Tips for using color in your home

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press/USA Today Network • August 6, 2022

Color. It’s the tricky part of home decorating.

Too much of it and your home can look like the circus is in town. Too little of it and you end up with blah rooms that have no personality. We don’t want to be boring.

The trick is to get it just right.

Home office in above photo follows the three color rule: walls in Nimbus Gray, matte; barn doors in Storm, advance interior satin; and trim in Pure White, pearl. Photo: Benjamin Moore

As a Southwest Florida interior decorator, two truths guided me when I began my business 20 years ago and continue to drive my design today. First, you don’t have to be rich to have a beautiful home. And second, no matter what your budget, color is the most important part of your design plan. It sets the tone for everything else.

A few color facts

• Color will change how you feel about your home.

• Color is powerful. A refreshed color plan in your home will take it from blah to WOW.

• Everyone has a color palette. You just need to find one that inspires you.

• The 60-30-10 rule works. This classic decor rule that helps create a color palette for a space, states that 60 percent of the room should be a dominant color, 30 percent should be the secondary color or texture and the last 10 percent should be an accent. But remember: rules are made to be broken.

So many ways to color your home

• You don’t have to put paint color on the walls (necessarily).

White on white with textures and subtle accents, make this a beautiful color choice. Wall in Linen White OC-146, Aura Interior Paint, matte; shelves also in Linen White, advanced interior satin. Photo: Benjamin Moore.

• It’s possible (and very pretty) to have a neutral background and still have a home rich in color. Artwork, rugs, window treatments, upholstery, pillows, trims, lamps/lampshades, chandeliers, countertops, cabinets, books, backsplashes, furniture, the backs of open shelving, wall coverings, furniture, artwork. All opportunities for color.

• Ceilings (especially coffered ceilings) offer places for color with painting an entire room.

• No rule says you must have a brown sofa. Please try a color.

A few ways to use paint color

• One of my goals is to (usually) use no more than three paint colors in the home. This includes a neutral and two additional colors.

• If you have a color palette that you love but are hesitant to use any of the colors on the walls try this: paint a coffered ceiling, molding or trim in the color. With a pretty neutral color and the third color for accessories and the list above, you have a color plan.

Make a splash that radiates summer fun and happiness with Wild Flower 2090-40. Try it in a powder room or accent wall. Photo: Benjamin Moore.

• Note: a paint plan that worked in one home may not work in another. There are many differences to consider. Lighting, size of the home, furnishings, finishes. It’s easy to fall in love with a palette that worked previously but allows for some changes to suit your current home.

Remember these guidelines:

• If you are hesitant about color, remember, less is more.

• Artwork is a great way to create a color palette.

• Pillows, throws, accents, accessories add color that can be changed when you need a refresh.

• In open floor plans, be guided by the architecture to let you know where to start and stop paint color.

• Cohesion is key. We don’t want every room to be a different color. That would be too jarring. But we do want to carry something of our color scheme from room to room. This can be done in large ways or with accents or accessories.

• Link the outdoor spaces to the indoors by using the same color palette.

Create a color plan and take into consideration:

• Where is your home located?

• Do you prefer calm neutrals or dark rich colors?

• How will your plan work with your existing furnishings?

Find your inspiration

As someone who loves color, I keep a fan deck close at hand. I’m constantly saving photos of colors and palettes. And for me, most of those come from nature. Blues, greens, sandy whites and creams. To be honest, there is not a color that I don’t like. Well, maybe beige with lots of yellow undertones. It’s all a matter of finding the right balance.

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solve decorating problems. Her articles appear the first Saturday of each month. For more information, visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 239-850-5800 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

Laundry room refresh

My "new" house has been a bit of a downsize and every inch of storage has to count. And that includes the laundry room.

First of all, the walls were beige and that just will not do for someone who lives for color!

It wasn't terrible, it just wasn't "me." Even the laundry room can be pretty and make the tasks a little more pleasurable.

Before Estero laundry room makeover, the ordinary beige walls were the backdrop for a row of white metal wire shelves.

Like most of us, I had a budget for refreshing this year-old home. And let’s face it, the laundry room is not the priority when there is a lot to do. But it was time.

Most of my budget went to cabinets to replace the wire shelving. And now I have room for all of my storage and a little space on the counter for flowers and a shell. I also repainted and hung a few fun pieces.

After this Estero laundry room makeover, the walls have been painted with Benjamin Moore Galt Blue. The wire shelves have been replaced by bright white cabinets for additional hidden storage. Whimsical, brightly-colored painting features a quirky sea turtle, shells and bits of coral. The subtle counter tops have been accented with huge sea shells, cut tulips in a vase, and beach-themed sign.

“Gone to Beach” sign adds whimsy, it’s hard to do wrong with fresh-cut tulips, and the extra large conch shell continues the beachy vibe.

Benjamin Moore Galt Blue.

Creating a gallery wall for our treasures

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • February 1, 2020

Let’s face it: we love our stuff.

It’s why parting with things is so difficult. And no matter how often we have a healthy decluttering, there are just some items that are too important to part with. These are the things that tell a story about who we are and how we got here.

Mix art, accessories, books and personal treasures for a fun and playful statement wall. This arrangement combines items with art displayed on Pottery Barn’s Frame Rail with industrial chains that work with artwork or photos. Photo: Pottery Barn.

It’s also what makes a house a home.

But there’s a difference between a pile of things that we can’t say goodbye to and a carefully curated and styled grouping. It could be a collection of art, photography, objects from travels, collections, books. Anything that makes us happy when we look at it.

As a Fort Myers interior decorator, I can tell you that gallery walls are a huge trend right now and it’s no wonder. They look great and give us pleasure when we look at them. It gives us a place to display what we love in a creative way that adds to the look of our home. Arranging art and other objects on walls or shelving also frees up space on surfaces that can add to the cluttered look that none of us want.

This easy-to-hang and stylish frame rail offers a chance to curate a gallery wall designed to fit the style of the room. Photo: Pottery Barn.

You can create a gallery wall in a large or small space with two or three objects or 20. It just takes a little imagination and a wall.

A few tips to get you started:

Pick a wall. Decide where your gallery space will be located. It can be over a table. A sofa. In a small nook. In a dining room. You can fill a hallway with family photos and artwork.

Pick a theme. Family photos. Nature. Fine art.

What to use. Give the display more dimension by carrying the theme of the pieces to a table or shelving.

Photo: Pottery Barn.

Decide on framing. If your wall will be a photo gallery, select matching frames if you want a cohesive look (my favorite) and the photos will be the focal point, not the frames. Or mix up the framing for an eclectic look.

Figure out the space. If pieces are of different sizes, begin by placing the largest piece first and filling in with smaller pieces. Do a layout of each item with brown wrapping paper to see how the sizing will work in the space.

Create drama. Take your display from the floor all the way to the ceiling.

From floor to ceiling, combine a bench artwork, family, photos and other items in a floor-to-ceiling gallery wall.. Photo: Pottery Barn.

Keep it clean and simple. If your style is clean and modern arrange two rows of photos the same size.

Eye level. If you are hanging pieces of different sizes, the largest piece should be at eye level. And if you are hanging a row of several pieces of different sizes, align the pieces at their center points.

Ledges. If nailing into the wall makes you a little nervous, style frames on a ledge (or two).

Photo: Pottery Barn

Make it easy. A frame rail from Pottery Barn lets you customize a statement wall with industrial chains that hold art or photos. See photo.

Make it fun. You are creating a collage of objects that means something to you. Use your imagination and see what happens!

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solves decorating problems. Her article appears the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

A new year: Finding peace and comfort at home

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • January 4, 2020

A new year begins. With new dreams, hopes and possibilities. A time to take inventory and come up with new inspiration to enhance our homes for 2020.

If you’re like me, the decorations are almost all put away and things are looking a little sad without the lights that kept things bright and cheerful over the past month.

Never have our homes been more important to us. They’re our sanctuary. Our refuge from all of the stress and turmoil that is swirling around nonstop. From everything that is thrown at us on a daily basis. Some days it’s just a relief to get home and turn off all of the noise. To disconnect.

And whether “home” is a temporary rental, a studio apartment, spacious condo or estate home, we all want the same thing when we walk in the door: peace and comfort. It’s the only resolution worth having (in my opinion) because if you have peace and comfort, you have everything.

Each January, I like to take some time to think about how I can renew and refresh. A little reboot for myself and my home. I like for ways to enhance what I already have. A bit of a reimaging for the New Year. A tweak here and there. Some fine-tuning.

This is the time of year, as a Southwest Florida interior decorator, that I receive phone calls from clients who tell me their home needs something but they don’t know what. Just something to give it a little life. It can mean anything from new paint to new sofa pillows to a new kitchen backsplash. Here are a few of my suggestions. Maybe a few will work for you or at least give you a little inspiration.

• Take a photo of the room. A design trick! There is nothing like a photo to help you zero in on what you need. Artwork? New lighting? A new rug? Furniture rearrangement? I promise this tells the truth and will help you to say goodbye to what isn’t working.

Thibaut’s Palm Frond wallpaper from its Tropics collection adds a perfect Southwest Florida coastal look to a home. Photo: Thibaut

• It’s all about you. A client recently told meat she wanted to redo her home for herself this time. Huh? She said that she had always tried to make it look like a home in decorating magazines and it had never worked. Of course not. Those rooms were styled for the camera. Here is a fact: the design of your space will only make you happy of a personal approach is taken. One that is unique to you.

• Add some sparkle. An outrageously beautiful chandelier over your bed. If it means removing a fan, give it a try. You can always switch it back or you may love it some much that you don’t give it a thought.

• Pick one accent color and flow it through your home: paint, pillows, flowers, wall covering, a tray on a table. A little sprinkle here and there. This is an easy one.

• Set your table. It looks pretty and chances are that you won’t need to purchase anything except maybe some new napkins.

• Hang a pot rack in the kitchen. This gives the space a new look with a gourmet kitchen feel (even if you never cook).

• Rethink the walls. Maybe this is the year that you go for a huge change and invest in a beautiful wallcovering. Botanicals are outrageously popular and you can’t go wrong. Powder rooms are perfect for this treatment.

• Supersize lighting. Kitchen pendants and chandeliers are all trending huge and it is a great look. Go big if you are replacing lighting.

• Bathroom mini makeover. The New Year is a perfect time to refresh with new towels, rugs, scents.

• Paint the ceiling. If you are looking for a small investment that will give you a huge change. Designers have been doing this for years and you can too.

• Speaking of designers. This may be the year that you decide to call one of us to help you come up with a plan. We can keep you from making mistakes, come up with creative solutions that you have never considered and we have great sources.

• Refresh window coverings. If they are looking a little tired but a total replacement is not in the budget, think about trimming them with tape for a designer look. You can find directions online or have them done professionally.

• Kitchen reboot. If it’s looking a little tired and outdated, purchase a showstopper faucet. A knockoff of the ones that you see in magazines that homeowners design a kitchen around! It’s a small investment for a kitchen reboot. You can find them (affordable) online and at big box home stores.

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solves decorating problems. Her article appears the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

Love your home again

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • September 2019

Fall arrives tomorrow.

Time to pick out a fall wreath for the door or flag for the yard. Even though we really don’t have a fall season it’s nice to mark the change. Then it’s on to Halloween. And Thanksgiving, although it usually gets lost in all the Christmas shopping.

While there is still time, let me wish you a happy 2020!

It’s the time of year when things start to move at warp speed and we wonder where the months went. And if you’re like most of my Southwest Florida home interior clients, you want to get a few things done before we slide into the holidays and then into season again. Yikes.

And because we’re still into what I call our “endless summer” with a couple more months of steamy, hot weather, you may be thinking that your home could use a little something right about now. Something new to make you love it again.

Don’t wait for “someday”

Make a plan now. Be intentional. Strive for curated look. Get motivated. Pick a couple of ideas (see list below) and decide how you want to implement them. Start now and you will have something done before you hang your holiday wreath on the door! Whether you spend a little or a lot, don’t wait. Time is flying by!

And if you need inspiration, call a decorator or designer. We have lots of ideas in any budget and promise that you will love your home again when we are done.

Do these:

• Give your entry a new look with a dramatic color.

• Add a little glam to each room: a tufted sofa or a chaise lounge. Please, no brown! Pick a color that you love. Or a new mirror or a few glass accessories for some sparkle.

In the market for a new sofa? Glam it up with a chesterfield upholstered sofa. This one from Pottery Barn, has comfort and style and is crafted in the U.S. using eco-friendly materials. Photo: Pottery Barn

• Paint your front door. Add a new welcome mat that says something fun.

• Wallpaper a powder room. Something outrageously beautiful.

• Add some sparkle: a chandelier in the living room or bedroom (you really don’t need a ceiling fan in every room in the house). Or hang one in the master closet. It will make you happy every time you walk in.

• Display a collection. Haul out those ginger jars and fill them with fresh flowers.

• Soften the harsh, recessed lighting in the kitchen with a lamp on the counter or island. You won’t believe the change.

Powder rooms are the ideal spot for pattern and color. And no worries about water contact from showers and baths. Thibaut’s Palm Frond wallpaper from its Tropics collection adds a perfect coastal vibe to a home. Photo: Thibaut

• Invest in hotel-style bedding. Don’t be afraid of white linens (always go for a high thread count). White sheets are so popular now and for good reason. Easy to care for and you can change your color scheme whenever you like.

• Hang something colorful in your laundry room.

• Change your drapes or drapery panels over the sliders. Make sure you hang them high: just below the ceiling or molding. And forget solid colors. Try a print or design.

• Delete what is no longer working in your home. I do this seasonally as things do tend to accumulate no matter how hard we try.

• Want color but afraid to commit to an entire room? Fine. Paint the ceiling that color that you have always wanted to try. Yes, the ceiling!

• Create a gallery-style wall with your favorite art.

• Need a new kitchen backsplash? Check out the new textured, handmade subway tiles. Spectacular!

• Add something velvet. Like a few new pillows.

Skip these:

• Oversized anything. Seriously. Not pretty.

• Purchasing a white sofa if you have children, grandchildren, pets, a husband, friends or anyone who will be sitting on it. Trust me on this one.

Wait until you find artwork that means something to you...rather than purchasing just to fill a space. Waves wall art by Pottery Barn.

• Generic, mass-produced artwork. Leave the wall blank until you find some meaningful art or photographs.

• Slip covers for dining chairs. They never fit and always look tired.

• Trendy kitchen updates. White cabinets will always be in style.

• Renovating one part of an open floor plan. Because you can see everything, a renovation of a piece of the open space will make everything else look dated.

• Complicated outdoor spaces. This is where you will be spending some time as soon as the temperatures drop. Keep it simple and comfortable.

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solves decorating problems. Her article appears the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

Color Matters

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • August 3, 2019

Color. It makes us feel happy. It changes everything including how we feel about our space. Get it right and you will love your home. Mess it up and you will always wonder why it’s not feeling quite right. Photo: Thibaut Design

There I was at the gym the other morning. Slogging away on the treadmill.

I love working out and couldn’t figure out why it was such a struggle. Too much effort. Painful.

Then it hit me. This was a new fitness center and I had only been there a few times. The colors were fairly horrid. Brown walls in a shade I have never seen, brown flooring (to hide dirt…need I say more), grey equipment (of course) and it looked out over a grey parking lot with no vegetation or color of any kind. And it was an overcast day. On a sunny day this might be tolerable. Maybe.

Contrast this with my yoga studio which is done in creams, soft blues and greens. A glass wall looks out over a beautiful garden with lots of greenery and a fountain. I can’t wait to get there in the early morning and I am never anxious to leave.

Color matters

From the time we get that first box of crayons, we are fascinated by color. It has the power to change everything.

You can’t go wrong with blue and white as the foundation for a color palette. Shown here: Thibaut Design’s Travelers palm printed fabric. Other colors available. Photo: Thibaut Design

As an interior decorator working in Southwest Florida, my most requested service is selecting color and creating personalized color palettes for the home. It’s the most difficult part of decorating for most people and there are good reasons.

It’s a fact

We are fortunate to live in a tropical paradise where beautiful color palettes surround us.

The right color scheme can make a room look larger, prettier, lighter, darker, cleaner or happier. Color can give your home a beach vibe, modern coastal look, add a little boho chic, a cottage feeling or farmhouse style.

Palm Botanical wallpaper in Emerald Green from Thibaut Design’s Tropics Collection. Morgan Dining Chairs in Rain Water printed fabric in Green. Photo: Thibaut Design

Limited budget? Pick color

Seriously. If you are on a limited budget and are able to only do one thing, select a new color palette. It will change everything and you’ll love your home again.

It makes us feel happy. It changes how we feel about our space (like that gym). Get it right and you will love your home. Mess it up and you will always wonder why it’s not feeling quite right.

It’s far from easy. It’s complicated. It’s why home interior professionals study it for years and most are like me and don’t leave the house without a fan deck in their hand. We are passionate about color. And we know all of the tricks.

Color don’ts

· Rush to make a decision.

· Go with the latest trends.

· Pick color from a tiny swatch.

· Paint without testing the color on the wall.

· Pick a paint color before you have anything else in the room.

· Think only about the room that you are painting. Color needs to flow in order to work.

· Paint every room a different color.

Color do’s

· Pick colors that are found in nature. You can’t go wrong.

· Create a color palette and work from there. Consider your window treatments, upholstery, pillows, artwork and accessories. Color is not just the paint that you put on the walls. Think about the big picture.

· With paint, buy the best quality paint you can afford. It makes a difference. And go with the lowest VOC or no VOC.

· Color challenged? Lots of homeowners are…magazines, Pinterest and vision boards all help.

· And when all else fails, call a professional. Our job is to keep you from making mistakes.

· Consider the ceiling. I often tint the paint for the ceiling so that it’s not such a stark white. Just a little splash links the ceiling to the walls. And if you have coffered ceilings, take advantage of this element with color.

Be fearless when it comes to color. It changes everything. Including how you feel. And who doesn’t want a happy home?

Photo: Thibaut Design

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solves decorating problems. Her article appears the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog