Colorful Palettes Enhance Warm Weather Trends

(ARA) Paint is the great budget stretcher of the decorating world, and allows you to give your home a completely different look without taxing your wallet. Add fresh vibrancy and life to any room -- and surface -- with a palette of soft, floral-inspired colors. From an enlivening green to a warm buttery yellow combined with a sophisticated sky blue or a relaxing purple, a new warm-weather palette brings a refreshed feeling to any decor with just a few simple painting projects that reach beyond mere walls.

Thinking Sunshine

"People fall into the trap of thinking the only way to add color to a room is to paint the walls. It's so much more versatile than that," says Donna Schroeder, color marketing and design manager for Martin-Senour Paints. "Color need not be limited to walls. It can go just about anywhere -- from wood, concrete or tile floors to tired furniture or cabinets in need of a new look."

Picture a drab kitchen with dated dark wood cabinets, scuffed white walls and a scratched wood floor. It's the perfect canvas on which to infuse a burst of bright sunny color.

Don't be afraid to push the limits. Paint the walls a bright purple. Get daring and echo the look of an iris or crocus by covering the cabinets in a sunny, butter yellow that coordinates boldly with the purple. The aged floor will spring back to life with a coat or two of a clean, fresh white to add contrast.

Mix in airy blues and fresh greens, too. They're the perfect hues to wake up an old wooden table and chairs and make it an inviting place to gather with the family around a delicious meal, a board game or ice cream sundaes on a warm summer day.

Airy blues and fresh greens are the perfect hues to create an inviting place for the family to gather.

Choose Your Paint Color

If you aren't quite ready to make such a dramatic change or feel a bit nervous about picking colors, don't worry. Paint color selector systems can help you devise the right design scheme for your home.

Oversized color cards help you better visualize how color will look on a surface and also can help you determine which colors look good together. Color idea cards show you how to partner paint colors with other design elements to establish an attractive, connected look throughout your home.

And, don't worry about not liking the color you pick. Many times, you don't have to commit to a full gallon of a color until you're sure you like it. Sample programs allow you to purchase quart-size samples of new colors so you can test them on your wall before you stock up on your favorite hue. These generously-sized samples are available in hundreds of colors and cover up to a 100 square-foot area.

"Sometimes the most challenging aspect of choosing a new paint color is envisioning how it really will look in your house, instead of how it looks on the card," Schroeder says. Courtesy of ARAcontent