Eliminate color confusion! Tips for getting it right

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • June 2, 2018

So many choices! A few tips will keep you from making mistakes and will help select just the right color to create a beautiful interior. Photo courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

It makes us feel happy. It changes everything including how we feel about our space. Get it right and you will love your home. Mess it up and you will always wonder why it’s not feeling quite right. 

Color.

It’s far from easy. It’s complicated. It’s not necessarily about your favorite color. It’s why home interior professionals study it for years and most are like me and don’t leave the house without a fan deck in their hand. We are passionate about color.

As a Fort Myers interior decorator, my most requested service is selecting color and creating personalized color palettes for the home. It’s the most difficult part of decorating for most people and there are good reasons. The number one reason being the approach. It’s usually all wrong and results in mistakes and frustration.

Most people rush out to a big box store, grab a hundred color swatches (all in their favorite colors), take them home, hold the one-inch color swatch up to their existing paint color, make a decision, call the painter and it all begins. And then wonder why it doesn’t look just right.

Neutrals and beiges are popular in Southwest Florida and can be paired with accent colors in accessories. Wall: Pashima (AF-100). Trim: Winds Breath (OC-24). Bookcase back wall: Silhouette (AF-655).Ceiling: White Heron (OC-57). Photo courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

Here’s the good news

As we head into summer in Southwest Florida, things have quieted down a bit. All of the company is gone and it’s a great time to think about giving your home a little refresh. If you’re on a decorating budget (who isn’t?) and can only do one thing to you home, this is it. Color.

Books about color fill the shelves. I just have space in this article for some key tips to set you off on the right path.

Selecting the right color

Updates your home without spending a fortune.

Pulls the space together.

Makes your home look clean and fresh.

Creates a look for your home.

Serene colors in this bath are done with Benjamin Moore’s Aura Bath & Spa paint that withstands warm, humid environments. Walls: Palladian Blue (HC-144). Trim: Distant Gray (22124-70). Tub: Breath of Fresh Air (806).   Photo courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

Don’t do this!

Go with the latest trends.

Pick your favorite color.

Select color like you pick out your clothes (grab what you like at the moment).

Pick color from a tiny swatch.

Paint without testing the color on the wall.

Pick a paint color before you have anything else in the room (there are exceptions to this).

Rush to make a decision.

Think only about the room that you are painting.

Select paint without coming up with a complete color palette for the room.

Do this!

Buy the best quality paint you can afford. It makes a difference. Trust me on this.

Go with the lowest VOC or no VOC.

Color challenged? Magazines, Pinterest and vision boards all help.

Process: Select swatches. Order large swatches. Test your final selections on the actual wall. Leave the test colors up for a few days and see how they change with lighting.

Selecting paint color is challenging for most homeowners. It’s important to test your final selections on the actual wall. Leave the test colors up for a few days and see how they change with lighting. Photo courtesy of Benjamin Moore.

Consider the ceiling. I often tint the paint for the ceiling so that it’s not such a stark white. Just a little tint links the ceiling to the walls. And if you have coffered ceilings, take advantage of this element with color.

Sometimes less is more. A beautiful white on the walls with trim in a carefully selected neutral color is classic and timeless. Hint: Benjamin Moore’s “Simply White” was the 2016 color of the year. It’s a warm white that pairs well with neutrals.

Select furniture, fabric, flooring first. Then paint color. Then accessories.

ALL color has undertones. This is where the mistakes are made. If your sofa (or flooring or counter tops) has green/beige undertones and you pick a pinky beige paint color for walls, you will not be happy.

Think about the rest of your home. Color needs to coordinate throughout. A good rule that I follow: No more than three paint colors in the home.

Create a color palette and work from there. Consider your window treatments, upholstery, pillows, artwork and accessories. Color is not just the paint that you put on the walls. Think about the big picture.

What works: I like to select more neutrals for the main areas and incorporate ceiling and trim colors. Bathrooms and bedrooms lend themselves to accent colors.

Here’s a little trade secret

When redoing the color in a room, follow the 60-30-10 color rule. Many decorators use this rule and it works every time. The 60 percent should be your wall color. Furniture and fabric should be 30 percent. The remaining 10 percent should be your accessories, pillows and rugs. When you see a room or photograph in a magazine and it seems to work, chances are that this rule applies.

Where to use your favorite color?

Your sofa! I see far too many heavy brown leather sofas in Southwest Florida! Pick out your favorite color in the most gorgeous fabric you can find. Yellow. Jewel tones. A color that is not on your wall or floor.

Don’t be afraid of color

It changes everything. Including how you feel. And you want to feel happy in your home. If it’s a struggle, call a professional. The goal is to keep you from making mistakes and to help you bring out the best in your home!

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and certified gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She has helped homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and to solve decorating problems. Her article appears the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

Selling your home? Tips for closing the deal fast!

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • May 5, 2018

For the past few months, I’ve been in and out of a lot of homes. More than usual.

A longtime client is looking for a new home and has asked me to go with her to make sure we can make the design and decorating changes that she will need. While her list of “wants” is not unreasonable, short of building new, it’s unlikely that she’s going to find everything in an existing house. So we plan to find a home with good “bones” and redo it to meet her needs.

The wish list includes: Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, three car garage, hardwood floors, pool and a backyard with room for a flower garden. And she does not want to live in a golf community. It’s a challenge.

As a Southwest Florida interior decorator, I work with many clients to prepare their homes to sell. Even in this economy where it is a seller’s market, most homeowners want to sell fast and that means doing a little work to make the home attractive to buyers. And to get top dollar.

Say “welcome to your new home” from the moment a buyer enters the front door. Freshen things up. Free up some space and lighten up each room so they will envision their life in your home.  Colors: Benjamin Moore. Door: Green Meadows. Siding: Maritime White. Trim: Snowfall White. All in Aura Grand Entrance Satin. Photo Credit: Benjamin Moore.

When selling, you want to do one important thing: Say “welcome to your new home.” Make the buyer picture their life in your space.

Most wanted in a home

Zillow did a recent survey that reveals what buyers are looking for in a new home. Check these out:

Professional appliances

White kitchen

Outdoor kitchen

Free standing tub

Wine cooler

Coffered ceiling

Meditation room

Carrera marble countertops

Farmhouse sink

Steam shower

While it’s unlikely that any of us will ever have all of these in our homes, it’s a fun wish list. Meanwhile, you can show off your home’s best features, sell it fast and move on to your next “home sweet home.”

Many of the homes I have seen have been on the market for a while and it is easy to see why. With just a little work, a house can be presented to show off its best features. Let me share a few tips with you, based on what I have seen lately. Whether you are selling now or in the future. Or if you just want to make your home look a little better until you do sell it, you may find these tips useful.

Home buyers love white kitchens, professional appliances and Carrera marble counters. Colors: Benjamin Moore. Walls: Mascarpone in Regal interior eggshell. Cabinets: Simply White in satin.  Photo Credit: Benjamin Moore.

Home resale checklist

·       Clean the house like company is coming (it is). And wash the windows. Inside and out.

·       Put the toilet seats down when having real estate photos done. Yes, seriously. I should not have to say this but it happens all the time.

·       Depersonalize the house. The animal heads hanging on the walls from a safari may have special meaning to you as a homeowner but may offend a possible buyer. My client could not get out of this home fast enough. And I was right behind her. Having said this, put your personal photos and collections away. The buyer wants to visualize their own stuff in your space and this is easier to do without yours taking up space.

·       Think like you live in a model home. Remember how it feels to walk into a model home? You can visualize your furniture, in the space. It's because it's not filled with things. If you have too much furniture or it is too heavy and bulky, you may want to put some in storage or even style the main living areas with pieces that show off the space.

·       Lighten up. Say goodbye to the heavy window treatments. If you want to sell your home, let the buyer see it by bringing in some light. At the least, if your drapes are heavy and dated, just take them down so the buyer can see what they may want to buy. 

·       Switch out the hardware in the kitchen and bathrooms. You know it’s time.

·       Paint baseboards and window sills. Get rid of scuff marks and give the room a fresh look. Something good to do even if you are staying in your home.

·       Faux finishes and wallpaper may be great for your tastes but the thought of redoing these and removing wallpaper send a client running in the other direction.

·       Bathroom refresh.  Make sure the baths are squeaky clean. There is nothing worse than looking at a home with dated bathrooms. And this is the room that you may need to repaint.  If the tub and shower are looking a little dated, hang a bright new shower curtain and invest in new rugs and towels.

·       Red. Not so much. It’s interesting. I do red accent walls for lots of clients who love the color. But a buyer, surveys tell us, does not like red unless it is on the front door.  Good to know.

·       Tuscan is out. Sorry. If this is your style, great. But if you are selling, rethink it. It’s worth the investment to have a designer help you with ways to minimize this outdated look.

Happy selling!

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and certified gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She has helped homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and to solve decorating problems. Her article appears the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

Open floor plans: How to make them work

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • March 3, 2018

On a recent Saturday morning, I had a call from someone who began the conversation with these words: "I need help. Now."

The desperate, soon-to-be-design client had just taken delivery of her furniture from her home in Michigan. It was piled up in her brand new “open concept home” and she did not know what to do.  Her comment was “I’ve never had a house without walls and I don’t know what to do.” 

As a Fort Myers interior decorator, I can tell you that my biggest request, after coming up with a color palette, is help with arranging furniture in an open space where rooms flow one into the other.

European wide plank hardwood in this open floor plan gives the space a natural organic element and a timeless look. Photo courtesy of Tricia Pallak, the Wood Floor Company, Naples and Bonita Springs.

The concept is a great one. It can be beautiful if arranged and accessorized well. It can also be a challenge.

The benefits: the open concept will make any space feel larger and it’s great for entertaining.

The challenges: Lack of privacy, less room for art and electrical outlets, the large open space does not hide clutter so you are always cleaning up.

Walk into a model home where the entry, family room, dining room, kitchen all flow into one large space and it looks beautiful. Trying to make it work in your own home with your existing furnishings can stress the savviest homeowner.

But not to worry.  Check a few of these tips and you will have a plan to make the open concept work in your home. And that’s important because it’s here to stay. In other parts of the country builders seems to be reverting back to more walls and rooms. But in Southwest Florida, that likely will not change any time soon. Open and spacious is just our style.

Establish a comfortable conversation area in an open floor plan with a this square arm, slipcovered corner sectional, a rug and large accent light to anchor the space. Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn.

Warm up the floors. If possible, consider hardwood flooring.  At least in the public/living areas of the home. You can establish room boundaries with area rugs. It gives the open spaces a timeless look and a backdrop for furnishings and artwork. 

Coffered ceilings and crown molding. They fill up some of the open space, establish living areas and add a design element. If you are unable to do this, install a large fan in the family/living room.

Keep the color palette neutral for the walls. Bring color into the space with accents on the ceilings and accessories.

Floor to ceiling drapes or fabric panels. Open spaces cry out for fabric. In addition to your sofa, chairs, rugs.

Add a few architectural details. Molding and paneling such as shiplap or wainscoting provide some separation for an entry or dining area or breakfast nook.

Lighten up. Avoid heavy, over-sized furniture in open spaces. They take over the room and defeat the goal of a light, flowing space.

Arrange furniture away from the walls. This enables you to create comfortable conversation areas in the space with a classic look.

Consistency pays off. Maintain a consistent look in furnishings, color palette and accessories. The last thing you want is a hodgepodge of styles in a space that you can see from each room.

When it comes to artwork, think BIG.  Wall space is at a premium in an open floor plan. Incorporate large pieces to give it an art gallery look. Perfect for an open concept plan.

Glam it up and arrange a dining space with plants, rug and a beautiful Adeline crystal chandelier.  Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn.

Glam it up. Establish specific areas of the space with a rug, lighting, or plants. This is especially effective in a dining area of a larger space.

Consider your other rooms.  With an open floor plan, the master bedroom is usually off the main space. Take this room into consideration when establishing a color palette and other décor elements if it can be seen from the main space.

Limit patterns. You want to keep your space calm and flowing. One room into the other. Neutral with accents and bold colors work best.

Fill the space with what you love. That is the most important tip!

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and certified gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She has helped homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and to solve decorating problems. Her article appears the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog