Playing with paint; it's the easiest design decision to change. Here are strategies - Inside the Western Home

Sunset, Oct, 1990

From the exuberant use of color in houses south of the border to the precisely playful treatments on our own "painted lady" Victorians, the West has plenty of inspiration to play with paint.

Compared to the cost and commitment of construction changes and home-furnishing purchases, paint is the easiest design decision to change. Safe schemes may start with warm white or pale peach, but with a little more thought you can add character even to rooms lacking in architectural interest.

Our photographs (and sketches on page 26) show some ways we've seen paint used effectively in Western homes. You can pair darker and lighter versions of the same color, contrast complementary colors, play high-gloss against mat. For a grounding in color theory, check the offerings in libraries and bookstores. Here are a few basics before you take up a brush.

First, in many cases, paint color should actually be the last decision you make. Your color scheme will more likely succeed if you adopt hues of something you love: rug, fabric, art, pottery, stitchery, even plants.

Next, do you have some architectural feature to celebrate? Fireplace, mantel, molding, doorways, windows, dormer alcoves, niches, built-in bookcases, window bay? Or are rooms so devoid of interest that you need to create some?

With baseboards, windows, and doors that are bare-bones boring, either paint them in with walls and ceiling-or throw caution to the wind and boldly call them out with color. If woodwork has some character, one approach is to paint it a darker shade of the wall color, ceilings a lighter tone.

The angle where wall and ceiling meet doesn't have to be a dividing line. Consider stopping wall paint at a band of color several inches below the ceiling, then paint up and over in another shade and even a higher gloss.

Picking out an area or feature in a shade darker than the wall color gives a feeling of depth. Edges look softer between equal values of different colors-even complementary ones-and more distinct between adjacent dark and light tones. For accents with punch, add a color that lies opposite your basic hue on the color wheel.

Gloss intensifies a color's impact. Consider using a high-gloss or semi-gloss paint for areas you want to emphasize. The higher gloss could be the same color as mat- or flat-finish walls, a slightly different shade or hue, or a punch of complementary color.

Light affects how a color looks. Standard advice before you make a final decision is to paint 3-foot-square patches of test colors in key places and watch how daylight and artificial light affect them.

Designs: House House, San Francisco; William Dutcher, Berkeley.