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1. Paint is the first consideration when decorating a room.
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Before: This entire townhouse had off-white walls.
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Whenever possible, paint color should be one of the last things chosen. If you've ever looked through a paint deck, you know there are thousands of choices. By selecting fabric, art, rugs, window treatments, etc. you create a palette and help narrow the choices for paint. It's actually much easier to find the perfect paint color to complete a room once the color direction is already established.
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The client had everything in place but the paint on the walls which made picking colors for 12 rooms a breeze. ( Click here to see all the before/after pictures of the colors selected for this townhouse |
2. Accent walls are outdated.
Accent walls are still popular and are particularly effective in breaking up wall color in an open floor plan. When choosing an accent wall color, consider the following:
- Select a wall to accent that is worthy of the attention based on an existing focal point or the room's key architectural element.
- Choose an accent color from the existing color palette in the room and with a similar saturation (i.e., depth of color ) as the wall color to avoid overly high contrast.
 | | Before: Too strong contrast between the primary wall color and the accent wall felt unbalanced. |
 | | After: Saturation levels between wall colors are more balanced and the blue chosen was based on color inspiration in the art and fireplace tile. |
3. Using colors that look good on you is a sure bet for creating a fabulous room.
The keys to a well decorated room are: properly scaled and balanced furniture placement, a cohesive color palette, good lighting and thoughtful placement of interesting art and accessories. Creating a cohesive color palette is about flowing colors that look good together throughout the home. If it so happens that your palette is also one that you love to wear that's a bonus but not the reason to inject colors that do not fit the overall scheme you have established.
4. Use a light paint color to brighten a dark room.
 | | Before: Entry Hall and Stairway |
 | | After: Entry Hall and Stairway |
Counterintuitive as it seems, a light color will never come to life in a dark room but a deep, rich color can make a dim space feel warm and enveloping. An off-white or very pale color in the shadows of a dark room just looks gray and lifeless. It's the combination of good lighting plus a warm, rich color that brings a dark room to life and a pale, washed out color will never achieve that.
5. Dark paint colors tend to shrink a room.
High contrast (e.g., breaks between light vs. dark colors) is what tends to make a space feel smaller. Contrast issues can arise between the furniture and walls, when using different paint above and below a chair rail, or a too strong accent wall. A properly specified dark color can actually feel expansive.
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Here Laura's reaction when she got to see her home with everything in place for the first time: 
