My house was white on white when I bought it. Albeit, it looked larger until I moved furniture in, but it was like living in a hospital. I started repainting slowly but surely, after getting situated with the furnishings, linens, and window coverings.

The kitchen had new whitewashed birch cabinets with neutral counters. The upstairs is a great room so the kitchen, dining, and living room are all open and together. So to redo my white-white house into the neutral light beige wall with white trim, I had to find a neutral that worked in the neutral kitchen. After five trips to the paint store and pondering all the options of flat tones and faux paint, I determined no neutral would work for all four walls. Randomly holding up the Venetian Plaster swatch book to the cabinets and counters, I was surprised when a burgundy-wine tone stood out as “the one.” It went with everything: the neutral counters, neutral cabinets, neutral carpet, neutral floor, and planned color for neutral walls. So I painted the two adjoining walls of the kitchen and dining area with burgundy Venetian Plaster, then bought sheer burgundy curtains and scarves for the windows in the neutral-toned area. Wow, what a difference from white. And you know, the one thing guests remember is that kitchen. It’s got the cheapest cabinets and counters known to man, but with the burgundy red walls and antique copper cabinet handles and faucet, I think we gained a few equity dollars there. That’s what you want. A buyer to walk in and say “WOW, This is comfortable/stunning/light/beautiful and I could put my sofa here and it would go with…..”