L.A. Designer’s Home(10)

“Color is affected by everything around it; it does not exist in a vacuum,” reminds designer/homeowner Kristi Nelson. Her guidelines to encourage your prowess with palettes:

• Rooms with northern or eastern exposures have the coolest, bluest light. Use warm hues to counterbalance that. For southern and western exposures, use cool colors, but keep them intense to stand up to the harsh exposures.

• Don’t just paint your ceilings white. For a soft, soothing feel, tint them to complement the wall--great for bedrooms. For drama, use metallics [like the silver and gold leaf on Kristi’s dining room ceiling]. Paint ceilings blue to add airiness. Paint porch ceilings blue to discourage wasps from nesting there. Rumor has it they’ll think it’s sky.

• Highlight such architectural details as moldings with white, plus pale colors that coordinate with your walls.

• Black: Every room should have a little, as on my windows.

• Gild the lily. A touch of gold or silver leaf calls out architectural details.