Professional interior designers have a way with color, producing attractive rooms time after time. This is because they employ the Principles of Color and adhere to some easy-to-follow Color Tips:

* Pull rooms together with a thread of color. If you use a color in one room, then use at least a small amount of the same color in the next room. The entire house will be cohesive if varying proportions of the same color palette are used in all the rooms.

* Use neutral shades for permanent features. Save bolder colors for walls or accents that can be repainted or replaced when you tire of them.

* Don't try to match shades exactly. When colors in a room share the same underlying tones, they are often more interesting if they almost, but not quite, match.

* Balance the accent colors in a room. Complementary colors, in particular, look best when they are roughly equal in intensity. Use bright with bright, pale with pale, and dark with dark.

* Think of contrast as well as color. Choose one predominant color, and select contrasting colors to serve as accents.

* Use large doses of light or neutral colors. Let them separate the smaller and more vivid accent colors.

* Enhance dark or bright walls by painting the trim white. The reverse holds true for light-colored walls. If woodwork is unimpressive, minimize it by painting it the same color as the walls.

* Group accessories in the same color for more decorative impact. If displayed together, they form a collection and will seem more important than if scattered around the room.

* Draw attention to artwork by displaying it against a deep-toned wall. Choosing a color drawn from the painting will enhance the effect.

* Keep pastel rooms from seeming overly pale. Throw in a bold dash of a deeper or brighter color to serve as an accent.