Picking Colors Can Be Fun

Dear Melissa,

I have a contemporary home not large (almost a cape size) painted white and no real divider except one small wall near the kitchen. I am afraid to paint with a color because of the flow from one room to another. I have cathedral ceilings. I do need some spark added to the rooms. Please advise me. Thank you. Rose

Dear Rose:

This is the most common question I get; a lot of people are stumped by this one. I’m assuming that since you have rooms open to one another, the color schemes are already somehow related to one another. There is probably at least one color common to all the areas. The simplest option is to paint the walls a shade of this common color. If you’re timid, start with a light color – in time you’ll get bolder. Now for something with slightly more impact: try a texture on your walls in this common color. Use either a painted faux finish or a textured wallpaper – the fainthearted can try a strie pattern, a grasscloth or rag finish.

For those of you who are even more adventurous, find a contrasting or complementary color for your walls. A lot of shelter magazines publish issues on color in the spring; or look at patterned fabrics for inspiration. Here are some examples: if your color scheme is blues/greens or pinks/blues, color your walls yellow; if your color scheme is cream/tan/white, color your walls dark brown; if your color scheme is a range of pastels, try aqua or gray walls, etc. Get the idea? Picking colors can be a lot of fun. M.A.K.

What Works with Red and Purple?

Dear Melissa:

The colors in my living room are red and deep violet. I know it sounds gross, but it’s really nice. I want to recover a chair in my living room, but I can’t find the right shades of either the red or the violet, so I’m stuck. I don’t want to do a neutral and have it stick out like a sore thumb. I have looked everywhere. W.S. 

Dear W.:

I think your color scheme sounds great. Unfortunately colors come in trends, with certain shades going out of favor for a while. You don’t have to match colors for them to blend well in a room, however. Have you considered using an intermediate color to bridge the two colors – say, amethyst or wine, for instance? A bridge color wouldn’t be as obvious as a neutral. Another option would be to experiment with an analogous color like ginger or tangerine. M.A.K.