WELCOME to CAROLINA PANACHE! I believe our homes should be a haven, a place of beauty and peace that reflect who we are and what's important to us. I'm on a journey to add personality and panache to every corner of my house. For me, good design evolves, grows and changes with the needs of one's lifestyle. I want my home to be creative, to be stylish, to be entertaining, to be real. I hope you will join me on my journey. It's always more fun to travel together.
This blog is all about bringing style and elegance to the home. The art of dressing your home goes beyond hanging a few items on the wall and arranging furniture. Much like a fabulous set of earrings or a new stylish handbag may take your little black dress from fine to fabulous, home accesories and key furnishings can take your rooms from ho-hum to singing the Halleluiah Chorus! Join with me as we discover new ways to add panache to every room of the house.

30 Days, 30 Tips to Budget Friendly Home Decor - Day 2

Hey it's Day 2 in my "30 Days, 30 Tips" segment. The feedback from yesterday's post is great! It's nice to see that so many of you have already found the magic of furniture rearrangement. Today I am going to talk about paint. Color is the second easiest way to add budget friendly style to your room. Day 2 - Tip 2:
Accent Color
Color is amazing! Even the slightest variation of white can change the mood of your room, effect your lighting and show-off your furnishings in a new way. It's like make-up! Us ladies know that a little blush or bronzer can give us that healthy glow we long for. Well, the same is true with your wall color. Choosing color wisely can make a big impact for a little money. Depending on the paint you purchase, you are looking at $12-$50 per gallon. Most quality paints will run around $30.
Rooms dressed in warm colors like yellow, peach, chocolate and beigey-neutrals send out an inviting welcome to come in and visit. Cool shades like blue, green, aqua and cool grays allow us to rest and relax as they embrace us in tranquility. The firey tones of red and oranage promote happiness, excitement and conversation and are perfect colors for any areas of your home where you want to promote socializing.
With today's wide range of modern neutrals, even the color phobic have an unlimited palette of "whites" to choose from. These new whites are tinted with ever so soft shades that lean toward warm or cool. A word of caution though, test your color in the room before committing. Natural and incandescent lighting will change the color once it's on your walls. Other colors can also be reflected from flooring, furnishings and window treatments.
I once made a terrible mistake by choosing wall color without testing it in the room. The room had 4 large west facing windows. At sunset the yellow-orange glow streaming through the windows changed my yellow-green wall paint to a shade that was harsh and unbearable. Repainting isn't that hard to do but it certainly is a time drain so pick wisely.
At $30 per gallon, adding accent color is an inexpensive way to add big impact. Even a quart of color on a small accent wall can be just the lift you need. I'd like to hear from you. Are you a color fanatic or color-phobic? What colors or neutrals do you use most? What's your favorite wall color? Tomorrow is Day 3 and I'll post another tip so check it out and don't forget to comment. Until then,
Happy Decorating!
~Alisa

9 comments:

Jewel Sauls said...

Wonderful tips. We once had a time trying to get the right mushroomy color for our trim. The difference in the light in different parts of our house was unbelievable!!! :D Jewel

Maime said...

I love color! My favorite is red but I am always willing to try something new. I currently have an heirloom red kitchen, Muted Gold living and dining and I am about to paint my master bedroom mississippi mud. When I am finished I will post pictures. Thanks for your tips I look forward to them.

Carolina Mama said...

Sounds great. We love a little color pop - nothing overwhelming. So this is a cool idea!

Carolina Mama said...

Sounds awesome! We love a little color pop but nothing overwhelming. Great idea and simple too.

"Blossom" said...

I am looking for a wheat color and just haven't come across anything that makes me say yes. I like color too. Great tip today.

Jane said...

While shopping at Lowes, I found a quart can of "oops" paint for $1...a bright shade of aqua blue. It's now gracing a small wall on my seashell pink lanai. It adds such a pop to the seating area. Plus it's the perfect background for my crazy, colorful lightning bug painting.
Jane (artfully graced)

Jolyn said...

Wow I love color and I usally go for the more muted color. I also like a gloss to my paint. I love greens, warm reds and oranges right now. But color is fun and yes it definately can change a room and mood. I love your blog,I have followed for a couple monthes now. Thanks for the inspirations. Can't wait for your new bath room re-do.
Have a blessed day,
Jolyn

ohiofarmgirl said...

How funny..i was just trying to decide on a color today. I paint often...I like change and color. i have miso red on the wall right now but am thinking of going to a more taupe color because i have purchased a folk art noah's ark border that I am considering putting up....my room is large with 5 windows so I will have to choose wisely. Dianntha

Sandra said...

Thanks for the tips. :) I love painting. I'm trying to restrain myself from changing the paint often. hee hee
Sandra

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