Tired of white and beige decor? Try cobalt blue or fire engine red instead.
There are plenty of ways to add color to your home. The key is deciding how much and where to add it.
Start by selecting two or three focal points throughout the house. On the first floor, the foyer, kitchen and family room are good places to start. Then look for colors that will blend with your existing furnishings while still adding some drama.
In the foyer, consider adding a fresh coat of paint to set the tone for the house. A blue or yellow paint with warm tones will change the look of a room and make it more inviting. There also are several textured painting techniques that can add more dimension to the walls. Painting also is an inexpensive way to update a house.
For a more traditional look, try a sage or camel color on the wall. This adds a deep color and brings in earth tones, which blend with many color schemes. By painting the trim white, you can help define the woodwork and accentuate the rich color on the walls.
When selecting colors, look for two or three that will be used throughout the house. Then use them in varying degrees of intensity, depending on the room decor.
“You want to have a few colors that travel through the house,” said Helen Velas, president of Eleni Interiors, an interior design firm in Naperville. “If you’re in the green family, then you should have a little bit of it in every room.”
The sage color might be used on the kitchen countertop, then as an accent color in the kitchen wall or floor tile, for example. A lighter shade of sage would then be painted on the walls of the adjacent family room or used as the trim color throughout the first floor.
If you are replacing a ceramic tile floor, look for ways to bring in color through accent tiles placed randomly throughout the floor or borders that frame the room. When used in the foyer, hallway and kitchen, the color provides continuity throughout the first floor.
Another way to add color in a kitchen is with appliances. In recent years, many manufacturers have added blue, green, red and even pistachio appliances to their product lines.
“For people who want to show off what they bought, they can use colors,” said Christopher Hubbuch, manager of services and public relations for KitchenAid appliances in Benton Harbor, Mich. “It can be as simple as stainless steel, but we’re also seeing a trend in actual colors, like cobalt blue.”
A few years ago, KitchenAid made a blue refrigerator to use as a display in a show room, Hubbuch said. The model received so much attention that they decided to add it into the line. The company now uses cobalt blue on “everything from dishwashers to trash compactors to refrigerators,” he said.
If you want a bold look, buy all the appliances in the same bright color. If you want to accent one area of the kitchen, buy a blue dishwasher to contrast with a white refrigerator, range and microwave.
Those who want to add small doses of color should look at their accessories. A few flowered pillows on a cream colored couch or one red vase on a white kitchen table might be enough to change the look of a room. Those who are hesitant about adding color should try it in places that can easily be changed. The paint on the walls and the window blinds are easier to change than a ceramic tile floor or a green marble fireplace surround.
Color can be a powerful tool to help change your decorating theme. The trick is to decide how much is enough, then take the plunge.
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Have questions or information to share about the remodeling process? Write to Allison E. Beatty, in care of the Your Place section, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., 4th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611.
