COLUMN: Accent colors create drama

DEAR GAIL: My husband and I purchased an 8-year-old house and want to re-paint the interior before we move in. We prefer a neutral but rich color in the main areas, but are not afraid to add color as an accent. How do we make a color decision? -- Camryn D.

DEAR CAMRYN: Paint is the least expensive way to change a room, but for some homeowners, selecting a color is a task to be feared. Some people are afraid to choose an interesting color, so they simply settle for a practical palette of neutrals. Neutrals are a good backdrop to a color scheme, but bolder accent colors are what make a home dramatic and unique.

Before you pick up paint swatches at the store, consider the following: What is already in the room? What is the overall color scheme? What mood you do want to create? What is the style and décor of the room and those adjacent? What effect will the color have on the room's perceived size? Will you tire of the color?

Look at your fabrics, flooring, artwork and accessories, and let them be your inspiration. Pick up a fandeck of colors and match each color that is already in your room to a sample and pull it out of the fandeck. Look at these colors and see if you are drawn to any of them. Remember, you do not have to paint all of the walls the same color. Also look at the architectural features in your room. Do you have niches, columns, mantels, pot shelves, popouts, arches or molding? These can all be painted your accent colors.

Color helps set the mood in a room, so consider the room's function when selecting colors. Color impacts our mood, appetite and energy level and even elicits specific responses. Warm colors such as red, orange and yellow are strong and evoke passionate and powerful responses. Cool colors such as blue, green and violet create a peaceful, tranquil and restful feeling.

The color you select will also affect the perceived size of the room. You can manipulate the visual effect with your color and paint selections. As a general rule, light colors will make a room appear and feel larger, while dark colors will make a room appear and feel smaller. A monochromatic and flowing color scheme will make an area larger, where multiple colors and color changes from room to room will appear smaller or busier.

With your colors in hand, buy a quart of each color you are considering in the finish you will be using. A satin or eggshell finish is more durable and allows for easy cleaning. Purchase four pieces of poster board for each color. Paint the poster board and tack up to the walls. Do not paint the colors directly on the walls as this will not allow you to move the color around the room to see how it looks next to furniture, artwork, window treatments, flooring or to other walls at different times of the day. Plus, colors next to each other will affect each other in appearance and depending upon the color, you may have to prime over the areas so that you can start with a clean canvas.

Be adventurous -- pick a color you love 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.

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