Looking to add some color to your home? There are plenty of ways. The key is deciding how much and where to add it.

 

Start by selecting two or three focal points throughout a room or the house. In the bathroom or kitchen, try the wall, countertop or sink. When redoing the first floor, the foyer, kitchen, and family room are good places to start. Then look for colors that will blend with your existing furnishings while still adding some drama.

 

Among the popular colors are:

 

• blues -- bold or subdued, it brings in nature and water
• yellows -- honey tones or bold yellows
• reds -- try terra cotta tones or rust
• earth tones -- anything in the sage and camel families; these are more subtle than the previously listed color tones

 

In the Bathroom

Consider painting the room in a shade of blue, red or yellow. Add a bright colored sink or tile. Blend in towels, candles and accessories to match.

 

In the Kitchen

Try sage on the kitchen countertop, then use it as an accent color in the kitchen wall or floor tile, for example. Paint a lighter shade of sage on the walls of the adjacent family room or used it as the trim color throughout the first floor.

 

Appliances

Or, try bold appliances, such as a cobalt blue refrigerator or a red dishwasher.

 

If you want a bold look, buy all the appliances in the same bright color. If you want to accent one area of the kitchen, buy a blue dishwasher to contrast with a white refrigerator, range, and microwave.

 

In the foyer, consider adding:

 

• a fresh coat of paint. A blue or yellow paint with warm tones will change the look of a room and make it more inviting.
• a textured painting technique  -- ragging, sponging, dragging -- to add more dimension to the walls.
• a bold rug that pulls in colors from surrounding rooms. If you don't like it, you can easily move it.

 

How Many Colors Throughout?

Look for two or three that will be used throughout the house. Then use them in varying degrees of intensity, depending on the room décor.

 

"You want to have a few colors that travel through the house," said Helen Velas, president of Eleni Interiors, an interior design firm based in Naperville, IL. "If you're in the green family then you should have a little bit of it in every room."

 

What About the Trim?

Try painting the trim white to further define the woodwork and accentuate the rich color on the walls.

 

Planning to Replace Your Ceramic Tile?

Look for ways to bring in color through accent tiles placed randomly throughout the floor or borders that frame the room. When used in the foyer, hallway and kitchen, the color provides continuity throughout the first floor.

 

Small Doses of Color

Think accessories. A few flowered pillows on a cream colored couch or one red vase on a white kitchen table might be enough to change the look of a room.

 

Not Convinced Yet?

If you are hesitant about adding color, try it in places that can easily be changed, such as:

 

• paint on the walls -- all the walls or just one
• a small throw rug
• window blinds
• vases, mirrors, candles
• towels, sheets, pillows