Home Color Ideas

Woman-Centric Matters is the brainchild of Design Basics, the largest home plan design firm in America and a leading expert in marketing to women. In addition to home plans and marketing, we also publish Her Home magazine, which gives a wealth of helpful information about all-things home-related. So in addition to sharing facts and figures about the economic power of women and companies that "get it", I thought I would use this blog to share home tips with you. Let me know what you think!

Defining living areas in today’s open floor plans can be quite a challenge. Do you paint each area a different color, or opt for one color fits all? Josette Buisson, artistic director with Pittsburgh Paints says, “The law is that everything has to have a link and a flow.” Buisson continues, “There’s a main color and then lighter shades.” She advocates the 60:30:10 rule. Use 60 percent of one color, 30 percent of another and 10 percent of an accent color.

Jessica Gordon, color specialist and owner of Interior Artistry in Seattle, suggests choosing one color for the most public spaces and altering the shades in adjacent areas. “Keep the hallways and stairs one shade,” she says. “And only totally change color if you have good cut-off points like a soffit or a door between the living and dining rooms.”

Buisson likes to pick up the accent color (the 10 percent) and repeat it in an adjacent area. “If the living room has an accent color and you can see the kitchen from there, you might paint the entire kitchen in that color.”