For those of you without a solid color couch, use the couch’s background color as the basis for your color scheme (or for the more adventurous, go with the second most obvious color in the upholstery print). As an example: Let's say your bedspread is beige with red flowers. Beige is your background color, green from the stems is the second most obvious color. Both are good places to start when trying to find that perfect paint color.

If you’re going the "different" route, your options are pretty open. You're probably not as interested in making everything match as with making everything look really cool. To start with, get your hands on a color wheel (you remember those from first grade, right? Red-orange-yellow-green-blue-purple?)

Safe bets on color schemes are: 1. Totally complementary—colors straight across each other on the color wheel provide the greatest contrast (red wall, green sofa, very vibrant) 2. All primary — red, yellow, blue (although it’s my opinion that this color scheme was permanently ruined in the national psyche by Hot Dog on a Stick) 3. All secondary — violet, orange, green  (orange wall, purple sofa, very mod...) 4. All color wheel neighbors (red wall, orange sofa, maybe with yellow picture frames. Muy caliente!)

right: Use a color wheel as a starting point for finding interesting color contrasts. Remember, you can always tone it down by choosing a lighter tint of a color. Violet and green might be too bold for your tastes, but lavender and pistachio, the paler shades of those  same colors, might be perfect.

don't stop now!  still  more paint help this way ...

---------------------------> lounge . nourish . host . laze . home.