Design pros share their go-to color tips

What’s your color?

Whether you love the freshness of white, the warmth of neutrals or the energy of an intense hue, it’s important to choose a palette that can evolve with your changing tastes—because yes, they will inevitably change.

If you’re like artist George Carlson, the owner of the lakeside cottage pictured above, then you aren’t afraid of a little color. He used a pure white on the room’s walls and ceiling to create a clean, crisp canvas. Though painting your floors a robin’s-egg-blue is a bold move, this design gives you flexibility to bring in new colors in the future. Should you tire of red, all you need to do is swap the bedding—and you have a new look.

Jennifer Visosky, of Grace Home Design, who designed the bold space below, offers this advice: “Just trust your gut. Most people really do have an eye for color, but they get into trouble when they start second-guessing themselves. Start with accents rather than walls and pieces of furniture, then work with colors that speak to you.” Click here for more tips from Visosky.

“For interiors, white is a great accent, says interior designer Lisa Kanning, of Worth Interiors, who designed the space below. “The contrast of a gleaming white vessel surrounded by a warm field of fabrics and furnishings can be very eye-catching, yet not overpowering.” Click here for more tips from Kanning.

For more expert tips and design ideas, go to mountainliving.com.