Help For The Decoratively Challenged

Before I was married, the furniture in my living room was second hand and the television was the most expensive piece.  All of my coffee cups had logos from either local businesses or sports teams.  I thought feng shui was something you ordered with your egg rolls.

Not surprisingly, now that I am married, my wife is responsible for the decor of our home. She does a very good job at it as well.  Even if half the time I do not understand the reasoning behind why something has to go in a specific place.

This morning, I was walking through Ikea with my wife and a friend.  Well, I was walking, they were slowly meandering and perusing.  It was during one of their conversations, about which shade of white a lamp needed to be that I had an epiphany.

Actually, I had two epiphanies.  The first was that I must never let the two of them alone in the store, or they would bring most of it back home.  The second was a way to help those decoratively challenged, like myself.

The answer is paint samples.  Let's say you see a sweet leather couch, but it is green.  Go to the paint store and find green, most paint stores include accent colours that compliment the primary colour.

Now you know what colours you need to buy whatever else you need in to "tie" the room together.