Show Some Love for Your Home on Valentine’s Day

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--If you believe in the old adage that “home is where the heart is,” then why not show a little love for your abode this Valentine’s Day? There are lots of ways to do it: You can rearrange the furniture, redecorate, or freshen things up with a colorful new coat of interior paint.

“Studies have shown that color can be a great mood-lifter, and one of the easiest and least expensive ways to introduce new color into a home is with paint.”

“Spicing up your home with some new color is a great way to fight the winter blahs,” says Debbie Zimmer, paint and color expert for the Paint Quality Institute. “Studies have shown that color can be a great mood-lifter, and one of the easiest and least expensive ways to introduce new color into a home is with paint.”

One approach is to tackle the room where you spend the most time – your family room or dining area, for example. That way, you’ll get maximum enjoyment from your painting project.

If you’re not quite so ambitious, think about painting only an accent wall in a different color that complements or contrasts with the other walls. This simple project can often be accomplished in just a couple of hours, but can completely change the appearance and “feel” of a room.

When choosing which wall to paint in your accent color, keep in mind that the eye will tend to be drawn there. As a result, you might want to favor the wall where your best artwork is displayed, or where your nicest furniture resides.

To better incorporate the accent wall’s new hue into the room’s overall color scheme, you might want to purchase a few inexpensive items that match the color and sprinkle them here and there. Possibilities include throw pillows, ceramics, a small area rug, even placemats.

Don’t have the budget to buy anything other than paint? Then “create” some matching accents by applying leftover paint to one of your small furniture items, a couple of picture frames, or some old pots with interesting shapes. The objective is simply to inject a little more of the accent color to help pull together the look of the room.

Color selection is a personal matter, but if you want to stay in the spirit of the valentine season, what could be more appropriate than red? The fiery color just so happens to be a great color choice for dining rooms and eating areas, where it tends to stimulate appetite, according to color psychologists.

Being a psychologically “warm” color, red in any tint or shade will tend to make cold February days cozier no matter where you use it in the home. And if you feel warmer, you might even be able to lower your thermostat a degree or two, saving on energy bills.

If you think you might have a passion for painting as Valentine’s Day approaches, Zimmer offers one final bit of advice: purchase the highest quality paint for the longest lasting results. As time goes by, you’ll learn to love the way the color continues to look as bright and fresh as the very first time you laid eyes on it.

For more information on interior painting and color selection, visit blog.paintquality.com or paintquality.com. There, you’ll discover many loving ways to improve the appearance of your home.

About the PAINT QUALITY INSTITUTE^(SM)

The Paint Quality Institute was formed in 1989 to educate people on the advantages of using quality interior and exterior paints and coatings. The Paint Quality Institute's goal is to provide information on the virtues of quality paint as well as color trends and decorating with paint through a variety of vehicles, including television appearances, newspaper and magazine articles, and instructional literature. Please be sure to visit the Paint Quality Institute at www.paintquality.com. PAINT QUALITY INSTITUTE and PAINTQUALITY.COM are trademarks of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow.