OK, so you know about all the color trends, and you want some color in your home, but you are afraid of it for fear of making a mistake. What do you do?
Well, you can always inject color in other ways. Although painting walls is one of the least expensive ways, color can also come in other forms, such as window treatments and accessories. This can especially be true when you are living in a rented space.

A neutral background provides the perfect “canvas” for adding zest with color in your space. Use these tips to decorate your neutral space by using color as an accent:

1. ARTWORK: What a great way to add personality to your room and bring in color at the same time. That favorite wall hanging or painting can also be used to get your inspiration for a color scheme that you love and can use throughout.

2. ACCESSORIES: Accessories to a room are like jewelry to a dress. It pulls the room together, and brings in color and sparkle. You can achieve this by displaying colored glassware, colorful plates, a floral arrangement, favorite hand-painted antiques, or even changing out your white lampshade for a colored one.

3. WINDOW TREATMENTS: These are a great way to invite color inside. You can line even neutral draperies with a contrast colored fabric, perhaps with a pattern, and expose the underside by tying them back. You may use a lightweight colored fabric under the sheers or lace curtains so some of the color comes through. There are many ways to introduce color with window treatments.

4. RUGS: Rugs can be a work of art ,on your fifth wall. They break up a floor space and create a focal point in a room. They are typically of many colors and you can use your rug for inspiration to work with that color palette for accents elsewhere in the room.

5. FABRICS: Pillows and throws are great accents to help soften a space and yet add color and pattern to a room. The nice thing about it is that you can also change the look and feel of the room by changing the pillows and throws from season to season, or summer to winter and create a different color scheme.

6. FLOWERS: These always brighten a room when grouped together. This can be done with blooming plants or fresh flowers. You can use your favorite pottery or vase to fill with the brightest flowers you can find. In the spring, you can cut branches from flowering trees and bushes like forsythias, apple blossoms, azaleas. In the fall, you can use autumn foliage. If flowers are scarce, you can use bowls of fruit as an alternative.

If you are unsure as to what color to use or how much you want of it, look to what inspires you and how you use color. Evaluate what you have at home. Do you tend to buy accessories in one color or more? You can layer two colors by using a complimentary color scheme. But remember, small touches of an interesting color or color scheme wake up a room, whereby too many colors that are scattered throughout create confusion.

For information about GG Design Inspirations and Gina’s design services please visit: http://www.ggdesigninspirations.com, or call: 410-672-7224