I like the color but it’s a little too….Part 2!

Back in November, we gave our lovely readers a few helpful hints on how to pick the right paint color for your walls.  We got a lot of comments on that post in regards to our patience as well as our overall craziness/indecisiveness when picking paint colors:

Believe it or not, but we probably missed about a thousand steps per the advice in the February issue of Better, Homes & Gardens (on newsstands now!).

Unfortunately, I tried to find an online equivalent of said article to no avail (sheesh, it’s like they want us to *buy* their magazines or something – hehe).  Though I will say that it is totally worth checking out the next time you are in the grocery store!  But here were a few tips that I *didn’t* mention that I thought were worth mentioning here for those looking for a little more color inspiration.  Not only are they good tips for everyone out there, but good tips for me and definitely got me rethinking my thoughts on color overall.  The quotes below are cited from Better Homes & Gardens, February 2010:

• When you’ve found the right color on a paint card, go a step lighter as colors look darker when they are up on the wall.  Unless you are after drama, then stick with the top two colors.
• “Think of hallways as palate cleansers – the sorbet that’s served before diving into the next course.  Keeping them neutral allows you to branch into any color in rooms that flow off them.” – Barry Dixon, Washington, D.C. designer (we couldn’t agree more!!!)
• “Everyone thinks of walls when they think of colors.  But using color in accessories – rugs, pillows, art – makes an amazing impression without going crazy on the walls.” – David Bromstad, HGTV’s Color Splash (is it hawt in here?)
• “The era of the bright white ceiling is over,” says Elaine Griffin, NYC designer.  Paint the ceiling a shade lighter than walls to visually raise it and avoid a jarring stop-start.  Go a shade darker to bring it down and add coziness.  (This is definitely something we are up to working on in our own house.  In the meantime, check out the following ceiling, painted a totally pop-y color of purple!  Photo courtesy of this delicious eye-candy.)

• “Break up a room of matchy-matchy wood furniture with one painted piece.  It doesn’t have to be a bold color.  I like to combine natural wood tones with black.”  – Melissa Birdsong, Lowe’s VP of trend design and brand.  (Again, what good advice!  We managed to do that when we repainted our own wood hutch, but we were totally inspired a few months back when we ran across this amazing transformation over on one of our fave blogs, Young House Love.  check out the pic below for some amazing eye candy!)

Isn’t that just amazing?!  I don’t know if I’d have the guts to paint a dresser green, but the pop of color surrounded by a completely neutral palate makes that dresser feel like it belongs in that space, wouldn’t you agree?

So there ya have it – more color tips from those that know (all those smarty-pants designers!).  Hope that you found something interesting here!  And here’s to picking the right color again….and again….and again….and….do I have to get out the paint brushes again?

L