Choosing a Color? Hold the Gravy.

Stephen Drucker, editor in chief of House Beautiful magazine, says the most read-and-ripped feature in the publication is the monthly survey of designers' favorite paint colors.

"Paint is like sex," said Drucker, speaking to an overflow crowd at a seminar on color at the Washington Design Center last week. "There is an endless fascination with the subject."

We've been intrigued with the results of our own designer paint poll. What wicked fun to consider New York designer Jamie Drake's suggestion of a dining room drenched in Benjamin Moore's Grape Gum. Washington designer Brenton Bacari shared his fondness for Farrow & Ball Old White, which he calls the perfect kitchen color. Carleton Varney, who took over Dorothy Draper's legendary Manhattan design firm, believes our living rooms should always be painted our favorite color, invoking her dictum: Forget about neutrals, and use nothing that looks like gravy.

Professionals well know that choosing paint involves more than picking a name or number. "There's the lighting, architectural elements and the furnishings," says Paul Corrie, a Mount Pleasant-based designer. "And you should also consider the transitions in color from room to room." Hmmm. So, maybe not the Citron next to the Nacho Cheese?

We asked a dozen designers to share current favorite paint colors with us. You might not need these words of wisdom today, but it's not a bad idea to keep a copy tucked away for the day of indecision to come. Read and rip, anyone?

The following designers were consulted for this story:

Brenton Bacari, Patrick J. Baglino, Sheila Bridges, Paul Corrie, Jamie Drake, Mariette Himes Gomez, Katina Megas of Lisa Vandenburgh, Charlotte Moss, Katie Ridder, Paul Sherrill of Solis Betancourt and Carleton Varney of Dorothy Draper & Co.