Category Archives: Color Advice

How to Choose a White Paint Color for Your House Exterior

White house exteriorMark Reuter Design
Choosing the best white paint color for your house exterior can be difficult. Let’s’ face it, many folks find choosing white colors for both exteriors and interiors challenging. That’s why you should go to an exterior paint color consultant for help! Most paint companies make many white choices. When you compare a lot of them you realize that accompanying the white exists many other tones. White can appear a tad pink or creamy with some yellow. It can contain some gray, blue, green, or a mix of more than one other color.  Like other colors besides white, the color comes from a particular hue family and traces of those families are part of the white’s makeup.… Continue reading...

Exterior Paint Color Trends for 2020

exterior paint color trends 2020Amy Krane Color &  Quatrefoil Inc. Builders  r
Unless you’ve been driving around with blinders on you’ve had to have noticed the prevalence of very dark homes by now. Exterior paint color trends for 2020 practically starts and ends with black, charcoal, navy and other very dark hues.  I’ve been writing about this trend for years as they started showing up in about 2014 or 2015 but dark houses seem to be moving more and more into the mainstream. Chances are you’ll see more dark homes in cities and the countryside. The trend is lagging in the suburbs for obvious reasons. And while they seem most appropriate for very modern homes you’ll note dark hues on historic homes like the Victorian above as well as colonials and other architectural styles, much to the delight of some and horror of others.… Continue reading...

Color and Interior Design Trends 2020

cut out pullsWinkelman Architects Photo by : Jeff Roberts
It’s that time of year that I forecast color and interior design trends for residences and I’m getting a jump on it this year. I am proud to say design pundits and shelter mags have consistently lagged behind identifying these concepts, reporting much later than I about new trends for the coming year. Like most years, some trends remain strong and carry on for longer than 12 months. This year those include, the use of pink, deep saturated wall color in hues like blue, green and teal, the use of caning in seating and case goods, dark green kitchen cabinets and the on-going love affair with light neutral spaces.… Continue reading...

Dining Room Color

pick the perfect Dining room paint colorAmy Krane Color
The kids are back in school, the fall season with its apple picking and pumpkin carving is here so inevitably the holidays are upon us. Even if you weren’t thinking about redecorating your home you are cognizant that the least used room is about to get a workout. Are you panicking? Don’t! Jazz up your dining room by choosing the perfect dining room paint color. Here’s how to choose dining room color.  My philosophy about dining room color is to let the architectural style and decor direction of the whole home guide you. Homes which employ one overall theme should continue this theme into the dining room.… Continue reading...

Paint Colors to Sell your House

Colors to sell your houseAmy Krane Color
Popular  “wisdom” says paint colors to sell your house should be warm neutrals. This has been the direction many paint color experts and Realtors alike have purported for years. They say don’t choose personal, idiosyncratic, boisterous colors and don’t paint it white. “Builder’s beige” had been a go-to for landlords and builders forever with colors like Benjamin Moore’s Linen White being used for rentals or new construction for decades. As a color consultant as well as a Realtor I say, “not so fast.” The choices are not so limited or rigid.  Paint colors that sell says Zillow Zillow’s statistics regarding paint colors to sell your house which garnered more money for their homeowners in 2018 include a black or charcoal front door, navy or black kitchen islands with white cabinets, light blue bathrooms and light taupe living rooms.… Continue reading...

The Best Neutral Paint Colors from Benjamin Moore

best neutral paint colorsPorteous Studio
You’ve researched the best neutral paint colors. You’ve spent weeks on Pinterest and Houzz finding inspiration and ideas. You pay extra attention when Joanna Gaines talks about wall color (but she never talks specifics!). You’ve been led to the likes of White Dove and Revere Pewter ad infinitum. But you’re looking for the ultimate “best of” list, not tired old suggestions. Here it is! You don’t need to go to new paint brands like Clare and Backdrop to get a curated list of the most attractive, versatile neutral paint colors. Just keep reading.  What are neutral paint colors? The most commonly understood meaning of a neutral paint color is one which goes with everything.… Continue reading...

11 Interior Design Trends for 2019

2019 Interior Design trendsAmy Krane Color
Updated for 2022. Link here. As an interior color consultant this is my favorite time of year to blog about color and design. It’s a great opportunity to sort through my year of tags, dog eared magazines and photos saved online, gleaning trends from what seems utterly random. Here are 11 interior design trends for 2019. The collection is a combination of ideas that have been percolating for a while with others that are genuinely new. 1. White walls with strong pops of color White walls never go out of style but how such rooms are dressed really determines the ambience.… Continue reading...

How to use blue in your home

Amy Krane Color
How to use the world’s favorite color.  There are many shades and tones of this exquisite color. Ultramarine, Egyptian, Prussian, cerulean, periwinkle, indigo, turquoise; the list goes on. When mixing paint there are 3 primary colors: blue, red and yellow.  Indivisible by no other color, blue is a foundational hue. It is considered by most people to be calming though some unlucky souls find the color melancholy. Here’s how to use blue. Across nations and cultures blue remains the world’s favorite color. It wasn’t always so though. It was not until the twelfth century that it began to be associated with the divine and would start to be used in stained glass windows, depictions of the Virgin Mary and coats of arms.… Continue reading...