If you've ever butted heads with your partner over a paint or wallpaper choice, you'll appreciate the advice designer Michael Payne, host of HGTV's Designing for the Sexes, gave a young couple with very different ideas about what kind of bookcases and mantel should go in their family room. Both Michael and Fran wanted shelving to flank the fireplace at the end of their family room. But Fran wanted the shelving and walls to be painted a bright white with built-in cabinets painted to match the trim and appear as though they were part of the original house. Michael envisioned a set of natural wood shelves with a freestanding wood cabinet against a background of yellow. Fran wanted the shelves undivided and equidistant, whereas Michael wanted adjustable shelves to accommodate the different sizes of his books. Michael Payne's first decorating challenge with this couple was helping them decide on wall color. They had spent hundreds of dollars on sets of paint swatches and test quarts of paint and still couldn't decide on a color. Fran had given up and settled for white, but Michael still wanted yellow. Michael Payne came up with another option: a mossy green that would enhance Michael's wood pieces and bring out the best in Fran's red-edged tapestry pillows. The couple experimented with various shades of mossy green, painting large samples on the wall and finally deciding on a light shade. Michael was willing to compromise on white equidistant built-in shelves with built-in cabinets below. A new white fireplace surround in arts-and-crafts style blends beautifully with the new shelving units, and a natural-wood mantel shelf satisfies Michael's desire for a touch of natural wood.
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