Can you modernize a home with just color?

Of course you can! I recently had clients that were in their retirement years. They decor was typical of what a couple that age would like. They really didn't have a set style in their home but rather a collection of colors from the past several decades.

Such as doilies …

and dated color on the walls …

and plates from their travels …

and scary looking dolls and toys …

and flowers - lots and lots of flowers …

and of course, Antiques …

and the usual gilded decor.

How do you tie all this stuff in?

Each paint fan deck, to me at least, has a very specific purpose. When I need fairly generic, muted color I use Sherwin Williams. When I need light, bright and lively, I use Benjamin Moore. For people on a budget I used Behr. For Grandma decor, I use Valspar, specifically the National Trust collection. 

These are the colors that I have used often and as you can see, there's nothing Grandma about these hues. They are bright and happy not faded and dull.  There are so many other colors that I use from the NTHP collection of Valspar - it's really an awesome color collection and they are “Historic” for a reason.

So don't assume that older people will have “older color” in their home. They may have better color than you!