The number one fear in home design is choosing color. I receive at least a hundred letters a week from folks asking, pleading, and flipping out about the subject. The thought of having to choose color can make the most courageous break out in a cold sweat. I often hear the same story: "I go to the paint store, stare at 5,000 color swatches and combinations, get a headache, my self-confidence plummets, and I go home defeated."

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Making paint decisions at the paint store is like grocery shopping when you're starving -- not a good idea. There are hundreds of samples in paint displays because you're supposed to take them with you and make these critical decisions in the comfort of your home, where the color will actually end up. This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people put themselves on the spot in the paint store and try to make decisions in that distracting environment. They ask the opinion of an employee who has never been in their home, and probably worked in the lumber department the day before. They end up playing it safe and arriving at home with white, beige, or nothing.