Do-it-yourselfers can paint the walls in one color, the trim in a coordinating color and accessories in a third color-and then erase it and start over at the new American Tradition Signature Colors Design Center at Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse. Sound messy? Not with the new Virtual Painter software.

ei software, inc. has joined forces with The Valspar Corporation and Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse to develop the first three tiered paint color visualization program in the home improvement industry.

The system was designed around the new American Traditions Signature Colors paint line now being sold in Lowe's stores. The solution includes an Internet-based Paint Visualizer on Lowes.com, an in-store kiosk to be placed in every Lowe's paint department, and the American Traditions Signature Colors Virtual Painter, a CD-based paint application for the home user.

The combination of the three tools represents the most comprehensive technical offering for customers searching out help in selecting paint colors.

Home users can access the Lowes.com Paint Visualizer by visiting Lowes.com and going to the Paint page. Here, they can view prepainted sample images and apply any number of colors from new designer palettes. This process is designed to get customers interested and into the Signature Colors Design Center near them. Once in the Design Center, users can view the same images on a kiosk located in the Design Center paint chip display.

To use the Virtual Painter software at the Signature Colors Design Center, customers begin by choosing one of over 30 model rooms. The software offers six or more versions of five settings: baths, bedrooms, kitchens, dining rooms, and living rooms and dens, most of which were created by designers whose palettes are included in the Signature Colors program.

Once they have selected the room they want to paint, Virtual Painter guides do-it-yourselfers to choose a palette-one of the six designer brands available through Signature Colors-and then select a color. The software then suggests one or two accent colors to create a color scheme selected by professional designers, and coordinates the accents with their own color choice; or customers may choose their own trim and accent hues from the palette. A print from the kiosk leads clients directly to color chips of the colors they have selected.

Lowe's customers also may purchase the Virtual Painter software on CD and take it home. There, they can easily import photos of their own rooms and experiment with color schemes using familiar settings. Room scenes can be printed out along with all of the data needed to return to Lowe's and purchase paint.