Ask Mr. Fix it

Is there a room in your home that you’d like to spruce up without breaking the bank? Decorating with color is an inexpensive way to make over any room in your home. Changing your color scheme, with only a new coat of paint and new window coverings can make a world of difference! That look you’re just plain tired of can be transformed into a fresh and original “new” room.

We spend years building up quality furnishings as we go along. Home furnishings are costly to replace. Besides, we choose such items carefully – they’re meant to last. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water! Decorating with color can solve many a room woe.

Let’s use a living room as an example case. You have a patterned sofa, or maybe two, some wood end tables, coffee table and a nice Oriental rug with an intricate design of many colors. Your walls are white. Take a look at how the colors integrate into your basic theme. Ask yourself how a different color for the walls would impact the overall effect. If you have dark colored curtains, how would white lace curtains change the proportion of colors? What about levelors or wooden louvers?

Successful decorating with colors requires a balanced look. If your room has a heavy, dark look, choose colors that brighten and lighten. If the appearance is sterile looking, due to too much white and light neutral shades, look to add some pizazz with bright or deep shades. Walls and window coverings comprise a large percentage of the color in any room. If your room layout allows, consider painting just one wall in a shade that compliments your furnishings without overwhelming.

In the case of white walls and dark patterned curtains, perhaps you just have the balance wrong. Perhaps you should leave the walls white, and replace the window coverings with wooden louvers. The louvers will pick up the wood in the furniture, provide a contrast to the white walls, and dispense with the cluttered or heavy look of your current window coverings. Decorating with color is the art of balancing proportions. Your talent in decorating with color may be simply undiscovered!

When you’ve made your initial assessment of “what’s wrong with this room?”, jot down some notes on the colors you think might work, and head for the paint store. Collect paint chip samples, and look for brochures on decorating with color. Then make a trip to a fabric store or window coverings supply house and gather some samples.

Enlist the help of your salesperson. They’re well acquainted with the nuances of decorating with color. Bring photos of the room if possible.

You may be surprised to find that decorating with color can be an inexpensive and gratifying experience. With a brand new room to boot!

Tags: home improvement, plumbing, house additions, landscaping, home repair