Color is Key to Brightening a Winter Home

<h2 style="margin: 10pt 0cm 0pt">Color is Key to Brightening a Winter Home</h2>(ARA) – The cold months of winter can feel very long, as most people are forced to spend more time indoors. When animals hibernate and the colors of plant life fade, our moods and energy often fade as well. Short of taking a monthly vacation to a bright, tropical paradise, one way we can keep energy in our lives is with the creative use of color.Winter is the perfect time to spruce up the interior of your home. There are simple, economical ways to add color to your interior spaces to improve your outlook during the winter and year round. <div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="425" height="282"><param name="movie" value="../images/banners/2b.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="wmode" value="" /><embed src="../images/banners/2b.swf" wmode="" quality="high" menu="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="282"></embed></object></div> 1) Paint the winter blues away. One of the best ways to integrate color into a home without much cost is with the use of paint. Even if you think you don’t have the energy or talent to repaint an entire room, don’t worry. You can add splashes of color by painting just one wall a vibrant hue. Take cues from Mother Nature to establish optimistic color schemes. For example, bright blues and warm shades of taupe are inspired by the ocean, reds and yellows can represent the brightness of a rising sun, and brown and green tones remind you of those first days of spring when buds begin to appear. When deciding where to paint, it’s important to ask yourself, "What is the room’s strongest feature?" It might be a fireplace, a view, or even a favorite piece of artwork. The wall around that focal point is the wall you want to highlight! Bold colors work well on these walls because they tend to be broken by the window or fireplace, so the impact is eye-catching, not overwhelming. Also, there really isn’t that much area to paint, so the work isn’t too time-consuming. Rollers are the DIY enthusiast’s best friend because they can save a lot of time and produce a professional-looking finish. When choosing a roller, make sure it holds an adequate amount of paint without a lot of shedding. For example, the new Wooster Avalon performs like a high-capacity knit while delivering a very low-shed finish like a woven. The special fibers provide a finish with at least 50 percent lower fiber shed count than other rollers on the market. Using a high-quality roller will speed the painting process so you can enjoy your colorful new room sooner, with less effort during the job. 2) If you miss the green, add some greenery. Do you miss looking outside and seeing full trees and blooming flowers? If so, there’s no better way to brighten your home than to integrate some plants into the decor. Many people participate in some form of indoor gardening, whether having a full container garden, a simple herb garden, or a favorite green plant or two. Ivy, cactus, spider plants and bonsai are all good indoor plants.If you prefer flowers, you have options as well. African violets are great indoor plants that produce small flowers in vivid shades of purple, pink or white. Geraniums are easy-to-grow annuals with pretty leaf shapes that will flower continuously if given adequate light. Finally, many bulbs work well in an indoor environment. Paper white narcissus flowers provide a strong scent to bring the smell of summer inside your home. Don’t feel like growing flowers? A trip to your local florist or grocery store can provide you with a bouquet that can be displayed anywhere in the house. 3) Accessorize with the feeling of the sun. Adding accessories to your house’s decor that draw from the feeling of summer can really make a difference in revving up a home’s energy. New pillows can instantly transform an old sofa into something lively and new. A new piece of art with a nature scene can brighten a boring wall. Update family photos with favorite moments from the past year’s warm months. A fun beach picnic scene might be just the pick-me-up you’ll need on a cold winter morning. Finally, be sure to open your curtains and allow natural light to enter the house as much as you can during the daytime. <div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="425" height="282"><param name="movie" value="../images/banners/1c.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="wmode" value="" /><embed src="../images/banners/1c.swf" wmode="" quality="high" menu="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="282"></embed></object></div> Brightening your home with the feeling of summer is easy when you utilize color. For more information about Wooster painting tools, visit www.woosterbrush.com. Courtesy of ARAcontent

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