Realtor Mark Nash, who follows home design trends through by surveying more than 900 real estate agents and brokers, says that professional color forecasters predict the use of bolder colors for shutters, doors, window frames and other trim will be big in 2007.

According to Doty Horn, director of color and design for Benjamin Moore, Americans have gotten progressively comfortable with the bold look.

"Before we would use more neutral colors," she says. "We didn't want to offend anyone."

Now, a more self assured public is asserting itself by using color to make dramatic statements. Colors are more saturated and deeper. And we have tapped other cultures for ideas.

Benjamin Moore has a color group they call Cultural Tapestry that looks to China, India, the Baltic and Latin America for inspiration. It combines colors - rhubarb, passion blue, potpourri green and wood grain brown, for example - from all these regions and adds a sheer coat of fool's gold pearl finish to create a multi-layered and textured look.