consist of the best workmanship known to mankind.  It can be all of those things, but if the paint colors are boring or were poorly chosen, all of the quality underneath remains hidden.  

Look again at the pitcher in the top picture.  He may be a tremendous athlete (and even if he wasn't, he's still likely 20X more fit than most of us).  And yet, even though that may all be true, he looks so silly in his little shorts and his big collar and pulled-up socks that I look more manly sitting here typing this story about paint colors than he does throwing curveballs and 4-seam fastballs.

As I said earlier, clothes MAKE the man--they alter our perceptions--and the same is true with your home.  You can take the best, highest quality workmanship and hide all that quality beneath poor paint jobs and lousy color choices.

It's a remarkable concept:  an athlete takes years and years of sweat and work and effort to hone him or herself to be the best he or she can be in their sport.  Just like those White Sox players.  And yet, all that work can be tossed out in a minute when you cover them over with a stupid-looking uniform.  You can spend hours and hours and tons of money making your home exactly the way you want it, but if you choose the wrong paint color--something that simple and that superficial--the rest of the work is cheapened.

So all that to say, choose wisely.  Color matters.  The right colors can make your home look like something out of a magazine and the wrong colors can make it look like kids built it.  Choose the right colors! 

4 Tips to Help You Paint (Successfully) With Color!

Have you tried bringing color into your home only to find that it didn't work?  That the colors didn't look good together?  That they were too bold or too overpowering?  And then, when that happened, did you simply go back to painting in soft whites and neutrals?

This happens to a lot of people we run into at RepcoLite--they branch out into the world of "color" only to find that the colors they chose didn't look very good.  Typically, many of those folks then assume that "color's not for them" or that "they're just not cut out to decorate in color" and they return to the safety of neutral.

If that's you, then hold on for a second:  color adds interest and visual appeal to our decorating.  It can take a boring room and turn it into something that turns heads and starts conversations.  The trick is to use the right colors in the right quantities. 

And here are 4 quick ideas to help you do that:

• CHECK OUT YOUR COLOR IN ALL LIGHTING SITUATIONS:  Many folks come into the store, pick out some color samples, scrutinize them, and then order a gallon or two of paint.  Then they go home and paint their walls only to find that when night comes and the room darkens the color's way too dark on their walls.  Avoid this mistake by taking your color chips home and examining them in YOUR lighting and in all lighting situations.  Look at the colors at night in the rooms in which they'll be well before you start rolling them out!

• CHOOSE YOUR PAINT LAST:  In the decorating process, many folks start with the paint.  They'll come to the paint store and try to establish their paint colors before they step into the furniture stores or the carpet stores.  This is a mistake.  Folks will come in, pick a bold, bright color for their walls, and then later discover they can't find a couch or carpet that looks good with those colors.  They then, mistakenly, assume that bold colors are just not their thing.  The problem isn't bold colors, it's the timing of the color choice.  Remember:  Paint is the most adjustable aspect of any home decorating project and should therefore, be selected after everything else is chosen.  First find your couch, your carpet, your wall hangings, etc. and then have the paint made to pull colors from those items.  Doing it this way makes decorating with color easy.  Doing it backwards makes decorating with color seem impossible!

• PLAN AHEAD:  Another thing to think about applies especially to those folks who are working their way through their house.  They start with one room, get it finished and then move on to the next one.  If this is you, plan your steps and your decorating with an eye on your next move.  Don't find a beautiful, bold color for your living room, make everything work together beautifully only to discover that you have no idea what color will go with it when you move to your hallway.  Plan your living room with your hallway in mind.  Make sure the colors will harmonize as you work your way through the house.  

• DON'T BE FOOLED BY COLOR CHIPS:  This last tip is important!  When you look at a standard color chip, you'll see a light color at the top and a darker version of that color at the bottom with five or six variations in between.  The typical response many of us have to this way of displaying color is to assume that the top color is an off white.  From there, we gauge the depth of the subsequent colors on the chip.  The mistake comes in our initial assumption:  often, the colors on the top of the chips are already significantly darker than off whites.  So, while the third color on the chip may look--by comparison to the other colors--to be a "medium-toned" color, we are often surprised to see how dark it actually is on our walls.  So all that to say, one of the best things you can do is take that color swatch you like and hold it up to some standard whites or off whites to give yourself a good perception of the true depth of the colors--that way you won't be too surprised when you get them on your wall.

"Quick Hitter" Project #3: Painting an Accent Wall

It's been a while since we tossed up a "quick hitter" project--a project that should take you less than a couple hours and cost you less than $40--so I thought I'd pitch this one to you:  painting an accent wall.

Painting an accent wall is an ideal project for the decorator on a budget.  You can usually get by with less than a gallon of paint and the time it takes to paint one wall is, typically, about 1/4 of the time it takes to paint an entire room.  (I'm throwing fractions around here just to show off  my vast knowledge of math.)

Alright, with that said, let's clarify what we're talking about here.  Painting an accent wall means taking a wall--the focal point of the room--and painting it a different (typically darker) color than the rest of the room.  And that's it.  You don't paint the other 3 walls, you don't repaint your trim or your ceilings.  You paint one wall a different color than the other 3 and you're done.  

Now, while that sounds easy, there are a couple things to think about when you tackle this project:

YOU'VE GOT TO PICK THE RIGHT WALL 

This is probably the biggest question folks deal with when they tackle this accent wall project:  which wall do I choose?  Typically, the answer you'll get from paint people and do-it-yourself decorators alike is "paint the first wall you see when you walk into a room."  

Now, while that may not be always wrong, it's certainly not always right.  The correct answer is this:  "paint the wall that your eye is naturally drawn to after you've entered a room."

For example, if you walk into a bedroom, often times, as you approach the room, the first wall you see through the doorway is the side wall.  Once you enter the room, your eye doesn't linger there, though.  Instead, your eye is naturally drawn to the wall that the bed stands against.  That wall is the "focal" wall, the wall that you should consider for your accent wall.

So don't spend so much time considering which wall you see first upon entering a room.  Instead, spend more time looking around and noticing where your eyes are drawn.  If you've got a fireplace in a living room, that wall is typically the focal wall.  Painting an accent color against that wall will make your fireplace stand out, will draw attention in that direction and will give your room that "designer feel."  Other typical, natural focal points can be large paintings or a mirror, dominant pieces of furniture (a couch against a wall for example), or even an archway or a set of french doors.  The walls that these items sit against, on, or in are candidates for the focal wall of the room.  

PICK THE RIGHT COLOR

Once you've selected the right wall for your project, the next thing to consider (and, honestly, the last thing) is this:  what color?  

Often, when we hear the word "accent color" we think of orange.  Or red.  Or bright green.  Or maybe a dark, dark blue.  Basically, we think of bold, crazy colors.  But don't limit yourself in that regard.  

Always remember that the depth or "boldness" of a color is subjective--it's determined largely by the colors around it.  If you've got a soft tan or an off white on all the walls of a room, even a mid-range blue or an earthy green would function as an "accent color".  In fact, an orange in a room like that would be really difficult (not impossible, but difficult) to pull off.

Conversely, if you have a room of medium to dark tones, you could go either direction.  A bold orange, green, red, blue, brown could potentially be a tremendous accent color to put on that one focal wall.  But, so also could an off white.  If the rest of your room has some color and depth to it, even an off white can function as an accent color.

So, all that to say, don't limit yourself (and scare yourself away from the project) by thinking that in order to do the project justice, you'll need to pop open a can of "safety orange" and kiss your calm, peaceful room goodbye. 

A great way to pick a color for an accent wall is to look to your fabrics--pull one of the colors out of the throw pillows on the couch or the comforter on the bed.  Look to any art you have on the walls--is there a color in there that would look great on one single wall of the room--possibly the wall the picture itself is hanging on?  What about the carpet?  The window treatments?  

Anyway, you get the idea.  Find a wall, pick a color and spend a couple hours this weekend or next painting that one single wall and you'll be amazed at the results!

Sheep from Norway and Web-Based Color Tools

Sometimes, the most difficult part of the painting process is picking the right colors.  After all, nobody wants to spend money and time on a project only to end up with colors they don't like all over their walls.  For that matter, nobody wants to spend time and money on a project only to end up with colors that they "like" on their walls.  We want to go through the work of that painting process and end up with results we love. 

And so, many would-be home re-decorators find themselves bogged down in the very first step of the painting process:  color selection.  Because really, it's all about color.  If you put the right combination of colors together, the project turns out great.  Use the wrong colors and it's not going to matter whether or not you used the highest quality paints, the best brushes and roller covers made from the wool of spotless sheep raised in the pristine, picturesque landscapes of Norway (or wherever).  All the fancy tools and quality paints in the world can't save you from a bad color combo.  

Color's critical to every paint project and finding your inspiration isn't always easy.  As a result, many people start a project expecting to make big changes in their home.  By the end of the project, however, they find that they've fallen back into old standards they've become comfortable with.  They know those color schemes worked in their home and they know they're safe.  But we also all know that "safe" isn't always fun.  

Finding new colors, new combinations, exciting themes seems tricky, but it doesn't need to be.  In fact, the internet is filled with great color tools that will help you visualize color combinations you may never have thought of before.  These tools are designed for various purposes, but all of them can be used by the savvy home re-decorator to narrow down her colors, and, most importantly, to help her step outside of her standard color schemes. 

Benjamin Moore's Color Chooser

The first online tool I want to recommend to you is the Benjamin Moore Color Chooser.  This is a standard tool designed specifically for selecting paint color combinations.  

When you click the link, you'll be taken to a page where you can create your own projects, store colors and do all kinds of other tasks.  But the main thrust of the site is to allow you to pick from a variety of sample room photos and then fill in the walls, the trim, the ceilings with the Benjamin Moore Colors of your choice.  You'll be able to see how the colors interact with each other and you'll get an idea about what certain color combos might look like in your home.

Spin the Color Wheel

Another great tool is called Spin the Color Wheel.  And while it sounds like a game show, you're not going to win any prizes here (except maybe a cool color scheme for your bathroom).

Spin the Color Wheel is actually a tool that's designed to help web-designers find perfect color schemes for, well, websites.  And it's actually kind of fun.  (Even without the prizes.  Or Pat Sajak.  Or the crowd chanting "Spin. The. Wheel!")

You just go to the site and click the "Spin the Color Wheel" button on the right.  When you do so, you'll be presented with 3 random color samples.  If you don't like any of them, you can "spin again".  If you like one or two of them, you can press a little "hold" button.  This will lock this color down so it doesn't change with subsequent spins of the wheel.

After going through it a couple times, I found 3 or 4 color schemes that I thought were pretty interesting (one of which is displayed in the picture above). Oh, they may need a little tweaking here and there, but still . . . I went from having no idea what colors to choose or what would look good together to having 3 or 4 places to start from.

The Color Wizard

The Color Wizard is another web-designer tool.  But, just like the Color Wheel one we just talked about, the Color Wizard can help you narrow down paint colors and discover new themes.  

This one works based on some RED, GREEN and BLUE sliders.  You just drag the sliders from left to right and your color samples change.  Sounds pretty basic, right?  Well, there's an interesting twist to this site that makes it worth checking out:  using a selection panel on the left of the color sample window, you can select different types of color schemes.  You can select Complimentary Colors and the options you receive when you drag the sliders will represent complimentary colors on a color wheel.  Or, you could select Analagous Colors and you'll be presented with samples that are strictly analagous.  It's a great way to explore color, and, like the other tools I mentioned above, it's a great way to jump start your creative mind and help you discover color schemes you may never have considered before.

All in All...

All in all, tools like these are great ways for nervous or newbie decorators to discover color schemes and open their eyes to the wide world of color.  However, I'd recommend a couple cautions.

First, remember that the colors you see on your screen (especially when using the Benjamin Moore color chooser or any other paint-related color tool) are not necessarily accurate representations of the color in real life.  Your monitor may show colors with a greener tint than they really have, or maybe a redder tone.  In real life, when you see the chips you thought looked so good on the computer, you might find that they don't look good at all.  

But don't despair!  Use the color selection tools on the internet for a basis for color selection.  If you saw a great tan, blue and green combination, but don't like the color chips when you see them in real life, then find other chips that come close to the colors as you saw them on your monitor.  

A second caution I'd urge is this:  the web-designer tools are not going to present you with nice and tidy paint chip references.  Instead, you're going to get color names like "#FF7700" or the ever popular "#D1BEAD".  These are web colors and web-designers and other geeks know what they mean.  If you go into a paint store with those numbers, you're going to get a lot of blank stares.  So, use those colors as starting points.  Use them to figure out what colors you like to see together and then, when you go to the paint store, do your best to recreate what you found.  Good luck, have fun . . . and most importantly, get painting!

A Little Color Here, A Little Color There

Many times, people think that in order to create a room with some "visual pop", they're going to need to pop open a gallon of Safety Orange paint and roll it all over their walls.  

We tend to view that big transition from the world of "neutral" to the world of "color" as being . . . for lack of a better word . . . violent.  And not everybody is up to the challenge.  Not everybody has the intestinal fortitude to make such a bold shift.  And so, as a result, there's often a feeling of frustration that builds in the home decorator who's trying to make the change. 

There's the desire to step out into the world of color, but there's the fear they will go too far, lose control of the color and  let it overpower their room. 

And so, in the end, what often happens is this:  the people on the verge . . . the ones who'd like to bring in color, but who are a little nervous, usually end up reverting to whatever was on their walls in the first place.  Maybe they try for a darker tan than they had before, but typically, they stay in the same, safe color range.  When the room is finished and the new paint is dry, they often feel a little sense of disappointment--it doesn't look terribly different from the original.  It's safe.  It feels boring and blank.  And yet the alternative--walls splashed with Fuschia and Teal and Turquoise and Lime Green--seems too crazy, too schizophrenic.  And so, they come to despise home decorating projects.

Well, if you've ever found yourself in that place--if you've ever wanted to step out boldly with color, but have been too nervous to try it . . . well, I've got good news:  It can be remarkably easy and, most importantly, SAFE.  All you need to do is this:  bring your color in with accessories.

It's a simple solution and it's used by Designers and Professional Decorators all the time.  It's the ideal way for those just stepping into the world of color to get their feet wet.  You simply find a nice, calm, reasonable, safe neutral tone for your walls and then spice it up with accessories.   

Paint some of your boring picture frames bright pink and green.  Maybe stripe a couple of them and mount them.  Or maybe, take a look at your dresser.  Maybe you don't want to paint the whole thing, but what would happen if you painted two of the drawers?  Or, what if you'd paint just the top?  

Pick up some simple shelves and splash them with a bright color and you'll be amazed how much character they display.  These simple, boring, run-of-the-mill shelves suddenly look like designer pieces when we see them in a pink or a bright yellow.

And what about that boring lamp on the desk?  What if you'd paint the base white or neutral and then pick up a bright lampshade?  Or, reverse that:  keep the lampshade white and simple and paint the base a bright color.  

One of the most impressive uses of color in a small room that I've ever seen is pictured above.   They made perfect use of this concept:  the walls are a light, neutral green.  They're safe.  Simple.  Dangerously boring.  But then, the designers added the dark brown bedspread and the brown picture frames.  These constituted another earthy color, another safe choice, but they added to the overall effect. 

The bench with the darker green stripes goes even farther towards adding some visual interest, but I think it's easy to see that even then, the whole room has a very safe feel to it.

And then there's the bed.  The bright green on the bed suddenly gives the room a shot of life.  It makes it vibrant, exciting . . . the kind of place you walk by and then walk back to so you can take a longer look.  

And the reason it works so well is twofold:  first, the green is so bright and bold that it instantly grabs your attention.  Secondly (and more importantly), the green is in the last place we'd normally think to look.  In a normal situation, the bed might be brown and the frames might be lime green along with the legs of the bench.  And if that were the case, I don't think the room would have it's flair . . . it wouldn't make the statement that it does here.

But instead of doing that, these designers "messed with" our expectations and, in so doing, by putting the color in the last place we'd expect to see it, they created something that really stands out. The color in the room isn't overpowering, but the intelligent, controlled use of the bright green pumps vibrant life into the setting.  

And that's what I'm talking about.  You don't need to go crazy and cover your walls with  circus colors in order to spruce up your rooms and infuse them with energy.  You can do it through accessories, through the compelling choices of bright colors and interesting items, through the intelligent, well-thought out placement of these colors in areas we might not usually expect them.  Remember, you don't need a room full of color to make a statement.  You just need the right colors in the right locations.

Give it a try!

Decorating-Induced Depression (and how to cure it, cheap!)

It's funny how the human mind works.  See, earlier this week, something happened to me at home that reminded me of one of the most impressive paint-related stories I've ever heard--and what's really cool is that I was actually a part of it--kind of on the sidelines . . . watching from a front-row seat.

Now, what caused me to remember this event is not important: suffice to say, it involved children, some yelling, lots of spilling and some ketchup. But that's another story for another day. What's important now is that somehow . . . all that chaos, for some reason, reminded me of something: a life-changing painting event.

Here's what happened. About a year ago, I was working at our Lakewood Blvd. location and a couple came in with a bag full of samples: hardwood flooring, kitchen cupboards, countertops, carpet scraps, paint chips--everything. They dumped them on the counter and then the lady explained--in a very depressed way--that they had just remodelled their kitchen.

They'd put in all the materials they were showing me samples of. And they hated it--hated all of it. The floors looked terrible against the walls and the kitchen backsplash looked pink. That made the cabinets look green and on and on and on. She was really down--I could sense that immediately--and then I learned why: they had spent nearly $10,000 on the remodel and they hated it. They hated it so much that they were right then looking for new tile and considering new floors. They were thinking about tearing out what was new and starting over. From scratch. Seriously.

It was depressing. Painful.  Emotionally draining.  I can only imagine what was going through their heads.  See, if I buy a videogame that stinks, I spend 3 weeks bemoaning the fact. Ask my wife. I drop $50 and don't get the edge of my seat, laugh-til-I-drool experience I was expecting from that game, and I mope dejectedly around the house until I buy something else that I hate. Then I focus on that....

Anyway, I do that over $50. Let me drop $10,000 and hate the result and you're going to have to institutionalize me.

That's what these folks were dealing with: depression and frustration. They were looking at new materials, more time spent with their house ripped apart, more debt, more work, more inconvenience . . . all just to accomplish what they thought they were accomplishing in their first go-round. Depressing.

But I said this was an amazing story--not a depressing one. And it is. See, I handed these poor people off to one of our decorators at RepcoLite and after about 1/2 hour of talking, we made up a quart of a new paint color for their kitchen walls. The next day they were back for a couple gallons of that color--and they were excited.

See, the problem with their whole project wasn't that they chose the wrong tile and the wrong floors and the wrong cabinets. The problem--believe it or not--was that they chose the wrong paint color. The color on the walls made everything else seem disjointed. When a new color was put down--a color that complimented all the different materials--the whole room changed.

The couple came back a week or so later and to tell us the good news. Rather than having wasted $10,000 and all that time, all they needed to do was change the wall color.

Now, I bring that up for a number of reasons. First off, I write all that to let you know just how much difference the right color can make on a wall or a room or a home. It's difficult to imagine, but it's true: a new color in the same old living room, filled with the same old furniture and carpet, can make the room seem completely new. It really can--if a new paint color can make floors, cabinets and backsplashes that seem to be terrible together look great and coordinated, then think what it could do in your home.

The second reason I bring that story up is this: things are never as bad as they seem. When you're home project doesn't turn out looking as great as you thought, don't panic. Don't let yourself immediately spiral into depression. Take a step back. Take a deep breath. And then consult some experts. Chances are, everything will turn out fine in the end.

Taking the Confusion out of the Painting Equation

For the last couple posts, I've been recounting sad and potentially awkward moments that served to illustrate my broader "paint point."  See, by telling you all about my pie making fiasco or my scooter-building screw up, I tried to convey the importance of following a recipe or a set of instructions.  

When you follow the steps for any given project, things go smoothly.  When you branch out on your own and think for yourself and build or bake on the fly . . . well, it's not uncommon to have experiences like those I wrote about.

Well, this idea--following a specific order or set of instructions--doesn't only apply to scooters and pies.  It also can help you make sure that any decorating project you tackle goes smoothly and turns out well.

Believe it or not, there's a definite order in which you should make your home decorating selections.  Working outside of that order . . . or jumbling that order up . . . often leads to complications and frustration and confusion.  To keep your project on track, follow this order:

• FURNITURE:  Start with the furniture that will go in your newly remodeled room.  If the furniture is not changing, move on to the next step.  But if you're thinking about purchasing new . . . here's the place to start.  Don't start with a trip to the paint store--start at the furniture stores.  And the reason is simple:  nothing more directly relates to the comfort of a room than the furniture we put in there.  When it comes to selecting furniture, you want to have the world "wide-open" in front of you.  You don't want to be limited to a handful of color options because you've already painted your walls.  You want absolute freedom to pick whatever couch or chair or bed or table suits your fancy--no decorating limits at all.

• FLOORING:  After furniture, it's time for you to pick out flooring.  Again, you don't want to be limited by paint colors when it comes to your flooring selections, so choose them early in the project. This may not seem important, but it is.  We see it all the time at RepcoLite:  folks find paint colors they like and then look at carpet.  They find a style of carpet they love, but then find themselves utterly depressed and frustrated when they learn that carpet doesn't come in a color that works with the colors they've painstakingly selected.  Avoid this mistake by starting with carpet very early in the process.

• WINDOW TREATMENTS:  Now, this doesn't apply to every room or every remodel project, but when it comes into play, be sure to select these items before moving on to your paint. 

• BATHROOM & KITCHEN FIXTURES:  If you're working in your bathroom or kitchen, this is the point--after floors and window treatments (and furniture if applicable)--where you would nail down your faucet and fixture selections.  By this point, you'll have some idea where your project is heading and you should have very little trouble selecting the right items.  In fact, it's very interesting.  Start with this step (as I've done) in a bathroom remodel and you're only heading for heartache.  You walk into the store, look at hundreds of options of faucets and you pick one based on what you think looks cool.  Later, as the room starts to take shape, more often than not, you find that while your faucet may look cool . . . it no longer fits with the decorating scheme you've got going.  However, if you approach this selection at this stage in the process . . . after your floor and window treatments . . . chances are you'll be able to instantly eliminate 1/2 of the faucets.  You won't want the bronze ones.  Or maybe, with your decorating scheme, you'll realize that the chrome-look is definitely not going to work.  Whatever you decide, the bottom line is that choosing this item at this stage in the process will simplify your selection process.

• LIGHTING:  This step could easily be lumped in with the above step.  

• ARTWORK & WALL HANGINGS:  Now's the time when you start to flesh out your decorating.  You've found furniture, flooring, window treatments, fixtures (lights, faucets, etc.) and now's the time you start putting some color and fun on your walls.  Pick items that will look good with all your other selections--pick items that will develop your theme or the feel you want the room to have.  Pick these items and limit them only by the items you've already selected.

• PAINT:  Believe it or not . . . NOW'S finally the time you head to the paint store.  See, paint should be your last selection in the entire process.  And the reason is very simple and very straightforward:  paint is changeable.  When you find a couch you like, you'll probably have 10 (at most) potential fabric options.  Same with everything else on our list.  The only thing that is completely fluid when it comes to decorating is your paint.  At RepcoLite, we can match your paint to whatever colors you need.  We can pull a fleck of color out of your throw pillow.  We can pull colors out of your artwork.  We can match a twist of fabric in your carpet.  Paint is completely adjustable and, as such, should be the last thing you select.

Following that flow of events when it comes to any decorating project is going to simplify your project immensely.  The days of frustration and confusion will slip away and you'll find yourself actually enjoying the journey--not just anticipating the destination. 

Off On the "Blueberry Pie" Tangent

In the last post, I wrote about an experience I had with a toy that required some assembly.  I told you how I started well but then, eventually, got ahead of myself and started thinking on my own.  I discarded the instructions and put things together as I understood they would have to be put together.  This worked fine until I got to a point where I couldn't continue.  The parts I had wouldn't fit where they were supposed to.

After some frustration, I picked up the instructions and discovered I should never have attached this or that part to this or that post until the very end.  

I had stepped out of order--and I screwed everything up.  

Another example of this . . . as I was reminded yesterday . . . was a great little event my wife and I experienced shortly after we were married.  See, we were in love (and still are) . . . like all newlyweds . . . and we decided that nothing would be more romantic on a Saturday afternoon in the summer than baking a pie together.  Yeah. A Pie.

Well, that sounded like fun and so we headed in to the kitchen and compiled the ingredients.  My wife read from the cookbook and I did all the little tasks as she reeled them off.  Everything went well until she read--(and I'm screwing this up because I don't remember the exact recipe . . . so for you bakers out there . . . this is not meant to be taken as an accurate and literal recipe!)--she read, "Add 1/2 cup of sugar."

I looked at her.  She looked at me and winked.  I liked that . . . and so I measured out the sugar and dumped it into our mixing bowl with all the other things I'd amassed so far.  I looked back at her and winked.  She turned back to the book.

Clearing her throat she continued:  "Add 1/2 cup sugar . . . to a separate mixture of 1/2 cup flour and 4 eggs."  

I looked at her.  She looked at me and winked.  I looked at the bowl of other ingredients and the sugar I'd just dumped in and looked back at her.  "Babe, you said to add the sugar and now you say to add it to a separate mixture of flour and eggs?"

"Yes."

"Well, I already dumped it in there," I said, gesturing with my powdery fingers toward the big mixing bowl.

She followed my finger and looked and then said, "Hmmmm.  Why don't you try to take it out."

She looked at me and winked.  I bit my tongue.  Yeah.  Sure.  Let me just wave my magic fairy wand and I'll take out the sugar.  

I looked at the bowl and was getting ready to say something rude when I remembered that we were in love and that we were newlyweds.  So I pushed my frustration aside and started scooping.  After about 3 or 4 minutes, I'd removed most of the sugar and had it dumped nicely and stirred thoroughly through a mixture of 1/2 cup flour and 4 eggs.  Just like she said to do.

Now, we were cooking.  Stirring that mixture, I felt all my frustrations fade away.  I mean really, was it worth starting a big fight just because she read the instructions in such a way as to lead me into error?  It was just a pie, right?  We were in love, right?  Right.

When I had the mixture stirred thoroughly, I looked at her and winked.  She turned back to the book and skimmed over the instructions, trying to find her spot.  She mumbled to herself for a few seconds, until she found where she'd left off.  She smiled and read, "Add 1/2 cup sugar . . . to a separate mixture of 1/2 cup flour and 4 eggs . . . being sure to separate the yolks from the whites . . . before mixing."  She trailed off at the end and stared at the cookbook for a few seconds, re-reading.  When she looked up, she didn't wink.

I winked.  Or, I guess you'd more accurately call it a twitch.  I twitched.  A whole bunch of times.  And then the veins started pulsing on my forehead. 

We both looked down at the mixture of everything . . . yolks and whites . . . on the counter and then we both looked back at each other.  We were in love, right?  Of course. But still . . . .

And so I said, in my most loving voice (but of course, sarcasm snuck in), "Babe.  Let's try something new.  Let's read a whole sentence.  From the big Capital letter all the way to the little period at the end . . . let's read that whole thing before you tell me to do something.  Would that work?"

Well, as all husbands know, that didn't work.  Before I knew what had happened, she was sitting on the front porch rocking violently in the rocking chair and I was standing in the kitchen all by myself, covered with flour and sugar and looking at a pile of fresh blueberries and a bunch of other ingredients I didn't understand.

In the end, I produced a pie.  I'm not sure how good it was, but I do know that it took me forever to finish it.  That's not the point, though.  The point I want to convey is that things work best when you follow the intended order.  We were trying to bake our pie out of order.  We were doing things that we should have waited to do.  We were skipping steps that should have been accomplished before moving on.  And in the end, it was a confusing, head-scratching mess.

Just like my experience with the Scooter from yesterday's post.  Stepping out of order created mass confusion and problems.  It cost me extra money.  It cost me extra time.  It made me bleed on my carpet.  

And all of this ties directly to home decorating.  See, when folks overhaul a room in their home (or, remember when people used to build new houses?).  When folks overhaul a major part of their house and start over with new carpet, new wall colors, new furniture . . . new everything . . . it can be a complicated and confusing job.

I meet these people at RepcoLite all the time.  They stand at the color racks and try to figure out what in the world they should pick for their colors.  They look at over 3,000 options and before long, their brain starts to smoke.  

They grab colors they like--blues and greens and tans and greys--and then they head off to the carpet store (or, if they're at our Lakewood RepcoLite, they just turn around and browse the samples)--and they try to find a carpet they like that matches their colors.  But many times they can't--not exactly--so they decide to put that part of the decision off until later and they head to the furniture store.  There they look for couches they like and try to match one to their paint colors.  And again, 9 times out of 10, they can't do it.

Before long, they end up back at the paint store, looking for new colors.  And this time, they're even more frustrated and confused than before.  

They're starting to hate the process.  They're starting to dream about colors and they're starting to call those dreams, "nightmares."  They're arguing with their family, their tempers are short, and they're, in a phrase, "sick of it all"--the whole remodel, the redecorating, the repainting--all of it.

But there's good news!  The reason they're so sick of it--the reason you're so sick of it if you're in that same boat--is because you're most likely working out of sequence.   Is it possible you're working your way through the home decorating recipe out of order.  Are you doing what I did when my wife and I baked the pie?  Or what I did when I tried to build the scooter?  Are you doing things first that should be saved for last, you're doing things last that should have been done earlier?  Well, if you are, no doubt the whole thing is confusing, frustrating, mind-boggling.

But there's good news as I said.  There's a recipe you can follow.  It will help you discover order and clarity in your decorating process and it will make everything you do, every step you take, easier and less painful . . . and most likely, even fun.  

Tomorrow, I promise, we'll cover those steps.