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COLOR IN THE LIVING ROOM

Many women seem more timid about using color in the living room than anywhere else in the home. One of the reasons could be that in the living room their taste is exposed to public opinion. Certainly it is here that the family receives friends and outsiders, so it should be a room decorated with a reasonable amount of restraint and dignity. But do not neglect the living room's more fundamental function - to bolster your own and your family's spirits at day's end as well as to provide a place of relaxation, stimulation and warmth. For this reason some professional decorators consider that it is better to use color inexpertly than not to use it at all.

COLOR IN THE BEDROOM

The bedroom is a woman's private world. As a general rule it should express the personal color preference of its occupant. The best concession to a husband would be to emphasise in color and decoration, the points on which both husband and wife are unanimous.

Don't presume during the happy optimism of planning a bedroom that no one will ever be ill in it. It is doubtful that any home possesses a sick bay. A violet wall surveyed at short intervals from a bed pillow may seem actually to sit on the bed if one has to look at it all day, every- day for a week or more. Confine the greatest color strength in a bedroom to the behind-the-bed wall, and to the carpet or rugs, which will promptly emphasise the bed. Floor and bed-wall thus escape the field of vision when one is in bed.

COLOR IN THE BATHROOM

Most bathrooms function as a combination beauty shop and surgery. Cheerful or glamorous colors in towels and accessories are good (a lipstick red ceiling in some bathrooms has charm), but care must be taken not to have any color on walls or in shower curtains which will tint either the artificial or window light. Neither flattering nor belittling light rays should be permitted to tamper with the honest glare of the bathroom mirror, which tells all. If teenage daughters are learning the rudiments of make-up, this point will be appreciated by the whole family.

COLOR IN THE KITCHEN AND DINING ROOM

A kitchen which escapes from the sterile laboratory look will raise the housewife's morale. A choice of bright yellows is obvious. A good, rich cherry red on the stove wall won't show the dinginess and discoloration that comes from heat and vapors. All-white fixtures and appliances gain against colored or bright wallpaper backgrounds. The kitchen should be gay, enterprising and cheerful by day or night.

Time spent in a separate dining room is so relatively brief that the dining room can afford to produce for visitors a pleasant surprise in color and decoration. It is also the one room that often seems inactive and less furnished than other parts of the house. it's there that color interest can compensate. Think of dining room color as a visual cocktail or appetiser conducive to a hearty meal.

COLOR ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE

Think of the hall as being a related change of color so that continuity is achieved when other rooms open on to it. Since halls in small homes are little more than passageways, they need to be particularly decorative and colorful. Possibly there is no room for furniture, so interest should be provided by a scenic wallpaper, a striking floor treatment, or a miniature art gallery. If hall doors are the panelled type they could be made dramatic by painting in two colors.

Color holds a house together. Don't be fooled by the old idea that dun and dull colors won't show dirt. They look dirty to begin with and look dirtier with time. But bright colors - red, emerald, green, icing-sugar pink - will go on gleaming through house traffic and dust. This same brightness used in floor covering gives a vital foundation to a room.

Ornaments, picture frames and objects whose interest is primarily in line or form, usually gain in white, wood tones, gold or black - colors which do not load them down with additional confusing interest. The white elephant is a lesser menace than the pink elephant when it comes to decorating.