Better Homes Gardens USA April 2019

April 2019 | 105

HOW TO

WORK

WITH

PAINT

■PICK JUST ONE

In this allover sage

green room, left,

the walls become a

seamless canvas

against which furniture

stands out beautifully.

Painting walls, trim,

and windows the same

color is a surefi re way

to make that color

work like a neutral.

■GO LOW SHINE

“If the goal is

neutrality, stick to

a lower sheen fi nish,

like matte or eggshell.

The glossier the

fi nish—especially if the

color is light—the more

it will pick up and

refl ect the colors around

it,” says color expert

Nivara Xaykao .■

MORE NEUTRALS

Designer Juan Carretero says,

These four make the cut.

Let us unlock the

logic of the paint

strip for you.

■TERMS

Versions of a

color lightened

with white (tints)

are at the top.

Those darkened with black (shades)

are at the bottom. Between them are the

colors mixed with gray (tones).

■MAP IT OUT For smooth tonality

in a room, pick your wall color then go

up or down two rows to fi nd a trim

color. You’ll get the defi nition that trim

gives without the potentially jarring

contrast of white or wood.

■TAKE THE TEMP The bottom color is

the most saturated, so use it to identify

a color’s temperature. Example: To fi nd

out whether a pale green in the top

spot is warm or cool, see if its darkest

version leans yellow or blue. Choose

similarly warm or cool accents.

■ (^) LOOK ACROSS ROWS In a neutral
scheme, you want all your colors to be
of a similar intensity. To get that, stick
to the same row on the paint chips.

PEACE AND

HAPPINESS

1380

Benjamin

Moore

THAI BASIL

N400-5

Behr

RAIN

SW 6219

Sherwin-Williams

BRINJAL

222

Farrow & Ball

HOW TO

READ

A PAINT

CHIP

A NEUTRAL IS ANY COLOR

VERSATILE ENOUGH TO BE

USED AS A BACKGROUND TO LAYER

OTHER COLORS ONTO.