Don't be Afraid of being Bold with Paint

Ask any professional interior designer and they'll agree: a fresh coat of paint is the easiest and most effective way to revitalize a dull room. The problem is that most homeowners limit themselves to flat, or “safe,” colors. If you're willing to step away from this conventional method of thinking, however, you'll find that bold paint offers a higher level of aesthetics, bringing a newfound sense of style to your home.

Cohesion

First and foremost, you should choose a color type to use throughout your home. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to use the same color in every room, but there should be visible cohesion in which the colors flow seamlessly together. Painting the living room a deep taupe and the connecting dining room a bright red obviously wouldn't work, but you could use multiple shades of taupe/tan in different rooms.

Go Bold

It's often difficult for homeowners to take the plunge with bold colors. After all, paint isn't easily removed once its applied to the walls. Sure, you can always repaint over it, but doing so will cost even more money while requiring additional time and labor.

If you're afraid of committing to bold colors, try painting a small room or area in your home to see how it looks. Painting a laundry room, walk-in closet or small bathroom isn't a huge commitment. If you don't like it, you can always go back over it with a new color. Assuming you choose a color that compliments the rest of your home, however, you'll likely find it's a fresh alternative from generic colors.

So, which bold color should you use in your home? There's no simple answer to this question, as it depends on your current décor, the carpet/flooring color, furnishings, and what exactly you are trying to achieve. The key thing to remember is that you want to maintain a cohesive appearance throughout your home using bold colors that either match or otherwise go together. Take a trip to your local home improvement store to pick up some paint swatches. You can then

What About The Exterior?

You don't have to limit yourself to only painting the inside of your home; applying a coat or two of bold-colored paint to your front door can drastically improve its overall curb appeal. It should only require a single one-gallon bucket of paint, making this is a quick and easy project.

Bring In More Light

Another trick that's helpful to livening up your home décor is to bring in more light. Since warm environments utilize bright and bold colors, adding illumination to the area will help brighten it up.

So, what's the best way to bring more light into a living room? You can open up the curtains to allow more natural sunlight to come in. I'm a huge fan of using natural sunlight inside the home, but it's especially beneficial in the living room. As long as you have enough window space, opening the curtains should offer more than enough illumination during the day. Artificial lighting from chandeliers, floor lamps and table lamps may also prove useful.