The calendar says it is Spring but the weather keeps denying it. Recently, I’ve been daydreaming of all the beautiful greens of Spring. I thought how that color family is also a popular interior choice as well. Beginning decorators are especially drawn to warm greens, perhaps because we see those everyday in nature.

Greens are comfortable for guys and gals alike. They are great companions for woods, stone, ceramic and natural accessories. It’s also very easy to find coordinating fabrics that will also give you additional accent colors to use with your greens.

The featured group of three Benjamin Moore paint strips shows cool, mid-tone and warm greens. Cool green has more blue in color mixture. Mid-tones (brighter) are a more even mix of blue and yellow, and the warms have more yellow in the mixture. The lone strip is a Better Homes and Gardens sample and though not showing well in this photo, it is on the warm side, with gray tints and shades. On a color strip, from the middle up are the tints; the main color mixed with varying amounts of white. From the middle down, are the shades; the main color with different amounts of black added.

If you’re undecided about color combinations, try the easiest … monochromatic, which is using tints and shades of one color. Green is our feature but it works with any main color you like. Narrow down to one strip from each of the three categories, cool-mid-warm, and decide which you are most comfortable with.

Already we’ve used three, my magic number in decorating. Now go to the next 3 by choosing three different colors from your sample. Using three colors in your room adds interest and ambiance. If you’re very brave, you may want to paint in one shade, the mid-tone and one tint. If you’re just a bit adventurous, you might choose the mid-tone and two tint colors. This may be your first painting venture, in which case you might want to use all lighter colors and choose three from the tints.

When painting any room (any color) you’ll want to consider lighting; the natural light and your accessory lighting. For example, our home has many windows and a very open main floor plan, so here we have fun with mid and darker tones. Our guest rooms are smaller and I’ve used mid to very light tones in those to avoid feeling like a dungeon.

How you combine your three colors throughout the room is completely up to you. Here are a few ideas.

1. Darkest color as accent on one wall and as main accessory color. Mid-tone on remaining walls with lightest tone on trim and/or ceiling. Your draperies could be solid in any of the three, or a fun design using all three.
2. Very brave decorators (usually have quite a few rooms under their belt) might reverse the dark and mid colors, with the mid as the accent wall and the rest of the room darker.
3. Paint all walls the same color, the ceiling a second and the trim a third.
The list could go on and on.

Don’t stress, just start. Each paint job is a learning experience AND if you learn that it isn’t the color for you, it’s easy to re-do!