Ask any decorator and you will be told that this year’s clothing colors will become next year’s home decorating colors. We know this to be true, but don’t necessarily agree that the philosophy is very practical. Where a $15 pair of jeans or an $18 shirt can be palatable purchases, painting your home’s interior once a year can easily lead to bankruptcy. However, we do agree that it can be wise to update your home’s colors from time to time. Doing so can freshen and change it appearance and how you feel within its walls.

Aesthetics are important. However, you want to use caution. Bad color choices can create a white elephant. An interior decorator would tell you that shape, color, and texture are three important factors when considering even the simplest change to your home – and we agree.

With shape and texture, it's important to keep the rest of the house in mind. Match existing trim and finish styles whenever possible. With color, be subtle. Room to room differences shouldn't be in stark contrast. In fact, it is wise to chose a basic neutral and use it throughout the home using complimentary splashes of color from room to room. Ceiling and trim colors should match throughout the house.

Our society is heavily influenced by trends: the avocado and gold of the '60s, the earth tones of the '70s and the mauve and sterling of the '80s, for example. It's fine to be trendy when you're buying clothes, but not so if you want to get the best long-term investment when making home improvements.

Keep it simple. An ultra-soft tile color like off-white may not be striking, but a subtle color opens a host of decorating possibilities that you can't be easily employed when using base colors such as bright green, blue or orange. And don’t forget accent pieces. Art, lamps, throws pillows and more; can add to your decorating theme and are easy and inexpensive to replace once you tire of their look. If your wall and floor coverings are neutral accent pieces can be bright and bold. Orange walls combined with an orange couch could be a bit overpowering. Conversely, paintings, towels, statues and other accent pieces can be shifted and mixed and matched to completely change the character of a neutral colored room.

We don't suggest that the walls of your home should look like the inside of a hospital or a military barracks, but being subtle is the key. Simple colors may not be chic today, but bright colors have a short popularity span. And changing strikingly and unusually bright tile, carpet, linoleum, cabinets and plumbing fixtures does not equate in cost-effective calculation.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't be creative. When painting your home, for example, one color only isn't our preference. Using two colors on the interior can be interesting and cost-effective. Mix a light off-white, tinted to taste, and a lighter off-white tinted to match or complement. Bright bold colors can be used on a wall to pep things up. In one room use the lighter color on the ceiling and the darker color on the walls. In the next room reverse the procedure. This reduces costs when it comes time to do touch-up work.