Color Works LLC

You are sure not alone! Granite is expensive, but you will see a 92.9 percent return on the cost, according to a 2004 survey by Remodeling magazine. This is one of the highest returns you will see on any part of your interior design process.

My favorite comment from homeowners is, "It just doesn't look right." While this may be the case, you can save yourself and your designer numerous headaches by having the answers ready when you are asked the three following questions.

1. What do I want to improve?
2. What is my interior design budget?
3. What is my timeline?

This will not only save you time when it comes to amount of billable hours on your final invoice, but will provide WD-40 to the process!

This is just the first of what will be hundreds of tips very soon!

Are you stuck on what color to paint a room or one wall? You know you want to try something, but you are remembering when you tried it and it just didn't turn out how you thought it would, and that was the fourth can of non-returnable paint.

Try paying $4.95 at Behr.com for their downloadable color program! This will allow you to upload any picture of your home and "paint" the walls. They have a button for taping, a button for any tool you would use while paiting and it is quite fast. You can make it as precise or as simple as you like.

The paint colors you choose will vary from the store swatch based on your monitor's settings, but if you are looking for a broad-stroke approach, pardon the pun, this is worth every cent and will save you hundreds of pennies buying multiple paint cans!

The downside? You can only choose Behr paint colors.

Avoiding a rainbow overdose is key. “Color is important to me, but in sparse ways,” says homeowner Una Damon. Her instinct is echoed in the light-handed approach of architects Toni Lewis and Marc Schoeplein. Too much color, says Lewis, and you can end up with “a funhouse-looking home.”

In this day of Home Depot and DIY, what do interior design professionals know that the rest of us don't? Plenty, it turns out! We asked three different designers to share their best tips for home updates big and small. Read on for style secrets.

Benjamin Huntington is a residential designer who has worked in the U.S. and the U.K. Huntington teaches and practices Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese art of creating a harmonious environment. He has made many media appearances as a design expert, including a spot on "World News Tonight" with Peter Jennings.

Though his style is refined (his work on a New York City apartment entryway, above left, is as crisp and classic as a dry martini), Huntington's advice is down-to-earth and easy to execute:

1. Install dimmer switches in every room so that you can adjust the lighting to suit your moods.

2. Try using perimeter lighting – table lamps, standing lamps and sconce lighting – in bedrooms, and avoid overhead lighting if possible. This will mimic the feeling of sunset or sunrise.

3. Do not skimp on knobs and handles, as you will touch these almost every day.

4. To make your guests feel more comfortable, avoid arranging a seating group where the main sofa has its back to the main entrance to the room.

For the full article, clicke here.

Hello design junkies and welcome to my blog where we can swap ideas and hopefully sharpen our skills. If you are not a designer, here's a chance to get in on the industry chat. Do you have a good trick or a secret of the trade you want to share? Here's the spot! If you want to include a URL, please do so as well!

Welcome to Color Works in a living, breathing media, which will bring you the latest and greatest news and tidbits on the world of design as they arrive.