COLUMN: Gail Mayhugh

DEAR GAIL: I want to redo my house in a completely different color scheme. I've always loved orange, but it was never my husband's favorite. After 18 years, he's finally given in as long as I keep it out of his office. I'm ready to go, but want to know what other colors I can use to coordinate with orange. Any suggestions? -- Maddy M.

DEAR MADDY: Orange is one of those colors that people either love or hate. You can enjoy and appreciate it when you see it, but that doesn't mean that you want to have it yourself. It's sort of like clothes shopping with a friend. I may love how an outfit looks on my girlfriend, but you'd never see me wearing a bright yellow top with polka dot capri pants. It's just not my style.

I find that no matter what our favorite or least-favorite color is, we can appreciate all colors. Most of the time, a color will trigger a pleasant or unpleasant memory or thought. A great example is the color brown. I find that when people think of brown, their first thought is either of dirt or chocolate. When they associate brown with dirt, they will tell of a time when they were a kid and found worms while digging in the dirt. On the other hand, those who think of chocolate first, will go into detail about their favorite treat.

When decorating with orange, keep in mind that it is considered the hottest of all colors in the spectrum. This is because it gets its heat from two sources: the yellow sun and the red flame of a fire. But, it also brings to mind the sweetness of a summer's orange and the softness of a peach.

Some fun things said about people who like the color orange are that they are adventurous, good-natured and determined. They are generally successful in business as they work and play with intensity. You also should not be surprised that you have many friends since you like to be social, friendly and are probably considered charmed.

Now, onto decorating your home.

What you need to decide first is how strong you want the orange to be in your home. It will be your primary color, but do you want it to be as bright as a carrot, light as a peach, or maybe darker in ginger and brick tones? You can incorporate all of those colors if you want to create a monochromatic, or one-color, scheme. With this scheme, you select just one color and then mix it with the shade, which is the color and black; with a tint, which is the color with white; and a tone, which is the color with gray.

One easy way to look at color options is to pick up an old-fashioned color wheel like you used in elementary school. Most color wheels list the ways that you can create color schemes and show you a diagram. So, let's do a quick color wheel lesson and look at some of your options.

A complementary or contrasting color scheme uses two colors. Start with your primary color, orange, and see what color is directly opposite of it on the color wheel. It is blue. This was the first color scheme I created in design school; I still have that color board and love it.

If you are going to use these colors in their truest intensities, it will be pretty bold. But, as with any of the schemes, you can add black, white or gray to find a color that you like.

Another scheme is a split-complementary or three-color scheme. Start with orange and then select the colors that are on each side of blue, its complement color. This scheme will form an upside down "Y." You would have orange, blue-violet and blue-green.

Another scheme is an analogous, which uses three to five colors. These are colors that are right next to each other on the color wheel including your favorite, orange. Here, your color scheme would go from red all the way to yellow.

There are other schemes which include two, three and four colors that will be listed on the wheel.

Experiment with the color combinations and see what you are drawn to and what you see in fabrics that you like. What is most important in today's design is to like what is in your home. Go for the orange and enjoy.

Gail Mayhugh, owner of GMJ Interiors, is a professional interior designer and author of a book on the subject. Questions may be sent by e-mail to: gail@gmjinteriors.com. Or, mail to: 8170 S. Eastern Ave., Box 4-275, Las Vegas, NV 89123. Her Web address is: www.GMJinteriors.com.

Real Estate home