How to Use Color to Reinvent Rooms

Find inspiration from your favorite outfit or from a rug or piece of artwork you intend to place in the room. Your inspiration piece will guide your choices as you put the room together.

Use your inspiration piece to select the predominant color for your room, which will cover 60 percent of your space and set the overall mood. Use this hue on your walls and at least two other elements in the room, such as furniture or floors. Choose a variant of cream, brown, red, orange or yellow to create a warm, active space. Gray, soft blue, green or lavender paint generate a cool, restful atmosphere and make your room seem larger.

Go to a home center or paint store with your paint color selection. Most stores now use color-matching machines to create the exact shade you need.

Test a sample of the color on your wall. Examine the color after an hour. If the overall effect is too bold for you, ask the paint store to lighten the shade by up to 50 percent. Repeat this step until you find the ideal hue.

Choose a supplementary shade for upholstered chairs, drapes, painted tables, rugs and/or cabinetry. Apply this hue to 30 percent of the surfaces in your room. Select a color close to your dominant color if you want a quiet, informal room; choose a high-contrast shade if you want a vivid or more formal room. For example, lavender walls and yellow tables create energy and visual interest. Beige walls and white slipcovers create a casual, calm environment.

Integrate an accent color on toss pillows, throws, lamps and accessories to cover 10 percent of your room. Because of its minor role, even a strong color like citrus yellow can work as your accent shade. If you like, paint one wall in this hue.

Repeat your color choices in other parts of your home to tie all of your rooms together. You can do this in small ways: on artwork, dinner plates, art glass or vases. Recurring elements throughout your home will make your space appear fluid, unbroken and complete.