5 Design Tips from Nate Berkus That You Can't Live Without

One of our highlights this year was attending a media event sponsored by Lowe's and Valspar and hosted by Nate Berkus. It was a very intimate setting and only about fifteen of us were invited and Nate spent the afternoon sharing a bit about himself and his design process as well as participating in some paint and design projects that Lowe's had setup for us.

Throughout the day Nate dropped hints as to what he like and what worked best for him when he would design a room. We think his work is brilliant so we of course paid special attention.

Here are the highlights.

1. Nate believes any color can work - He mentioned lighting and personal taste but that you should be open to exploring the entire palette of colors offered to you or available.

2. Light is important - Testing colors can only be done under a variety of lighting conditions. Looking at swatches in the store is nothing like what the color will look like on your walls so make sure you test a few colors on your wall and with different types of lighting.

3. Nate's favorite neutral color is gray - Nate feels that gray makes a great foundation for the rich and vibrant colors he likes to use. He often pairs it with yellow and black.

4. Nate loves green and mentioned it often. His personal favorite color to decorate with is green, a color which represents balance, harmony, and growth.

5. Nate's greatest source of inspiration is traveling. He said there is no better way to influence your taste then to see how others around the world and around the country live and experience life.

Do you like Nate's tips? Are you sad to see his TV show go?