Tips For Choosing An Interior Paint Color

Interior Paint Color: Help Is Here

Painting your home is the ultimate opportunity to express yourself, so have fun with it! Although there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to personal taste, selecting the right color can be overwhelming. Many experts believe that the hues you use for your home can also impact your well-being. Here are a few tips for choosing an interior paint color when navigating the endless choices.

Consider the Mood

When choosing a paint color, think about your emotional goal and the environment you want to create: inviting and comforting or dramatic and exciting? With a little imagination and a few cans of paint, you can create your ideal atmosphere.

A great rule of thumb: remember the color wheel!

Make small rooms appear larger and airy: try cool colors such as blues, greens and purples

Give rooms energy and vibrancy: go for drama with exciting reds, yellows and oranges

Add serenity: choose cool colors on the color wheel. Staying within the same shade of color lends a soothing look.

Romantic and joyful: calming pink

Homey and comforting: select buttery yellows

Calm balance: go with light moss or sage shades

Cozy and snug: envelope your walls in rich cocoa

Amp up drama and elegance: go with touches of shiny black

Think Big Picture

Consider creating a master palette for your entire home, even if it’s a tiny apartment. Choosing a combination of complementary colors ensures a comfortable flow without visual disconnect.

Don’t make the mistake of picking paint colors first. You should plan a room’s fabrics, furniture and décor, then select paint to support them.

Try Out the Lighting

The same color painted in two different rooms can look like two completely different colors due to lighting. The lighting you use in your space is very important to your color choice because it will affect how it looks. Natural sunlight shows color most purely, but it is not consistent throughout the day. Fluorescent bulbs give off a bluish tint that enhances greens and blues but unfortunately dulls warm tones.

When choosing a color, select three shades: your first pick, one shade lighter and one shade darker on the color spectrum. Sample the colors in different areas and view them at different times of the day to find what ultimately works best.

Mirror Your Environment

Do you live near water? Try a soothing aquatic palette of nautical blues and earthy neutrals. Big city dweller? Consider contemporary colors like soft grays and crisp whites paired with deeper accents. Varying shades of rust, mahogany or garnet brings a feeling of earthy, rich elegance. Drawing inspiration from your surroundings will create a balance between your living space and the life around it.