Making Good Color Choices...

...for Every Room In the House


For the bedroom, think of calming, peaceful colors such as blues and greens. Spiritual and romantic colors such as purple also work well in the bedroom retreat. Neutrals are always a safe and soothing choice in the bedroom.

For the Living Room, neutral colors such as beige and browns for walls, sofas, and chairs are safe and easy choices for the living room, but accent with colors to suit your family and/or enviroment in either warm or cool colors. Cooler colors work well for living and family rooms that will be used for downtime and reading, and warmer colors for living and family rooms will promote cozying up and conversation.

For the Dining Room or Eating Area, warmer colors will stimulate the appetite and conversation. Even if you go neutral, think a warm neutral! Shades of apricot and orange (but don't let ORANGE scare you...think about earthy terra cottas). They will evoke enthusiasm and excitement without being overpowering.

For Hallways and Entryways, neutral colors work to transition the space as it leads to other areas of the home. The also don't promote themselves! If you are using lots of colors in the various rooms, the hallways in their neutrals can bridge the gap between a various bright or bold color choices.

For the Bathroom or Spa-type area, a cool, tranquil, healing color such as green is perfect. White is often used in bathroom areas because it makes small spaces seem larger and symbolizes cleanliness. I LOVE to use white towels. They look fresh and clean and as a bonus...you can get them REALLY clean with bleach.

SPLURGE: Toss out and donate ALL old towels and spring for new, all white bath and hand towells, and wash cloths!

For a child’s room using cool colors (blues, greens) will soothe and relax your little beasites. Warm colors (reds, oranges)are great and stimulating for playtime. Avoid bright yellow in large quantities as it can cause siblings to fight more easily and babies to cry more frequently. Bright pinks are wonderful to stimulate the imagination, but very light shades can cause sleepiness or even laziness (not conducive to “cleaning your room" and we really want them stimulated for THIS task!).