Fall in Love With Ace Hardware's Expert-Approved Color and Decor Trends

OAK BROOK, IL--(Marketwired - Sep 23, 2015) - Ace Hardware, the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world, announces its top color and décor trends for fall 2015. Featuring tips from Ace's Design Experts, these trends help homeowners make the transition from bright and fresh to warm and cozy, just in time for the cooler season.

Using colors from the Clark+Kensington® paint+primer in one collection, Ace's Design Experts, Katie Reynolds (Atlanta, Ga.), Julie Richard (Boston, Mass.) and Nathan Fischer (Orange County, Calif.), took inspiration from fall's colorful foliage when developing paint color and design tips for the season. Warm and neutral color palettes and vintage décor, paired with deep greens and jewel-tones, are the centerpiece for fall color and design trends, reflecting the organic and timeless shades that come with autumn.

"Fall is the perfect time to add color to your walls and update décor in your home, ahead of the busy holiday season," said Richard. "Whether you're looking to add a pop of color with a decorative statement piece, or apply a fresh coat of paint to a room that needs a lift, our advice will help you to bring those transformative updates to life during the most colorful time of year!" 

Katie, Julie and Nathan have selected the following Clark+Kensington colors as the top trends for fall 2015:

• Green will be all the rage this season, ranging from dark, moody tones to bright, earthy hues. Bring this trend to life in your home by painting a statement piece using a vibrant green, such as Cardamom 25C-7, or add color to your walls using more neutral tones like Olive Tree 29B-7, Vine Street 26B-6 or Spanish Olive 25A-4.
• Give a room in your home a more intimate, cozy feeling by painting the ceiling darker than the walls. Choose a lighter neutral shade for the walls, like Haven of Coziness N-C1, and pair it with a darker hue for the ceiling, such as Swaying Hammock N-W26 or Tapenade N-C8.
• To give a room more depth and dimension, add new baseboards that are at least five inches high in a creamy white, such as White Opal CW-C6.
• Dark furniture against white walls can help make a bold statement in an otherwise neutral space. Try painting base cabinets or your favorite piece of furniture in a shade like Black Chiffon N-C15, to bring a crisp, classic look to your home. 
• For a bright and fresh look, try painting your floor in a bright white, like Silent White CW-C1.
• Add doses of color in complementary shades, such as blue walls with orange accessories, to add character and flair to a room. Try the cool blue hue Skyline View 36B-4.
• Epitomize sophisticated charm with an unexpectedly dignified palette. Try pairing deep, dramatic wall colors, such as Lincoln Park After Dark NLW42 from the OPI Color Palette by Clark+Kensington, with pops of citrus like Honey Dijon 19B-6. These elegant shades complement each other beautifully.
• Don't overlook your ceiling. Clark+Kensington's Exquisite Taste 02A-2 adds a hint of pink to the ceiling, making it appear to have a slight glow.
• Choose colors that create cohesion in adjoining rooms by varying the values slightly from room to room. If you use a dark jewel tone in one room, make the adjoining room a more medium toned shade, such as Instant Message 30A-3.

Once homeowners select their favorite shades from the season's color palette, Ace's Design Experts recommend the following design tips to assist homeowners in freshening up their homes this fall:

• With the cold weather setting in, make sure all seating in the room is angled to enjoy both the view and ambience of the fireplace.
• Much like the landscape of trees outside, furniture pieces of varying heights create an on-trend, designer look.
• Bring a luxury hotel feeling to any bedroom with clean and crisp white bedding to match the cool autumn air.
• When your walls are a darker shade, try framing your artwork with wide, white gallery-style mats, which will allow the artwork to pop.
• A treasured, vintage item can inspire the design of an entire room. Try bringing in an antique rug or repurposed accent chair to liven up the look and feel of the space.

Clark+Kensington, a premium line of paint+primer in one, is available exclusively at The Paint Studio at Ace. Its semi-gloss finish has been recommended by a leading consumer magazine in recent tests of interior paints. The paint line features designer-selected hues that cover the entire color spectrum, providing homeowners with a selection of beautiful, livable colors that meet each of their varied needs.

Designed to help homeowners find the perfect paint color, The Paint Studio at Ace features eye-catching color racks, unique pullout drawers and easy to use color cards to simplify the color selection process. Paired with the helpful service and knowledgeable advice from Ace Hardware's associates, The Paint Studio provides a world-class paint experience right in consumers' neighborhood hardware stores.

For more information on Clark+Kensington or Ace's Design Experts, please stop by your neighborhood Ace Hardware Store or visit www.thepaintstudio.com.

About Ace Hardware
For more than 90 years, Ace Hardware has been known as the place with the helpful hardware folks in thousands of neighborhoods across America, providing customers with a more personal kind of helpful. In 2015, Ace ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Home Improvement Retail Stores, Nine Years in a Row," according to J.D. Power. With more than 4,800 hardware stores locally owned and operated across the globe, Ace is the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace and its subsidiaries currently operate 17 distribution centers in the U.S. and also have distribution capabilities in Shanghai, China; Panama City, Panama; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Its retailers' stores are located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and approximately 60 countries. For more information on Ace, visit www.acehardware.com.