Whether it is inside or outside, there are many store sales for paint, and people seem to be taking advantage of them.  Naturally, I favor painting as it is a most practical and necessary endeavor; but I think I will wait until the 100 degree temperatures move down the thermometer a number of degrees.

The majority of my clients want and need to paint, but the most troublesome issue is what color to use.  While I have addressed this topic before, the difficulties people have with painting are as numerous as hues under the rainbow and merit further consideration.  We all see color differently, that is just our physiology; but most people can identify fairly easily what they like and what they do not like; it is modifying their likes and dislikes to suit a room or exterior that becomes difficult.

A lot of people think they want a lot of drama inside their home, and so they select a bold, rich color; they paint an entire room, only to find that it is far more "dramatic" than they anticipated--which is where accent walls come in.

Drama can come in the form of a section of a wall or an entire wall, but natural lighting is the key.  A room with a good deal of natural light will play a tricks on your eyes once the color is on the walls, so ALWAYS try your colors out in large patches first; preferably from floor to ceiling, as floors take up a good portion of your room.  Whether you have hardwood, tile or carpet on the floor, the color will play a big part of how light will reflect on the walls.

For a good general rule, when looking at paint samples on paint chip cards, find the color that catches your eye and then move up a couple of colors to a lighter version, as the less saturated color will probably be more pleasing to you for an entire room.

There is a psychology to color, reflecting emotional, physical and behavioral responses.  While these may be fairly subtle in many cases, you should consider the potential effect colors have on some individuals.

While it may not surprise you to know that red brings an emotional feeling of love, passion, courage, danger and vitality, you may not have considered that its physical effect is to increase blood pressure and breathing rate.  People tend to eat more in the presence of red and the color aids digestion.

White is a color of joy, hope, innocence and purity; it is said to show physical traits tending to indecision, individualism and idealism.  Shades of brown to beige show emotional traits to casual, natural and tranquil; behaviorally, brown shows homespun, reliable, shrewd, stable and sturdy characteristics.  Yellow is full of optimism, warmth, cheer and brightness, it can easily become too bright, so go gently where yellow is concerned; it is an excitable color and often stimulates debate or argument.  Cool blues and greens have an emotional vibe of serenity, sincerity, loyalty, growth and birth.  Theses colors help decrease blood pressure, give feelings of rejuvenation and balance; they are the colors of problem solving, and the antidote for red.