Looking for a way to be both chic and cheap when updating the look of your home? Nothing gives more bang for your buck than a fresh coat of paint.

Whether you are dressing up your home for the holidays or preparing for sale, think outside the box of basic beige, one color fits all rooms. Color adds character and be used to emphasize a home’s best features or downplay flaws.

Paint has a chameleon-like ability to lighten, warm, enlarge, erase, or attract attention, and is a powerful tool that can enhance the architectural character and intent of space.

Painting walls white, cream, pastels, or cool colors tinged with blue or green creates the illusion of more space by reflecting light. Paint trim similar to walls or use white on trim to ensure a seamless appearance that visually expands space. Lack of contrast makes a room seem more spacious.

Make walls appear taller by extending wall color onto the ceiling. Create a 6- to 12-inch-wide border of wall color on the entire ceiling perimeter, or wherever walls meet the ceiling. Vertical and horizontal stripes of alternating color will make a great room grand.

Make it cozy

When a space feels cavernous, draw walls inward and make it cozy with warm red-tinged hues that absorb light. A dark or warm color overhead in a flat finish will help make rooms with high or vaulted ceilings less voluminous.

The right paint choice can lend tranquility to a bathroom, master suite, or other quiet, personal space. A palette of soft, understated tones will instill a calming atmosphere. Some good choices include pale lavenders, light grays, greens, and anything in the blue color family. Blues of all hues are big in home interior design.

Call out notable features in a room with paint. Dress crown moldings and other trims in white to make them pop against walls with color. Make a fireplace or other interior feature a focal point with a color that contrasts walls.

Always sample paint colors on a few walls. Don’t be shy about painting a few large swaths on walls and trim to consider the effect of natural and artificial lighting.

Add samples to opposite sides of a room to judge the paint color from different angles, and watch how the paint color changes at different times of the day. Most paint stores will sell pint sized samples for less than $5, so you can try on a few of your color picks at home.

Adriana Donofrio Podley Properties Glendora 626 926-9700• adrianad@podley.com