Some people view choosing colors for their home decorating scheme with as much enthusiasm as they muster for a visit to the dentist. Not me. I love color. While in all other areas of my life I am a quiet, unassuming person, the loud side of my personality comes out in my decorating. I currently have a purple living room and a red kitchen – not everyone’s taste, I will admit, but I love it.
I will admit, all those choices at the hardware paint section or the local home decorating center can be intimidating. Thankfully, choosing the right colors for your home has become much easier. Look at the colors that make you happy. Perhaps you own a scarf or skirt that you just love or a throw pillow or rug that makes you smile. Look at the colors in your garden. God is the original colorist. The colors of nature can provide a wonderful starting point.
Go to your home decorating store and pick up the folders that they have that show colors that go together. Take off the samples and stick them on your walls. (If you have children, they will love doing this!) When you have settled on a couple color choices, go back to the store and pick up samples of those colors. Thankfully, many paint manufacturers now sell small sample containers which saves having to buy a gallon of paint you may never use. Paint the samples onto your wall and live with them a while. See how the color looks at different times of day in both natural and artificial light. When you have a color you are excited about, then go back and buy a gallon. Don’t worry. Paint is as inexpensive a decorating tool as you can get. If you don’t like the finished product, simply go out and start the process again.
