Choosing Colors For Your Home (NAPSA)—Did you know that there are more than 200 shadesof blue and more than 100 shadesof white? Choosing a paint color can be overwhelming. Fortunately, finding just the right colors for your homecan be easy if you follow four tips from the experts: 1. Find your inspiration. Just because you haven’t thought about wall colors before doesn’t mean you don’t have favorites. Start with something you love—a fabric, a pillow or a pieceof artwork that you are truly drawn to can serve as the inspiration for decorating. If you still have no ideas, try the Color Sense Game, an engaging mix of psychology and color science that can help identify and communicate your tastes. It’s available from Pittsburgh Paints at www.voiceofcolor.com. 2. It’s never just about one color. What you wantis a color harmony family that includes a range of colors. Do you prefer colors that remind you of the sea, the forest or do you want bold contrast? Decorating requires the interplay of colors and light to be appealing. 3. Choose a collection. Good paint manufacturers have harmonious collections of colors to choose from. Pittsburgh Paints offers innovative five-color color swatches that provide color opportunities for not only paint, but all the decorating elements in your space. Use the 60:30:10 ratio of color. Chose a dominant color that will be used on 60 percent of the room (walls, floors, fabric, furniture). Then choose an intermediate color for ceilings, cabinets and smaller Choosing colors for your homeis a very personal experience. It’s all about you: your interests and your senses. furniture. Finally, incorporate one or two accents of the third color (trim and molding, pillows, rugs, accessories). To create a room of interest and warmth, your decorating palette should appear intentional. To achieve this, each key color must appear at least twice in a decor. 4. Try it on. You wouldn’t buy clothing without trying it on so why go out and buy a whole gallon of paint? Paint manufacturers offer twoounce trial-size paint samples. That way, you can see what the paint looks like on the wall. These samples can be purchased at retail paint stores or online at www.voiceofcolor.com. When applying, make sure the test area is clean and dry and remember that some colors may need two coats. Semigloss paint is very forgiving for stains, and highly reflec- tive gloss is the toughest and most durable. For more tips and information, visit www.voiceofcolor.com.
