Image from Google Images

I’m on vacation early this week, & my clients are doing some Show & Tell! Today I have the talented & adorable Jamie House, a virtual interior designer, helping you pick the best colors for your home. Where was she 8 months ago when we moved into our new apartment? Thankfully I can still use her tips as I keep decorating my new abode!

Having a hard time selecting paints?

Hi I’m Jamie of Jamie House Design! I’m so excited to do this post for Miss Amazing Michelle. I’m an interior designer & also an e-designer, which means that I work with you to design your space, online. We never meet in person, but I provide you with a room in a box essentially, everything you need to pull together a professionally designed space yourself. It’s fun to be able to work with people around the country! Ok….I’ll get on with it!

I love selecting paint colors! It’s probably my favorite part of being an interior designer. It’s also completely nerve racking. What if it’s different than I expect, what if they don’t like it….oohhh it can be stressful. But it IS the easiest way to change the look of your home. Here are 5 tips to help you!

1. Pay attention to the colors you wear everyday. Most of the time you enjoy wearing the colors you’ll enjoy living with. Say for instance you wear a lot of black. I would use black as an accent color in a primarily neutral space, possible with bright accessories. If you love orange but can’t see it on your wall you can use it as a unifying theme throughout your home, in pillows, window treatments, etc.

2. If your decorating your room around a key piece, like a sofa or rug, bring paint chips home to look at till you find some that match the piece. Then use these color chips as the foundation for selecting colors for the room.

Paint my Love by ginparis2002

3. Be prepared to tone down colors. Once you find that amazing candy apple red you’ve been dreaming about you may find it’s too much for your space. Simply pick up the same color in a more muted tone, it’ll make the color more livable. Martha Stewart always use muted colors & her rooms are stunning.

4. Once you’ve selected a few shades, purchase a quart of each & paint a test area. Apply a vertical stripe that’s several paint brush widths across. To see how the color works in all areas of your room try painting a spot at the baseboard, near a window & a dark corner. The color may look completely different in each part of the room so be sure you like them all! *Be sure when you paint a test stripe to keep the brush strokes moving vertically, it’s easier to paint over. *

Rainbow House on Clipper Street by PJ Taylor Photo

5. Moldings & ceilings are usually painted a shade or 2 lighter than the walls, but I prefer to break the rules. I often paint ceilings a coordinating color in a light shade. It makes the room feel finished. A simple way to select a ceiling color is also to have the paint store “cut” your wall color in half, this gives the illusion that the wall color is simply reflecting onto the ceiling (this doesn’t work with all colors, ahem…red). A darker ceiling will bring the ceiling in closer, giving the room a cozy feeling. A deeper hue on the window trim leads the eye to the window and then to the view outside.

I hope these tips help you feel more confident choosing paint colors to reflect your style! Thanks again Michelle for the opportunity to talk to your amazing audience & I hope your vacation is amazing!!

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Delicious Discounts & Great Giveaways for When I Grow Up Readers! Through July 20th: 20% off of Crafty Fanny‘s shop & enter to win a virtual room makeover from Maggie Rose. Through July 24th: enter to win a custom scrapbook from  Tara Sroka. Through Aug 31st: get a $25 discount for any $250 purchase from  Tara Sroka. As Gwen Stefani would say, What You Waiting For?

Get Danielle LaPorte’s Nuggets of Genius in your own home, on your own time.  The Digital Firestarter Sessions from my “cult leader” have launched!

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Tags: Glorious Guest Post

This entry was posted on Monday, July 19th, 2010 at 1:15 am and is filed under Career Actions Activated, Creative Career Charge, Creative Career Cheer, Encouragement for Everyone. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.