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Some
people love the effect of walking into a friend’s
home and being surrounded by dramatic paint
schemes, but when it comes to painting their
own home they just don’t dare use anything but
white.
So how does one gain color confidence? One good
way is to take a little time and develop your
eye for color, just like a fine artist or a
professional decorator would. |
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Every time you
find a piece of fabric you love,
a fabulous autumn leaf or dried
flower, a picture in a magazine,
a photograph, a gorgeous postcard,
or even a pebble, simply mount it
on card or paper, or slip it into
a bag. Keep your samples together
by mounting them in a three ring
binder. Plastic freezer bags with
punched holes work well for collecting
odds and ends.
As your collection increases, divide
it up in ways that will be useful
to you. You can arrange it by color,
mood, by the different rooms you
want to decorate, places you’ve
visited, even by season. Pay attention
to the subtle nuances and natural
harmonies that look best to you. |
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As your collection grows,
find out what colors you really respond to and
feel good about, and collect them in more detail.
Soon, you’ll find yourself starting to become
very aware of subtle differences.
Spend a quiet evening putting together combinations
that you’d like to try out. Show them to others,
and get their opinions (but don’t get discouraged
if they don’t agree with you—color is intensely
personal!) |
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It’s simpler than you
might imagine. Take along your inspirational
samples and color match them by eye with the
huge selection of extra-large color chips on
display in the BEHR PREMIUM PLUS Color Center
at The Home Depot.
Or, as long as your samples will fit the scanner,
and aren’t wet or sharp, you can scan your favorite
pieces at the ColorSmart® interactive kiosk. |
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In just minutes, the computer will find the
exact color match for your sample, and build
a complete palette around it. You can even experiment
with lightening and darkening your palette electronically.
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When your color selections are complete, have a quart of paint mixed up in the colors you like, and try them in the space you had in mind.
Paint a reasonably large area, adding trim and accent colors if you’re using them, and view it at different times of the day, and also by artificial light.
Stay flexible, make changes as needed for the final color scheme, and if you need more ideas simply go back and look in your color scrapbook. |
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Try the ColorSmart™ by BEHR interactive program to experiment with thousands of different color combinations and see how they look in actual room settings.
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