Make a commitment to color

Do you have trouble making a color commitment?

Do you love the look of a red dining room, but you’re afraid to

try it yourself? I’m going to give you a push in the pigment

direction -- help you make a commitment and give you some colorful

suggestions.

If you’re nervous about painting the living room a deep brown, you

should start with something smaller. The powder room or a child’s

bathroom is a safe place to start building confidence. The laundry

room is another good room to try: it is small, compact, and has

plenty of white appliances that act as a foil for dramatic color.

Choose a room that has good lighting, or replace a ho-hum overhead

light with a recessed can or, if your ceilings are high enough, add a

chandelier. I’m a sconce girl myself, so if you’re up for a trip from

the electrician, run to a lighting store and find a cool pair of

sconces -- take a chance on something out of the ordinary.

Now, you have light. Let’s talk about color.

If you’re thinking red, Ralph Lauren’s Hunting Coat Red is a great

color. The color is just right. Red does require a few coats to get

the depth. So if you are on the verge of a panic attack after two

coats, calm down. It will be OK. Or use a darker primer coat, and

then you can get away with fewer applications.

If you have a lot of white moldings (baseboards, casements, crown)

or are planning on adding moldings, browns are de rigueur. Another

Ralph Lauren color that satisfies the brown-green-gold requirements

is burlap. It looks great with gold, great with black, and works with

platinum.

OK, now you’re ready to get a little braver and move on to the

living room, dining room, family room, and kitchen. If you want a

warm color that blends with everything, Frazee’s Graceful Gold is

easy on the eye and blends with almost any color scheme. If you want

to get a little darker, my personal favorite is Frazee’s Capertree.

It looks bad on the color swatch, but it has just the right amount of

gold and green to give drama without being annoying.

If you’re looking for a taupe-green-gray, Frazee’s Saltbush is a

winner. This is a “go anywhere” color, even a master bedroom. I think

it looks great with black and white accents.

Restoration Hardware has some wonderful paint colors. They have a

small palette, but everything they carry is a winner. Personally, my

favorite is a paint called Creamware. It’s a little gold, a little

tan, it’s not too sweet and if you need to warm up a room, this is

the way to go. Restoration also has butter-color paint, which goes

well with red and blue accents. It’s more of a commitment that

Creamware, but if you are a yellow person, this color is a perfect

background for a room full of bright furniture and artwork -- it

holds its own.

Whites. Everyone has a favorite. Mine is Vista’s Shell White. It’s

not a bright white, but it has a clean, fresh feeling and it doesn’t

seem to oxidize quickly because it has a fair amount of pigment mixed

in.

However, you can never go wrong with black. You heard me, black. I

have a lot of black built-ins in our house. Yes, as in walls of

furniture. No, I’m not depressed. I just like contrast. I have a lot

of white, I have a lot of black and I have a lot of other stuff

thrown in between. When Ben and I got married, our first remodel was

the master bathroom that we (yes, we laid the tile) put black and

white tiles in. Several houses later, we’re still using black and

white. If this is a trend, it’s a really long trend.

Still nervous? You could start with some accent pillows or rugs,

but I’ll say you’re doing yourself a disservice.

Paint is easy. Paint is bold. Basically, paint is good. And what’s

the worst thing that can happen? You get to paint some more. And

that’s not so bad.

Pick a room any room and get a few tester quarts. Grab a roll of

blue tape, a tarp, a brush and you’re in business. A fresh coat of

paint can change the entire mood of your house.

Be bold. Be brave. Be colorful.

* KAREN WIGHT is a Newport Beach resident. Her column runs

Saturdays.