Decorating with Color

A nationally acclaimed author and public speaker, Smith teaches the art of exterior design, accentuating a home’s more subtle features to create a cohesive and high-end look. Smith advocates identifying the home’s permanent elements, such as the brick and sidewalk, and choosing colors that pick up on those features.

“Start looking at all of your home’s common elements,” Smith said. “Do you have a partial stone in front that picks up the tan brick and green shades in the roof? If you really look at your home, the color almost naturally pops out at you.”

One of the most exciting new elements of exterior design is roofing. Smith said roofs have gone from simply functional to being an integral part of the color scheme. Tiles are now made in color blends of up to five hues, giving homeowners more choices in accent colors.

“You can beautifully blend theses colors in with your siding color or front door and still have a customized look for your home,” she said.

Once homeowners have a color scheme, Smith said many want to know how to create the illusion of a larger space.

“A lot of people forget how to use color to enhance a space, especially outside, but I have little clues I give,” she said. “If you are trying to make your property look larger, put a bright element like a plant or a piece of lawn furniture that really draws color to a far corner. Your eye is immediately drawn to that farthest point. It fools the eye because it’s more about contrast than color.”

But Smith said choosing a color for the front door is usually what gives homeowners the most trouble when it comes to exterior design.

“A good rule of thumb is to figure out what colors you’re already dealing with,” Smith said. “Look at the brick. Look at the grout color. Is it more gold or gray? Start to get a sense of what elements are in common. Each homeowner needs to layer their personality on to a home’s features. Think about who you are and what you want to project to the world, and the process will become infinitely easier,” she said.

Many of Smith’s trending ideas apply to a home inside and out. She helps homeowners find a connecting color throughout their house. She will discuss interior decorating at the show, explaining how complex color palettes can be used to craft elegant and sophisticated room designs that work in the living room or on the patio.

Visit the show to see What’s New – What’s Next – for your Home.

Color Confidence

Using her debut color kit, Color Confidence: Color for Your Home Interior, Smith will peel back the layers to reveal how to design color schemes and create mood during her show presentation. The seven-step kit takes consumers on a kaleidoscopic how-to that teaches them to understand their own style and how to read a room and set the mood they want. Smith said the kit is a helpful guide of tricks and tips to increase creative confidence and comprehension of color fundamentals.

Smith's kit will be available for attendees to browse and purchase. The kit is also available at Home Depot and Lowe's. To learn more about Kate Smith and using color, visit her web site, www.sensationalcolor.com.