“What a lovely shade of green” you think as you browse swatches at the paint store. Then you go home, put three coats on the wall and move your furniture back into the room.

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       It’s not until three days later, of course, that it hits you: You’ve just painted your walls the color of a decade-old hospital gown.

 

       What have you done? More importantly, how do you prevent this from ever happening again?

 

       The key, says Diane Nipper, a Dallas interior arranger, is to have patience. In other words, she says, test a color before you put it on the walls.

 

       First, she says, "choose a [paint] color in real light vs. artificial light." Then, buy a quart of it and paint a big swatch on the wall.

 

"Put it floor to ceiling, at least three feet wide," she says. "Then you can tell if you’re going to like it or not."

 

       The important thing, Nipper says, is not to let a negative experience with bold color prevent you from using it in your home.

 

       "It can make it unique," she says. "You can really express own personality and way of living by color. It sort of represents your personality."

 

       In our neighborhood, Nipper says she sees a lot of reds.

 

"Cranberries or raspberries,” she says. “In older homes, it seems to go well, and you can incorporate another color into a red room through flower arrangements or art."

 

       In fact, Nipper recommends using ways other than paint to introduce color in your home. Accessories — pillows, rugs, lampshades — are generally a great way of introducing color, she says.

 

       Say, for instance, you want to use orange in your bedroom. Rather than covering your walls in a deep shade of tangerine dream, pick a neutral color to paint with, Nipper says, and use a "big, significant color of orange" for your bedspread or comforter, then pull both the orange and neutrals in with accent pillows.

 

       "It can really liven a room up," Nipper says.

 

       And finally, keep in mind what colors have always made you tick and what’s tickling your fancy because its trendy.

 

       "Trends are good for about seven years, and then you’re sitting on old colors," Nipper says. "The best thing to do is to find colors you like — that you gravitate to — and stay with those. If you love something, it never goes out of style."