Do you have furniture that doesn’t seem to go with the rest of your house? Try a fresh coat of paint before you change your living room’s decor.

Let me guess, you’re cringing right now at the thought of painting your living room. You’re not alone. Even though most homeowners know painting is the most inexpensive and quickest way to transform their living rooms from drab to fabulous, they still express reluctance in vivid hues. They feel selecting the right paint colors is an intimidating task not easily achieved by amateurs. However, finding and living with colors you really love can be easy, fun and a lot lighter on your budget.

Top 4 Tips

1. Collect Decorating Samples From Your Home The best way to begin choosing the right paint color for your living room is to let fabric lead the way. Fabric provides inspiration for a room’s color scheme. It’s also a more prudent starting point since painting your living room is much easier and costs a lot less than to change furniture and window treatments.

2. Study Color Schemes You Admire in Home Decorating Magazines Turn your magazine flipping into a treasure hunt. Mark or rip out pages with rooms that you like. This will become your decorating portfolio and will come in handy when its time to pick a mood and feel for your room.You may even see a room with the same structure as your space that you can use as a template for your wall color and furniture placement. See how the pros do it, copy them and then add your own personality twist for a fresh, new look.

3. Keep Paint Tones in Mind and Instantly Change the Mood of your Living Room You want to use colors appropriate to the natural setting lighting. To create the prefect place to curl up by, you must understand the psychology of color. The color wheel has two sides: warm and cool. Just like the group name connotes, warm colors add coziness and warmth to a space while cool colors add a smooth airiness that can translate an atmosphere of peace and relaxation. Warm colors range from red to orange and cool colors range from blue to violet.Knowing how color will affect your emotional response will come in handy when choosing the mood of your living room.

4. Notice Architectural Features Highlighting window casements, columns, staircases, crown moldings and other architectural features with shades of white can instantly turn your living room into a true showcase admired by friends, family and yourself.

If you’re feeling brave, instead of painting your living room’s architectural features white or off-white, consider the palest shade of color to coordinate with the walls. Your Home Interior Decoration Bottom Line: Painting your living room can be fun, easy and cheap. You may already have the framework for a showroom hiding in your carpets, curtains and furniture.

Choosing a living room’s feel can be as simple as flipping through your favorite magazine and cutting out a picture. Paying a little attention to details, especially architectural ones can give your living room that custom touch. This is a secret that most do-it-yourselfers overlook. If you follow these tips, you will pick a paint to please your palette and give your home the quality it deserves.

This article was provided by the American Homeowners Association (AHA). Richard Roll, Founder and President of the American Homeowners Association (AHA), is dedicated to providing over 1 million homeowners with the information, tools and resources that will help them save money and make the right decisions about their homes. For more information on how to renovate, remodel and decorate your home with less time, money and effort, go to www.ahahomenew.org for a special offer from AHA. Want to do the right things to maintain your home quickly and easily? The National Home Maintenance Manual (NHMM) helps you protect your largest investment.