Make your room look bigger:
Use pale colors that reflect light, or cool colors (like blue, green, or purple) to add depth and openness. Try stripes: Horizontal bands of color will make a room feel longer, while vertical stripes will make it seem taller. Paint the crown molding darker than the ceiling or wall to
draw the eye up, making the ceiling seem higher.
Make your room look cozier:
Painting a room in stark white can make it feel cold. Use texture to warm up a room and hide imperfections in your walls. Try a two-colored sponge effect. In a white room, think about using two colors of the same family but in different shades (like a poppy red and a dusty rose) on adjacent walls. The other walls should be white.
Make your room look cooler:
Creating a neutral palette within the same color family that incorporates your walls, trim, floor covering, and furnishings is a minimalist yet modern way to pull a room together. Try painting bands of color in different widths around a room for eye-catching, interesting walls. A dusty blue wall with stripes of chocolate brown and cream is a great combo.
Thanks to painting pro Danielle Hirsch from HGTV’s Design Remix and hgtv.com’s Decorative Painting Techniques by Danielle Hirsch for dishing about her best tips for these great techniques.
by Miles Stiverson
6/19/08
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Decor Tricks,
painting & diy