provided by: 
Threes never a crowd when it comes to decorating, says leading Canadian architectural paint brand PARA Paints. In fact, a combination of the right three colours can transform a room from basic to breathtaking.
This is particularly true when it comes to paint, says Melanie Rice, Colour Consultant for PARA Paints and a member of the international colour forecast Color Marketing Group. Gone are the days of painting a room one uniform colour, Rice explained. Todays trend is to use a mix of colours on walls, trim and accessories around the room.
Achieving a tri-colour look with any decor is simple, says Rice. The rule of thumb is to select a primary hue or main wall colour which should take up about 70 per cent of colour in your room. Next, choose two supporting hues to complement the primary colour. Use one of those hues as your secondary colour for trim or an individual wall covering about 25 per cent of colour in your room. The final colour should be applied on accents, window sills or doors, to highlight the remaining five per cent.
For those hesitant about using three paint colours in one room, Rice recommends applying two paint colours and incorporating the third hue in pillows, pieces of furniture or drapery.
Popular three-colour combinations:
Midnight blue supported by off-white and turquoise, such as Blue Suede Shoes (P1910-5), Rice Paper (P2225-4) and Barbizon Blue (P1603-3);
Steel blue highlighted with gold and cream, such as Flagstone (P2264-2), Robertson House Gold Tint 3 (P2060-2) and Almost Ivory (P1830-4);
Rich red complemented by cream and deep orange, such as Elderberry (P2038-8-5), Wild Phlox (P2047-4) and Copper Nugget (P2376-3);
Soft gray accented by deep red and brown-red, such as Greyed Pearl (P2208-4), Blaze of Red (P329-8) and Rich Russet (P392-8).
To help consumers select the most suitable three colours for their dcor, PARA Paints has introduced a handy colour selection tool with the launch of its new website at www.para.com. Visitors to the site simply click on their favourite primary colour, and PARA automatically suggests two supporting colours that best suit the choice.
Be creative, explore, and try new and unexpected combinations, such as blue with green, red with fuchsia, or navy with black, Rice says, explaining that, while these mixtures used to be taboo, now anything goes. To help pick a primary colour to start with, we recommend selecting a colour you like best from a fabric, carpet or painting that already exists in the room.
More colour selection tips can be found at www.para.com. Also featured on PARA Paints's new website are samples of the top colour choices for 2008, painting advice and how-to tips, and a coverage calculator which instantly estimates how much paint is needed for any job.
article at HomeRenovationGuide.com