Weight Watchers Burlington Ma Meeting Times

Weight Watchers Burlington Ma Meeting Times

Cost Effectiveness of Two Lifestyle Interventions in the Vermont WISEWOMAN Program

Ali Johnson, MBA¹; Matt Maiberger, BA¹; Siobhan Donegan, MS, RD¹; Nancy C. Kaplan, MSIS¹; Patrick Kinner, MSEd¹ (View author affiliations)

Suggested citation for this article: Johnson A, Maiberger M, Donegan S, Kaplan NC, Kinner P. Cost Effectiveness of Two Lifestyle Interventions in the Vermont WISEWOMAN Program. Prev Chronic Dis 2019;16:180417. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd16.180417external icon.

PEER REVIEWED

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Purpose and Objectives
• Intervention Approach
• Evaluation Methods
• Results
• Implications for Public Health
• Acknowledgments
• Author Information
• References
• Tables

What is already known about this topic?

The WISEWOMAN program supports the use of 2 evidence-based weight loss programs: Curves Complete and Weight Watchers. These programs have been proven successful in achieving weight loss in the target audience and were approved interventions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Well Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) program.

What is added by this report?

From 2014 through 2016, Vermont implemented these 2 programs through the WISEWOMAN program. Although both Curves Complete and Weight Watchers are evidence-based for outcomes, there is no research that indicates which is more cost effective.

What are the implications for public health practice?

By understanding which weight loss program is more cost effective, entities wishing to support weight loss for health outcomes can make informed decisions about how limited resources are expended.

Abstract

Introduction

Low-income women are disproportionately overweight or obese. The Vermont WISEWOMAN (Well Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation) program, which serves Vermont women whose annual income is less than 250% of the federal poverty level, pays for members to attend 1 of 2 different evidence-based weight loss programs, Weight Watchers or Curves Complete.

Purpose and Objectives

We evaluated cost effectiveness of the weight-loss programs, conducted from April 2014 through March 2016, to determine which represented the best investment of WISEWOMAN program funds.

Intervention Approach

Vermont WISEWOMAN members who were overweight or obese during screening and who identified weight loss as a goal were invited to participate in 1 of the 2 programs on the basis of their place of residence and local Weight Watchers or Curves Complete contractual agreements with the Vermont WISEWOMAN program.

Evaluation Methods

Program costs and benefits were collected for a 2-year period and used to calculate the cost per participant who completed the program and the cost per participant who achieved the weight reduction goal of a 5% or more loss in body weight.

Results

The cost per participant achieving the weight reduction goal with Curves Complete ($8,613) was approximately 5 times the cost for Weight Watchers ($1,610).

Implications for Public Health

Weight Watchers, the evidence-based program with the simplest administrative structure, was significantly more cost effective than Curves Complete. Results suggest that overweight or obese low-income women aged 30 to 64 can lose 5% or more of their body weight more cost effectively through Weight Watchers than through Curves Complete.

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Introduction

The rise of obesity in America is well documented: 70.7% of women in the United States are overweight or obese (1,2). This number has grown steadily in the past 15 years (3) and is particularly true for women with incomes at or below 130% of the federal poverty level (FPL), for whom the obesity rate is 42%, compared with 29% for women with incomes at or above 350% of the FPL (4). Along with smoking, inadequate exercise and poor nutrition are responsible for 4 chronic diseases (cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and lung disease) that lead to more than 50% of deaths in the United States (5) and more than 75% of health care expenditures (6).

A 5% weight loss is associated with a 50% reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes (7). By reducing weight by 5% to 10%, a woman can improve her glycemic measures, triglycerides, blood pressure, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (8), thereby lowering cardiac risk factors (9,10). In people who are obese (have a body mass index [BMI, weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared] of ≥30), a 5% reduction in body weight is associated with a significant decrease in medical expenditures (11).

Despite the health risks associated with excess body weight, research shows that the behavior change needed to curb overweight and obesity is difficult for many people (12–14). Many try evidence-based weight loss interventions such as Weight Watchers or Curves Complete when they want help with losing weight (15). These interventions are effective at helping people lose weight (15,16) but can be expensive. Reducing the costs of participation in these programs may help low-income women use them. Because these evidence-based interventions are for profit, and because low-income women are not generally part of their target market, few efforts have been made to offer these interventions to this population. Weight Watchers research from the Tennessee Medicaid program (17) and subsidized Weight Watchers programming in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, and Arizona (18) are examples of effort to reach low-income people with these programs. Health departments partnered with Weight Watchers to offer discounted memberships to overweight adults who received assistance from a local, state, or federally subsidized program. The Tennessee Medicaid partnership with Weight Watchers resulted in 20% of enrolled participants losing a clinically significant amount of weight (17). Beyond these findings, little economic data are available on the value of these interventions for low-income women. Weight Watchers has been found to be more cost effective than other weight loss supports with different population types (19,20).

WISEWOMAN (Well Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation) is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and provides heart health screening and lifestyle programs for low-income women (21). Vermont WISEWOMAN pays the full cost of participation for members to attend 1 of 2 evidence-based weight loss programs, Weight Watchers or Curves Complete, and administers participation in the programs. WISEWOMAN recruits members statewide, regardless of whether they have a regular primary care provider, in contrast with other states participating in WISEWOMAN, which recruit members through health care providers. Because WISEWOMAN relies on federal funding, it must be efficient in its spending. No evidence exists in the literature to suggest which evidence-based weight loss intervention is more cost effective. Therefore, our study attempted to determine this by analyzing participation in Weight Watchers and Curves Complete under the WISEWOMAN program from April 2014 through March 2016.

Agencies funded through CDC's WISEWOMAN are required to conduct process and outcome evaluation of their program efforts, including evaluation of their lifestyle programs (22). We chose to evaluate cost effectiveness of our 2 programs by using an economic evaluation method taught through the Prevention Research Center at Washington University in St Louis, Evidence-Based Public Health: A Course in Chronic Disease Prevention (23), and described in Evidence-Based Public Health (24).

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Purpose and Objectives

The goal of our evaluation was to determine which of Vermont WISEWOMAN's weight loss programs, Weight Watchers or Curves Complete, yielded the most cost effective weight loss by demonstrating the connections among program components, beginning with the public health concern that initiated the program and considering contextual factors, intervention components, partnerships with other organizations, our evaluation approach, and outcomes of interest (Figure 1).

Figure 1.
The Vermont WISEWOMAN program and connections among its various components. The program's objective was improvement of cardiovascular health through weight loss. Abbreviation: WISEWOMAN, Well Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation. [A text version of this figure is available.]

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Intervention Approach

Participants in Vermont WISEWOMAN are routinely screened for heart health risk factors, including measuring height, weight, and blood pressure. To be eligible for these paid screening services, Vermont women need to be aged 30 or older, live in households earning 250% or less of the FPL, and not be enrolled in Medicare Part B. If a participant has a body mass index in the overweight (≥25) or obese (≥30) categories and has identified weight loss as a goal, the WISEWOMAN lifestyle program coordinator invites the member to participate in Weight Watchers or Curves Complete.

Weight Watchers is a group-based social support program (25), and people can join at any time. Weekly 1-hour meetings take place at various community venues and at various times to provide flexibility for participants. The meeting consists of weigh-ins (participant is weighed to track weight-loss progress), social interaction, a presentation by a trained leader, and discussion. Weight Watchers has been operating for more than 40 years. The program format is updated as new scientific information becomes available (17,26,27).

Curves Complete consists of regular fitness workouts each week plus 1 weekly session with a Curves Complete coach (28). The Curves Complete 30-minute exercise circuit works every major muscle group with strength training, cardio exercise, and stretching. The weight management plan consists of the Curves Complete fitness program, a customizable meal plan, and one-on-one coaching and support. The program is based on extensive research (16,29–31) and has been shown to reduce fat, increase lean muscle, boost metabolism, and help women lose weight and maintain weight loss.

During our study (April 2014–March 2016), 350 screened members were found to have a BMI of 25 or greater. Of those members, 274 (78%) were referred to healthy behavior support services (ie, health coaching, lifestyle programs, and community resources for weight loss) by their health care providers and were consequently invited to enroll in Weight Watchers or Curves Complete if they felt motivated and ready to lose weight. Of these 274 women, 56 (20%) chose to enroll. One woman was excluded because she participated in both the Weight Watchers and Curves Complete programs.

In Vermont WISEWOMAN's service delivery flow for the program (Figure 2), our intervention focused on lifestyle programs in healthy behavior support options. The expected outcomes were improved health behaviors and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (22).

Figure 2.
Flow of service delivery for Vermont WISEWOMAN illustrating the process by which eligible women moved from initial screening through the lifestyle program to follow-up.
The flow may vary depending on the program structure. Abbreviations: CVD, cardiovascular disease; IT/EHR, information technology/electronic health record; WISEWOMAN, Well Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation. [A text version of the figure is available.]

Criteria for acceptable lifestyle programs were evidence that the proposed program would result in improvement in a woman's health status by increased physical activity, improved healthy eating, controlled hypertension, weight loss when appropriate, and smoking cessation (22). Members were advised on the types of lifestyle programs available in their geographic area that had contractual agreements with Vermont WISEWOMAN. A postprogram screening was conducted 4 to 6 weeks after completion of the lifestyle program.

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Evaluation Methods

Data sources

Vermont WISEWOMAN collects personal health information related to risk factor screening, diagnosis, and treatment of heart disease. Patient data are collected on paper forms, and copies of medical records are sent to the Vermont WISEWOMAN program and entered into the Med-IT Data Management System (OxBow Data Management Systems, LLC). The Vermont Department of Health has a public health exemption to collect data on program participants under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, and participants consent to having their data used for research, subject to legal restrictions. Our study was determined to fall outside the purview of the Vermont Agency of Human Services institutional review board and did not require its approval or oversight. Lifestyle program costs were collected by the Vermont WISEWOMAN program and captured in the Med-IT Data Management System. Personnel costs were obtained from the Vermont Department of Health Business Office.

Intervention arms

The criteria for inclusion in our study were 1) membership in Vermont WISEWOMAN, completion of a heart health screening, and a BMI at or above 25, which is considered overweight or obese, before the first session date with Weight Watchers or Curves Complete; and 2) participating in a lifestyle program session date from April 1, 2014, through March 31, 2016, and being in a readiness-to-change stage of preparation, action, or maintenance based on Prochaska and DiClemente's transtheoretical model of change (32). Women participating in both Curves Complete and Weight Watchers were excluded. This left a final sample size of 56 participants for analysis (17 from Curves Complete and 39 from Weight Watchers).

Participants self-selected 1 of the 2 main intervention arms, Weight Watchers or Curves Complete, based on their place of residence and on local Weight Watchers or Curves Complete contractual agreements with Vermont WISEWOMAN. Weight Watchers classes were offered throughout the state, and Curves Complete sessions were available in 5 communities. The Weight Watchers intervention consisted of at least 12 meetings in 24 weeks. Weight Watchers participants could further opt to partake in fitness activities, defined as specific community resources, such as YMCA day passes, Jazzercise, pool memberships, fitness classes, and other gym memberships. Therefore, Weight Watchers participants were grouped as follows: Weight Watchers (total), Weight Watchers without fitness, and Weight Watchers with fitness. The Curves Complete intervention consisted of at least 10 sessions in 12 weeks. Curves Complete membership consisted of circuit training, fitness classes, weight-loss tracking, one-on-one health coaching, and menu planning.

Definitions of variables

Intervention time was calculated at program completion as the number of weeks between the first and last session (or last session attended if incomplete, or last session attended before a hiatus from sessions of 1 month or longer for intermittent participants). Benefits were defined as 1) the percentage of participants who completed the lifestyle program and 2) the percentage of participants who lost 5% or more of their body weight. Participants were considered to have completed a program if they attended the required number of sessions in the allotted time. Women who participated intermittently (had more than 1 month between sessions) were classified as incomplete.

Weight loss was calculated as the participant's end weight minus start weight. Start weight was the participant's weight measured at the first session of Weight Watchers or Curves Complete attended. End weight was the participant's weight measured at the last session during which they completed the intervention (or last session attended if incomplete or last session attended before 1 month or longer hiatus from sessions for intermittent participants). The percentage of body weight lost was calculated as the participant's weight loss divided by her start weight and multiplied by 100. BMI was the participant's body weight in kilograms (measured by a Weight Watchers or Curves Complete staff member at a session) divided by her height in meters squared (measured by a health care provider at a routine screening). A BMI of more than 18.5 and less than 25.0 indicated a normal or healthy weight (33).

We considered program costs to determine which of the 2 programs was more cost effective. Costs were divided into 2 main categories: lifestyle program costs and personnel costs. Lifestyle program costs included membership fees and incentives attributable to the Weight Watchers and Curves Complete programs and were generally calculated on a participant-by-participant basis. They also included membership fees and incentives for the Weight Watchers fitness component, which was paid for a subset of the Weight Watchers group and which occurred concurrently with the weight-loss program (8 women participated in the fitness component). Personnel costs were labor (salary) and fringe costs (insurance, leave accrual, and other benefit) of WISEWOMAN program staff members that were attributable to Weight Watchers and Curves Complete program administration.

Membership costs were intervention-specific. Weight Watchers membership costs for each participant were calculated as the number of vouchers (for admission to Weight Watchers sessions) the participant used during the study period multiplied by the cost per voucher. For Weight Watchers participants using a program-paid fitness membership, membership fees and incentives costs were included in the lifestyle program costs.

The Curves Complete cost for each participant was the 3-month membership fee invoiced for each participant, which was dependent on the Curves Complete location. Curves Complete membership costs were incurred at the beginning of a participant's program, regardless of level of use.

Incentives costs were intervention-specific and participant-specific. Weight Watchers participants received a points calculator for attending 6 sessions and a cookbook for completing the program. Curves Complete participants and Weight Watchers participants concurrently using a program-paid fitness membership received a sports brassiere for beginning the intervention and a gift card for a sporting goods store for completing the intervention. Participants receiving incentives were identified, and the associated cost of each incentive was included. Sunk costs, such as current inventory of cookbooks and points calculators, were excluded. The study focused on costs directly attributable to the current study population rather than potential future participants. Sunk incentive costs were negligible relative to personnel costs.

We included all lifestyle program costs incurred for eligible participants between the first lifestyle program session and the session at which end weight was measured, regardless of whether the woman completed the program before the study cut-off date of March 2016. For example, if a participant had a first lifestyle program date in March 2016 and completed the intervention in June 2016 (after the study cut-off date for first lifestyle program date), all program costs incurred during this timeframe for this participant would be included. All program costs associated with eligible participants were included, regardless of whether participants completed the program. For participants who completed the full number of lifestyle program sessions but in a longer amount of time than allotted (24 weeks for Weight Watchers, 12 weeks for Curves Complete), only costs incurred within the allowed time were included. For participants who participated intermittently, only the cost of the first set of consecutively attended sessions were included.

Personnel costs consisted of salary, fringe benefits, and paid leave (34) incurred from April 1, 2014, through March 31, 2016. We obtained these costs from quarterly Vermont Department of Health Business Office reports of expenses billed to the WISEWOMAN cost center.

Each employee's salary cost was computed as the total actual salary (in USD) billed to WISEWOMAN, multiplied by the estimated percentage of the time the employee spent on Weight Watchers and Curves Complete, multiplied by the percentage of time spent on administration. To calculate personnel expenses attributable to each of the 2 lifestyle programs, we took the total salary billed for each employee to the WISEWOMAN program, multiplied that by the estimated percentage of that employee's time spent on Weight Watchers or Curves Complete. Cost of each employee's fringe benefits attributable to Weight Watchers and Curves Complete was computed by the same method as salary cost by using total fringe benefits in US dollars billed to WISEWOMAN. All employee salary and fringe benefits costs for all quarters were totaled and tabulated by intervention type. Small salary costs, under 0.05 full time equivalent, were excluded because they were difficult to collect consistently for the 2-year study period and were likely to have a negligible effect.

Statistical analyses

We used Excel 2016 (Microsoft Corp) to calculate 3 types of cost effectiveness measures as cost per success (completed intervention or met weight reduction goal). Each cost effectiveness ratio was calculated as the total cost to WISEWOMAN divided by the total benefit, that is, the average cost per participant divided by the percentage of participants with a success. For example, the cost per participant completing the intervention was the sum of the program and personnel costs attributable to an intervention divided by the number of participants who completed that intervention. The denominator was changed to the number of participants who met the weight reduction goal to calculate other cost effectiveness ratios.

We used SAS 9.3 (SAS Institute Inc) to test significance for each benefit and population characteristic. To generate 95% confidence limits for sample proportions, we used Wilson score approximation, which has been shown to perform well with small sample sizes (35). A difference was considered significant if the confidence intervals of the 2 lifestyle programs being compared did not overlap.

Because personnel costs were expected to be a substantial driver of costs, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to vary key assumptions used to compute those costs and to explore how variability in these assumptions affected the comparison of cost effectiveness ratios for the lifestyle program. We attempted to model the variability of personnel costs that could be encountered by other WISEWOMAN programs in other locations and at different phases of implementation. We explored 3 scenarios: 1) to simulate equal program administration costs for both intervention arms, personnel costs attributed to Curves Complete and Weight Watchers were assumed to be equal; 2) to simulate a more labor-intensive start-up phase, total staff time attributable to the administration of both lifestyle programs was increased by 5%; and 3) to simulate a less labor-intensive maintenance phase, total staff time attributable to the administration of both lifestyle programs was decreased by 5%.

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Results

Of the 56 participants included in the study, 39 were in Weight Watchers and 17 in Curves Complete (Table 1). Of the 56 participants, 24 had a choice based on geographic location to attend either Weight Watchers or Curves Complete, whereas 32 could only attend Weight Watchers because Curves Complete was not available nearby. Of the 24 women who lived near a Curves Complete franchise and could choose either Curves Complete or Weight Watchers, 16 chose to attend Curves Complete. Of the 39 participants in the Weight Watchers intervention arm, 31 opted for Weight Watchers without fitness and 8 selected Weight Watchers with fitness.

Participants' BMI values before enrollment were relatively evenly distributed among the 4 BMI categories: 14 participants were overweight (BMI 25.0–29.9), 15 were obese class I (BMI 30.0–34.9), 14 were obese class II (BMI 35.0–39.9), and 13 were obese class III (BMI ≥40.0). Thirty-eight participants were assessed to be at the Action level in their readiness to change assessments, 17 at the Preparation phase, and 1 at the Maintenance phase. The age of participants ranged from 31 to 75 years. Twenty-one participants were aged 50 to 59, followed by 15 aged 40 to 49, 10 aged 30 to 39, and 10 aged 60 or older. Fifty participants were non-Hispanic white, and 6 identified race/ethnicity as something other than non-Hispanic white. No significant differences were observed between the Curves Complete and Weight Watchers study groups before enrollment with respect to BMI, readiness to change, age, and race/ethnicity.

The mean intervention time for all Curves Complete participants was 7.8 weeks, 9.6 weeks for those completing the intervention and 10.0 weeks for those meeting the weight reduction goal. The mean intervention time for all Weight Watchers participants was 9.9 weeks, 13.6 weeks for those completing the intervention, and 12.5 weeks for those meeting the weight reduction goal. Ten Curves Complete participants and 20 Weight Watchers participants completed the lifestyle program. Four Curves Complete participants and 17 Weight Watchers participants met the weight reduction goal. The different rates of completion and goal achievement for the 2 programs were not significant.

The total cost was $34,453 for the 17 Curves Complete participants and $27,374 for the 39 Weight Watchers participants (Table 2). Personnel costs accounted for 87% of the total Curves Complete cost and 79% of the total Weight Watchers cost. The average per-participant cost was $2,027 for Curves Complete and $702 for Weight Watchers. The cost per participant completing the intervention with Curves Complete ($3,445) was approximately 2.5 times the cost for Weight Watchers ($1,369) (Figure 3). The cost per participant meeting the weight reduction goal with Curves Complete ($8,613) was approximately 5 times the cost for Weight Watchers ($1,610).

Figure 3.
Cost effectiveness of lifestyle programs by intervention: Curves Complete,
Weight Watchers (total), Weight Watchers without fitness, and Weight Watchers with fitness, Vermont WISEWOMAN Program, April 2014–March 2016. [A tabular version of this figure is available.]

To control for the effect of physical activity interventions occurring concurrently with Weight Watchers, we calculated the cost effectiveness ratios for the 2 Weight Watchers subgroups: Weight Watchers without fitness and Weight Watchers with fitness. The cost per participant completing the intervention with Curves Complete ($3,445) was approximately 2.5 times the cost for Weight Watchers without fitness ($1,299) and approximately 2 times the cost for Weight Watchers with fitness ($1,648). The cost per participant meeting the weight-loss goal with Curves Complete ($8,613) was approximately 5 times the cost for either Weight Watchers without fitness ($1,599) or Weight Watchers with fitness ($1,648).

The sensitivity analysis found that varying the personnel costs to model 3 different scenarios (equal personnel costs between Weight Watchers and Curves Complete, an increase of 5% in personnel costs, and a decrease of 5% in personnel costs) still resulted in Curves Complete being less cost effective than Weight Watchers. In all 3 scenarios, the Curves Complete cost per participant completing the intervention was at least 1.5 times the cost of Weight Watchers (total), Weight Watchers without fitness, or Weight Watchers with fitness; in scenarios 2 and 3, the Curves Complete cost per participant completing the program were more than 2 times the Weight Watchers cost. In all 3 scenarios, the Curves Complete cost per participant meeting the weight reduction goal was at least 4 times the cost of Weight Watchers (total), Weight Watchers with fitness, and Weight Watchers without fitness; in scenarios 2 and 3, the Curves Complete cost per participant meeting the weight reduction goal was more than 5 times the Weight Watchers costs.

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Implications for Public Health

Because of the results of our evaluation, Vermont WISEWOMAN now refers members to Weight Watchers whenever possible. Our evaluation showed that Weight Watchers was more cost effective than Curves Complete for both number of women completing the intervention and those achieving a 5% or greater weight loss, and the cost per participant meeting the weight reduction goal with Curves Complete was approximately 5 times the cost for Weight Watchers. Also, Weight Watchers had a simpler administrative structure — mailed vouchers and single point of contact — than Curves Complete, which required invoiced payment for classes, communication with multiple local franchises, and collaboration with the national organization. These results are supported by similar studies that used different designs and populations (19,20). Study results may be of value to any public health organization that partners with multiple evidence-based weight loss interventions, especially Weight Watchers or Curves Complete.

Our study had several limitations. These were primarily due to the small, rural nature of the geographic area, the specific population studied, and the difficulty of evaluating personnel costs associated with any fitness participation in the Weight Watchers intervention. Approximately 61% of Vermont women live in rural areas (36). Therefore, our findings may be most applicable to programs directed at small, rural populations where weight loss among low-income women is the objective; results may not be generalizable to urban areas. Our participants' demographics and our focus on low-income women yielded a small population from which to draw and a small number of study participants. Approximately 151,200 women aged 30 to 65 live in Vermont (37). Only 56 participated in the study, and 30 completed an intervention, although we recruited participants for 2 years to try to increase the numbers. Selection bias could have occurred because each participant self-selected an intervention rather than being randomly assigned. Women could have characteristics that lead them to choose one intervention over another that we did not adjust for in our analysis.

Cost analysis also could have been a study limitation because of the grouping of personnel costs related to establishing partnerships and to participation phases for Curves Complete and Weight Watchers. These costs were combined because the study took place from the initiation of the 2 interventions through 2 years of enrollment and participation. If one intervention required a disproportionately higher number of personnel hours to establish than the other, total costs could have been overestimated and cost effectiveness underestimated. Therefore, caution should be used in comparing these results to interventions that are exclusively in the active participation phase. Nevertheless, our study results may be useful to public health organizations that partner with multiple evidence-based weight loss interventions such as Weight Watchers or Curves Complete, where administration costs factor into analysis of cost effectiveness.

The most significant limitation of our study is that Weight Watchers costs excluded personnel costs attributable to administration of its fitness program. Participants could engage in self-directed physical activity unknown to us and participate in program-referred services promoting physical activity. Eight Weight Watchers participants used a fitness membership concurrently. We were unable to compute the personnel costs for administering such memberships; therefore, those costs were omitted, although the costs for the fitness memberships were included. We tried to account for this limitation by reporting Weight Watchers cost effectiveness ratios in subgroups (with fitness, without fitness, and total) and by conducting a sensitivity analysis modeling equal personnel costs for the 2 interventions. Future studies could include an intention-to-treat analysis for each intervention, regardless of length of participation, considering the cost per unit of effect, because such an analysis could demonstrate actual cost effectiveness.

Although Weight Watchers venues were evenly distributed across the state, Curves Complete venues were not. Bias could have been introduced if this geographic factor influenced intervention completion or weight loss attainment. Women enrolling in either program were encouraged to select the option that they perceived as having the best overall fit and to consider the proximity of the program to their home, and any prior knowledge they had of the program. We had no expectation or evidence that women enrolling in Curves Complete would be more or less successful than those enrolling in Weight Watchers.

Weight Watchers could be more biased toward goal achievement than Curves Complete, because it allots more time to achieve the 5% weight loss. Curves Complete participants had 12 weeks to achieve the goal (with an intensive program), and Weight Watchers participants had 24 weeks (with a less intensive program). This bias was likely mitigated because Weight Watchers participants who met the weight reduction goal used a smaller proportion of their allotted time than did Curves Complete participants. The mean percentage of the allotted time for the interventions for participants who met the weight reduction goal was 83% for Curves Complete and 52% for Weight Watchers. We were unable to determine whether weight loss was maintained. Research indicates that maintaining weight loss is difficult for many people (12), and no compelling evidence is available to show whether Weight Watchers or Curves Complete is successful at aiding in weight loss maintenance.

Intervention outcomes may have been affected by characteristics of WISEWOMAN participants, which would potentially decrease the generalizability of the results in interventions that serve a more diverse population or that use a clinic-based (rather than statewide) recruitment model. Also, information from our study may be less valuable in a program where participants are expected to pay for their own membership or class fees, there is a third party to cover these expenses, less administrative data are collected, or different incentives are offered.

We described a method to assess cost effectiveness of weight loss interventions for low-income women administered by a state public health department. Because excess weight is a risk factor for chronic diseases and because disparities exist among socioeconomic groups, our evaluation can help determine the most cost effective approach to administering lifestyle programs among low-income women.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Diane Manheim, Julia Jordan, and Jack Chapel of CDC's WISEWOMAN staff for supporting the development of this article. We also thank Julie Arel, Jennifer Hicks, Karen Kelley, Kristina Kiarsis, and Mike Kenny at the Vermont Department of Health. This study was supported by CDC grant no. NU58DP004852-04-02. Contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC or the US Department of Health and Human Services. The authors used no copyrighted material, surveys, instruments, or tools in this article.

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Author Information

Corresponding Author: Ali Johnson, MBA, Vermont Department of Health, 108 Cherry St, Burlington, VT 05401. Telephone: 802-863-7644. Email: alison.johnson@vermont.gov.

Author Affiliations: ¹Vermont Department of Health, Burlington, Vermont.

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18. Weight Watchers. New York: Weight Watchers: The City of Racine Health Department introduces new "Racine on the Move" initiative for qualifying residents 2013. http://www.devstage1.weightwatchers.com/about/prs/wwi_template.aspx?GCMSID=1429330. Accessed December 11, 2017.
19. Lymer S, Schofield D, Cunich M, Lee CMY, Fuller N, Caterson I, et al. The population cost effectiveness of Weight Watchers with general practitioner referral compared with standard care. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2018;26(8):1261–9. CrossRefexternal icon PubMedexternal icon
20. Finkelstein EA, Kruger E. Meta- and cost effectiveness analysis of commercial weight loss strategies. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2014;22(9):1942–51. CrossRefexternal icon PubMedexternal icon
21. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISEWOMAN . Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2016. https://www.cdc.gov/wisewoman/index.htm. Accessed July 12, 2018.
22. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) technical assistance and guidance document: cooperative agreement DP13-1302. https://www.cdc.gov/wisewoman/docs/ww_technical_assistance_guidance.pdf. Accessed July 12, 2018.
23. National Association of Chronic Disease Directors. Evidence based public health training. https://www.chronicdisease.org/page/HealthTraining. Accessed July 12, 2018.
24. Brownson RC. Evidence-based public health. Oxford (UK): Oxford University Press; 2011.
25. WISEWOMAN lifestyle program approval form, Weight Watchers. Burlington (VT): Vermont Department of Health; 2013.
26. Ahern AL, Olson AD, Aston LM, Jebb SA. Weight Watchers on prescription: an observational study of weight change among adults referred to Weight Watchers by the NHS. BMC Public Health 2011;11(1):434. CrossRefexternal icon PubMedexternal icon
27. Heshka S, Anderson JW, Atkinson RL, Greenway FL, Hill JO, Phinney SD, et al. Weight loss with self-help compared with a structured commercial program: a randomized trial. JAMA 2003;289(14):1792–8. CrossRefexternal icon PubMedexternal icon
28. WISEWOMAN lifestyle program approval form. Curves Complete. Burlington (VT): Vermont Department of Health; 2014.
29. Kerksick C, Thomas A, Campbell B, Taylor L, Wilborn C, Marcello B, et al. Effects of a popular exercise and weight loss program on weight loss, body composition, energy expenditure and health in obese women. Nutr Metab (Lond) 2009;6:23. CrossRefexternal icon PubMedexternal icon
30. Mardock M, Lockard B, Oliver J, Byrd M, Simbo S, Jagim A, et al. Comparative effectiveness of two popular weight loss programs in women I: body composition and resting energy expenditure. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2011;8(Suppl 1):4. CrossRefexternal icon
31. Kreider RB, Rasmussen C, Kerksick CM, Wilborn C, Taylor L 4th, Campbell B, et al. A carbohydrate-restricted diet during resistance training promotes more favorable changes in body composition and markers of health in obese women with and without insulin resistance. Phys Sportsmed 2011;39(2):27–40. CrossRefexternal icon PubMedexternal icon
32. Prochaska JO, DiClemente CC. The transtheroretical approach. In: Norcross JC, Goldfried MR, editors. Handbook of psychotherapy integration. New York: Oxford University Press; 2005. p. 147–71.
33. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About BMI. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/index.html. Accessed February 8, 2018.
34. Posnett J, Jan S. Indirect cost in economic evaluation: the opportunity cost of unpaid inputs. Health Econ 1996;5(1):13–23. CrossRefexternal icon PubMedexternal icon
35. Agresti A, Coull BA. Approximate is better than "exact" for interval estimation of binomial proportions. Am Stat 1998;52(2):119–26.
36. Vermont Department of Health. Vermont 2016 population estimates, females by single year of age and county. http://www.healthvermont.gov/health-statistics-vital-records/vital-records-population-data/vermont-population-estimates. Accessed September 26, 2018.
37. US Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration. United States summary, 2010: population and housing unit counts. Washington (DC): US Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration; 2012.

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Tables

Table 1. Characteristics of Study Population (N = 56) by Intervention Arm, Study of Cost Effectiveness of Two Lifestyle Interventions in the Vermont WISEWOMAN Program, April 2014–March 2016^a

Characteristic	Total (N = 56)	Curves Complete (n = 17)	Weight Watchers (n = 39)
Body mass index b at office visit before starting lifestyle program
25.0–29.9 (Overweight)	14	6	8
30.0–34.9 (Obese class I)	15	2	13
35.0–39.9 (Obese class II)	14	4	10
≥40.0 (Obese class III)	13	5	8
Readiness to change c
Preparation	17	7	10
Action	38	10	28
Maintenance	1	0	1
Age at first session, y
30–39	10	3	7
40–49	15	4	11
50–59	21	7	14
≥60	10	3	7
Race/ethnicity
White, non-Hispanic	50	13	37
Other race	6	4	2

Abbreviation: WISEWOMAN, Well Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation.
^a Values are number.
^b Weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.
^c Based on Prochaska and DiClemente's transtheoretical model of change (32).

Table 2. Costs by Intervention Arm, Study of Cost Effectiveness of Two Lifestyle Interventions in the Vermont WISEWOMAN Program, April 2014–March 2016

Cost, $	Curves Complete, n = 17	Weight Watchers, n = 39
Total	34,453.10	27,373.85
Lifestyle program
Membership	4,048.50	4,048.00
Incentives	391.50	639.58
Additional fitness	0.00	1,102.79
Subtotal for lifestyle program	4,440.00	5,790.37
Personnel
Labor	22,093.48	15,968.13
Fringe costsa	7,919.62	5,615.35
Subtotal for personnel	30,013.10	21,583.48
Per participant, mean
Personnel	1,765.48	553.42
Lifestyle program cost	261.18	148.47
Total per participant	2,026.66	701.89

Abbreviation: WISEWOMAN, Well Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation.
^a Insurance, leave accrual, and other employee benefits.

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Weight Watchers Burlington Ma Meeting Times

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2019/18_0417.htm

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Orange Living Furniture Review

Orange Living Furniture Review

The Benefits of Living in a Tiny House

CC0/WinnieC/Pixabay

With the cost of rent and the cost of living constantly on the rise, people are looking for more affordable housing options. This led to the tiny house movement that has swept the nation in recent years. The idea of downsizing to a couple hundred square feet might be daunting to some people, but there are a number of advantages. Learn the benefits of living in a tiny house and see if it's the right fit for you.

Tiny Houses Are Cheaper Than Traditional Houses

The average price of a new home sold in the United States as of October 2018 is $395,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. While houses are available for much cheaper, you can still expect to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on the purchase of a home. The average rent in the U.S. is $1,405 per month or $16,860 per year, notes CBS News. In contrast, you can find tiny homes for sale for less than $19,000 up to $50,000. If you rent a house or apartment, a tiny house will pay for itself in just a few years. If you are considering buying a house, opting for a tiny home will save you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

You Can Take It With You

Many tiny houses are built on a trailer, in an RV or are small enough to load on a flatbed truck to take on the road. You can travel the countryside and save money on hotel and lodging expenses by taking your tiny home with you. If you move for a job, there's no need to spend time looking for a new home in a new city — just take the tiny house with you.

They Are Energy Efficient

People who build tiny houses for off-grid living often equip them with solar panels. This eliminates the need for a power bill, thus lowering your expenses even more. However, even if your tiny house is hooked up to electric power, it still uses less energy for heating, cooling, appliances and more. Tiny houses often have a square footage ranging from 100 square feet to 400 square feet. That's a huge difference from trying to power a 2,600-square-foot home.

Your Life Has Less Clutter

People spend a lot of their adult lives trying to deal with clutter. They look up tips for organizing closets, pantries, playrooms and virtually every room of the house. When you have a lot of space, it's natural to want to fill that space with things. You don't have that option when you live in a tiny house. You have to make hard decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of. Additionally, you won't be making frivolous purchases because you know there's nowhere to put it when you get home — more money saved.

Cleaning Takes Less Time

With just a few hundred square feet of space, there's not a lot to clean. Additionally, there are less things to dust and wash. If you have a busy schedule and usually rely on having a housekeeper come in to help, you can eliminate that expense. You can have your entire tiny house clean in a matter of minutes.

More Independence for Family

Some groups of people, such as aging parents, adults with special needs, students and others, rely on family for assistance with care and housing. Having their own home may be prohibitively expensive or the person may not be equipped for that level of independence. Rather than living in a larger home, having a tiny home parked in the backyard allows them to have a greater sense of independence while still under the care of family. Tiny senior citizen homes for sale have become increasingly popular in recent years and are lovingly referred to as "granny pods."

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Orange Living Furniture Review

Source: https://www.questionsanswered.net/article/the-benefits-of-living-in-a-tiny-house?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740012%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex

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Best Throws For Living Room

Best Throws For Living Room

Rose is a full-time freelance writer who frequently writes about education, special education, DIY projects, food, Milwaukee, and more.

How to Decorate a Small Living Room

Every small living space offers design challenges. While it's important to make all of the rooms in your home functional, the living room is especially key because many people spend a lot of their time at home in the living room. From selecting furniture that is an appropriate scale for the space to maximizing hidden storage solutions to strategically placing a mirror to add depth and light, there are an extensive range of practical and easily attainable design ideas that will help you create the living room of your dreams in your small space.

6 Small Living Room Ideas

1. Select Furniture to Fit the Existing Space

2. Consider Hidden Storage

3. Create a Focal Point

4. Add Light and Depth

5. Don't Be Afraid of Color

6. Take Advantage of Vertical Space

The trunk serves as a coffee table and storage piece while adding a funky vintage touch to the living room.

Amanda Holstein via Advice From a Twenty Something

1. Select Furniture to Fit the Existing Space

• Determine Scale and Configuration

When you're working with a compact living room, large-scale furniture often isn't an option. Be realistic about the space. For example, if an oversized recliner won't fit, choose a pair of smaller chairs. Many people also get hung up on common furniture configurations. For example, nothing says that you need a full-sized sofa in your living room. A love seat paired with a bench and an armchair may work more naturally in your space.

• Think Multifunctional

Choosing multifunctional pieces will also make the most of your living room. For example, a bench with storage will provide seating while housing pillows and blankets. A coffee table or console table makes a great addition to a living room but only when it makes sense for the space. Your small living room may be better suited for two small tables that open up the space and can be moved as needed to accommodate different functions.

• Consider Floating Furniture and Low Seating

Floating furniture and low seating can make all the difference when it comes to keeping the space open and flowing. Design a floating furniture arrangement in the center of the room instead of pushing pieces up against the walls. Install shelves and other built-in components off the floor to create the illusion of space. If you choose low seating, select pieces that don't distract from the focal statement in the room. For example, a pair of low stools in front of the mantel will keep the fireplace as the focus of the living room.

The wall length built-in keeps this narrow living room streamlined and clutter free.

Tory Kingdon via House and Garden UK

Concealed storage is a great way to house items in the living room without creating a cluttered space. Furniture pieces that boast concealed storage, such as an ottoman with built-in storage, are a great option. You may also want to consider decor pieces that do double duty as storage, such as colorful baskets or jars. Do you have a hard time finding concealed storage pieces that don't take up a ton of floor space? Think about biting the bullet and devoting a single wall to built-in storage. To further streamline the storage, keep your items in the built-in hidden behind doors or curtains.

Read More From Dengarden

The living room layout showcases the focal fireplace and mantel.

Kendyl Young, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.com

3. Create a Focal Point

A focal point is ideal for drawing people into a space while making it more uplifting and even sophisticated. Think about focusing your living room around a fireplace, sofa, coffee table, artwork, or mirror. Once you've settled on your focal point, design the rest of the living room around your statement piece to pull the entire look together.

The mirrors reflect the whole space, making it appear larger, while bringing more natural light into the room.

Brunet Souet via Milk Decoration

4. Add Light and Depth

Small living rooms with flat features and dark corners look dreary, even when they boast unique furniture and wall hangings. Maximize the natural light in the room, and don't be afraid to add artificial light sources as well. You'll bring even more light and depth into your compact living room with wallpaper and strategically placed mirrors and plants. Purely decorative mirrors still pack a visual punch and draw extra light into the space.

The floral theme ties the colored items in the room together.

House to Home UK - link no longer active

5. Don't Be Afraid of Color

Many people steer clear of color in small living rooms, believing that it will overwhelm the space. While there is nothing wrong with designing a small living room that features neutral shades, color can make the space appear larger. Select a color scheme with a maximum of three shades to create a unified aesthetic. If you want to use additional colors, incorporate them as accents. Typically lighter shades make a space look larger, but careful use of darker shades takes the style and drama in the room up a notch.

When you paint a small living room, select a satin or semigloss finish to reflect the light. If you want to tie the color scheme in the room together without painting or buying new furniture, consider an area rug. Layer a rug over carpeting to make the room feel cozier or conceal dark flooring with a brightly colored rug to lighten up a dark space.

This set of floating shelves draw the eye up while adding room for knick knacks in otherwise wasted corner space.

Sarah and Joshua Rhodes via A Beautiful Mess

6. Take Advantage of Vertical Space

Build up instead of out to maximize the available space. When you hang curtains, place the curtain rods right below the ceiling. Then choose curtains that extend all the way to the floor to make the ceiling look higher. If you're selecting art or other wall hangings, consider designing a gallery wall or choosing a few large pieces that fill the whole space. Do you have an odd nook that currently serves little or no purpose in the living room? Think about constructing shelves to simultaneously add storage and draw the eye upward.

Small Family Room Design

Finally, creating the ideal flow for your small living room is an ongoing process. It often takes weeks, or even months, of living with a living room arrangement to determine what is and isn't working. Don't be afraid to keep making tweaks and adjusting the layout until you find a arrangement that suits you and your family.

Additional Small Home Resources

• Frugal Storage Ideas for Small Homes: Creative, Unique Organization Methods
  Creating functional storage for a small home is simple when you're equipped with the right organizational tools. Pick up purchasing resources, general organization tips, and much more.
• How to Make the Most of a Small Kitchen: Simple, Affordable Kitchen Solutions for Every Budget
  Organize and brighten up your small kitchen space with practical solutions to create a functional yet inviting space for family and friends.

© 2016 Rose Clearfield

Riffat Junaid on June 30, 2020:

Very good article you wrote very helpful tips and pictures are so beautiful you added.

Chitrangada Sharan from New Delhi, India on April 05, 2016:

Excellent hub!

I enjoyed going through your tips and suggestions to design and lay out a small living room. Using the place below staircase is a very nice idea. Very attractive pictures to complement your interesting and useful hub.

Thanks for sharing!

Best Throws For Living Room

Source: https://dengarden.com/interior-design/How-to-Design-and-Lay-Out-a-Small-Living-Room

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Asian Decor Living Room

Asian Decor Living Room

Living Room Decorating Ideas

iStock

The living room is one of the most important areas in your house for a great hosting experience. It's likely you and your guests will spend countless hours in this room, discussing and entertaining.

Decorating your living room properly will deliver deeply satisfying living for your leisure time. To get there, however, you must pay attention to all of the following areas:

1. the colors that you select

2. material and quality of seats and furniture

3. wall decorations and art

4. lighting and light fixtures

Below we show you some great ideas for decorating your living room.

The Best Colors for Your Living Room

One area that will have a disproportionate impact on the mood of your living room is the color you choose for the walls. While you can install wallpaper to change the look of certain walls, there are areas that wallpaper cannot cover. Getting the wall color right, therefore, gives you the best shot at creating a remarkable effect.

Some of the best color palettes for living rooms include:

1. White - White walls add a touch of class. They are the perfect backdrop for decorating with upscale furniture.

2. Turquoise - This color is great for creating an informal but refined feel. Your kids and family will love the refreshing mood this color creates.

3. Cream - Striking a balance between formal and informal, cream-colored walls create a quiet, soothing effect.

Furniture Choices

With your wall color selection made, you should select furniture that pairs well with the colors you've already chosen. For example, combining white couches with white walls will create resonance in your room design.

Make sure to provide ample seating to avoid crowding. Add multiple sofas, easy chairs and other seats that can accommodate a complete roomful of people, depending on the size of the room.

Furniture like TV stands and tables should generally blend in with the colors of the room and ceiling. There are some natural materials, however, that can work regardless of the colors on the walls. For example, wooden table surfaces look good whether your walls are white, blue or another color.

Lighting Ideas

You can greatly improve the aesthetics of a living room with bright lighting and impressive light fixtures.

To start, you can consider a beautiful chandelier in the center to provide light around the whole room. This central masterpiece ensures adequate lighting throughout the living room while adding an air of elegance.

You can then add to the light sources in the living room with individual lights on tables and around the walls in areas where people will not knock them down.

Carpeting

Consider adding carpeting to your living room to create a comfortable walking area. Carpeting lets you and your guests go barefoot if you choose. The living room almost demands this since you will want to take off your shoes and kick back on occasion. Warm plush carpets provide a good, comfortable surface for this. There are many choices when it comes to carpet size.

If your living room is very large, you can opt for wall-to-wall carpeting. On the other hand, if it's smaller, you can add just an area rug in the place where you will sit. For example, you can have a rug around the sitting and TV area where your kids will play.

The advantage of area rugs over wall to wall carpeting is, mainly, lower costs and ease of replacement. You can completely change the area rug and create a new aesthetic in a fraction of the time it would take to begin installing new wall-to-wall carpeting.

Art Ideas for Your Living Room

Many homeowners like to have some wall art in their living room. If your living room is spacious, it can accommodate a good-sized piece of art mounted alongside one wall. In some instances, you can consider multiple art pieces. Invariably, tasteful art adds to the sophistication of a living room. It adds an interesting item that sparks many conversations from impressed guests.

Selecting art is an opportunity to express your unique personality. If you are fairly conservative, you can select some classical type pieces that portray a quiet life. If you are more adventurous, you can experiment with a post-modern impressionist piece that others might consider risky. It's your space, and so feel free to decorate it to express who you are.

Asian Decor Living Room

Source: https://www.life123.com/home-garden/decor/living-room-decorating-ideas?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740009%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex

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Popular Living Room Colors

Popular Living Room Colors

Every item on this page was carefully chosen by a Veranda editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

40 Radiant Living Room Paint Colors to Liven Up Your Space

Elevate your living room with these designer-approved hues.

Annie Schlechter

The living room has long been one of the most important spaces in the home for relaxing, entertaining—and well, living—with family and friends. From the Victorian era's high-spirited parlor rooms to the modern, boldly patterned living room ideas of today, the design of the living room is meant to be a welcoming space for gathering with friends family or for relaxing alone. In most cases, the style of a home's living room sets the tone for the rest of the house via furniture choices, personal collections, and accessories. One of the easiest ways to define the the living room space is with the paint color on the walls. This is also one of the quickest ways to update the living room.

Not only are your color choices the most powerful for establishing a sense of personal style in the living room, but they are also typically the initial decorating decisions that drive the rest of the process, from selecting fabrics and living room rug ideas to thinking through living room lighting ideas. Whether you gravitate towards lighter, airier spaces with calming colors or crave cozy, warm paint colors like you might find in yellow rooms, green rooms or even chocolate brown rooms, you'll find all the living room color inspiration you need right here. We've gathered 40 of the most radiant living room paint color ideas from top designers around the world to get you started. Happy decorating!

1 of 40

Periwinkle Blue

"I like to utilize the entire volume of a room," says Anthony Baratta of the living room in this Manhattan apartment, pointing to an American painting by Tomory Dodge and oversize custom floor lamp, both of which take advantage of the capacious height. Equally ample upholstered furnishings are clad in arresting colors and patterns, including cherry-red velvet (Pierre Frey) and the sofa's block-printed linen (Christopher Moore). Plaster and marble objects, including an over-the-top amphora lamp, echo the color and classical tone of the original ceiling moldings. The medallion border on the drapes was inspired by one in a Christian Lacroix showroom.

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2 of 40

Cherry Red

Most of the palette and patterns for this London rowhouse decorated by Gary McBournie came from a single small antique Turkish rug. "We loved its colors and design, and Chinese, Indian, and Turkish influences," says McBournie. "It became the starting point for everything." Because it was too small to suit any of the spaces, McBournie re-created it as a large living room rug for the cherry-hued space. A convivial window seat overlooks an emerald and white back garden. Striped banquette fabric, Pierre Frey. French lantern, Carlton Davidson Antiques

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4 of 40

Taxicab Yellow

Designer Todd Romano's living room in San Antonio, Texas, is a virtuoso's guide to owning the color wheel: Taxicab yellow, pure red, and cobalt are a mighty foundation for soft pastels and nuanced naturals. A pair of Chinese baluster vases fitted as lamps bookends a custom button-tufted sofa. Central artwork, C-Ring 1, Todd & Fitch

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5 of 40

Plaster White

In the living room of designer Cece Barfield Thompson's New York apartment, plaster white walls provide a crisp backdrop to a sea of fresh greens. An oil painting by London artist Daisy Cook hangs over a nine-foot Schneller sofa upholstered in stain-resistant fabric (Perennials). The coffee table is crafted from a 19th-century Chinese screen; the chairs are covered in handblocked linen (Clarence House).

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8 of 40

Limestone

In the living room of architect Ken Pursley's home in Charlotte, North Carolina, walls painted a warm, light grey set a soothing tone for a sea of neutrals. A Calacatta marble partition separates the seating area from an open kitchen, shielding countertop clutter while inviting conversation between cook and guest. The custom sofa was a wedding gift from fellow architect Bobby McAlpine.

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9 of 40

Golden Sunlight

At this Bronxville, New York, home designed by Carrier and Company, the golden walls in the newly added family room are painted Standish White. Trim, White Dove, both by Benjamin Moore

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11 of 40

Emerald Green

For the living room in this Connecticut home, designer Miles Redd found a pair of George II–style painted mirrors at auction "for a steal. They are totally Mario Buatta and really anchor the living room." Emerald silk walls (Kravet), lapis-blue taffeta curtains with bullion fringe, and ruby red accents illuminate the room to radiant effect. Hand-blocked chintz upholstery fabric, Clarence House

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14 of 40

Pure White

Lawyer-turned-interior designer Darryl Carter proves soft white walls create a gallery-like backdrop, as seen here in his Washington, D.C., townhouse. Treasured works of art, sculptural marble benches, and a roaring fireplace against white walls provide a serene experience for guests.

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16 of 40

Carmine

Rich carmine walls provide an energizing canvas for a medley of textures and pattern in this New England den by Markham Roberts. A cartouches printed linen (Rose Cummings) and a Kashmir wool paisley (Clarence House) dress the custom sofa and slipper chair. While Roberts opted to upholster the walls in cashmere, you can achieve a similar look by painting the walls with Farrow & Ball's Picture Gallery Red in a matte finish.

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17 of 40

Light Oak

Warm neutrals echoing shades of wood create a calming atmosphere to sit back and watch the bustling streets outside the large bays windows of this Mexico City living room by Fernanda Loyzaga.

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18 of 40

So Golden

Ask designer Jeffrey Bilhuber, and he'll tell you gold belongs on more than just your wrists and fingers. In this Upper East Side townhouse, the New York–based decorator used a sumptuous marigold as a backdrop for the artful mirror-image seating area.

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19 of 40

Powder Blue

When looking for ways to liven up this historic Atlanta home, designers Nina Nash Long and Don Easterling turned to unique shades that could dial up the room's design moxie while still being livable. The duo painted the mantel, trim, walls, windows, and doors in this silvery blue shade from Farrow & Ball.

"It's peaceful and calming but still packs a punch of fun color," says the duo.

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20 of 40

Salmon Pink

"It's funny how much color comes across with those few accents, but I think it embraces Palm Beach's very sophisticated sensibility," remarks Suzanne Kasler, who used a vibrant pink shade to anchor a long living room at the Kips Bay Show House in Palm Beach. The salmony shade not only adds a pop of color to the mostly white space, but it brings out the touches of the pink and yellow in the Sans Soucis wallcovering by de Gournay.

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21 of 40

Artful Greige

The slight brown undertones of the gray hue covering the walls of this living room design by Kishani Perera warm up the quaint space while giving it a timeless air.

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22 of 40

Ice Blue

Shades of blue and pops of yellow echo the crystal-clear skies of the setting of this Bahamas getaway design by Miles Redd. To ensure a living room's color palette never feels overwhelming, Redd recommends using art as a color equalizer.

"Not only does art help a room feel complete, it can make soft colors feel less wan and stronger colors appear more mellow," explains Redd. The painting So To Speak by Doug Argue hangs over a sofa in a Osborne and Little fabric. The yellow linen used throughout the space is from Pierre Frey.

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23 of 40

Clean White

"The best thing you can have in a house is good natural light," says architect James F. Carter, who designed the living room of this Georgian-style home with four pairs of French doors and walls in a clean white shade that helps to make the room feel even brighter. The Regency game table and chairs are flanked by Chippendale mirrors and lamps from Bungalow 5. The wall paint color is Glacier White by Benjamin Moore.

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24 of 40

Smoky Gray

A smoky shade of gray (River Reflection by Benjamin Moore) bring the 18th-century boiserie in this Jean-Louis Deniot–designed Paris apartment back to life while also serving as a classical background for colorful midcentury and contemporary furnishings. Pink porcelain side tables (Djim Berger) mingle with a bergère armchair attributed to Georges Jacob and a clam chair by Philip Arctander.

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25 of 40

Glossy White

In the living room of this glamorous Hamptons home, glossy, white-lacquered walls reflect the diffused natural light from the custom ceiling, turning the space into a glowing light box. Designer Alex Papachristidis worked with artisans from across the country to create one-of-a-kind pieces like the pair of Hervé Van der Straeten bronze light fixtures that hang like jewelry in the space. The custom cantilevered sofas are covered in a white velvet from Cowtan & Tout.

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27 of 40

High-Gloss Blue

Many traditional libraries feature brown wood paneling, but slap on a coat of high-gloss blue paint—like in this living room designed by Richard Keith Langham—and you get a modern space that feels fresh and vibrant. Plaid Scottish curtains are Colefax and Fowler, and the ottoman is upholstered with a Jerry Pair suede.

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28 of 40

Soft Blush

The blushing shade adorning the Dallas living room of late arts patron and design enthusiast Betty Blake emboldens the abstract showpieces and eccentric furnishings by Syrie Maugham to shine bright.

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29 of 40

A Shade of White

Once a barn in this provincial home, the new living room stands awash in sophisticated patterns and textures. Farrow & Ball's Wimborne White is just a shade warmer than pure white, making it a subtle backdrop for family antiques and lusciously patterned curtains in Braquenie fabric. Oversize sofas are upholstered in Sits and Pierre Frey.

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Lime Green

Lime green is likely one of the last colors on your list for a living room, but this space designed by Maureen Footer might just change your mind. Dreamed up while researching her book, Dior and His Decorators, Footer approached the design of her own apartment with the spirit of the venerable fashion icon. Neoclassical furnishings stand in contrast with the lime green walls to create a très chic living space. The sofa upholstery is a Bergamo fabric, and the wall sconces are Urban Archaeology.

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Steele Marcoux Editor in Chief, VERANDA Steele Marcoux is the Editor in Chief at VERANDA, covering design trends, architecture, and travel for the brand.

Sarah DiMarco Sarah DiMarco is the Assistant Editor at VERANDA, covering all things decor, design, and travel, and she also manages social media for the brand.

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Source: https://www.veranda.com/decorating-ideas/color-ideas/g27506650/living-room-paint-colors/

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