Is there a perfect paint color that will look cool on every wall? If not, how to choose paint colors to make your home stand out?! Read this post to get the answer!
You are feeling the energy. You were waiting for this time for months. And now you have freed up your time enough to finally paint your home.
Of course, just like any other goal you set at the start of the year, you have a general idea of the expected outcome. You know the colors you want to apply to every room. Heck, you even know the combinations.
But that general idea is not enough. And you need to be more specific. If your chosen color is green, you will be overwhelmed by the number of choices you will receive when you head to the store.
And you have to believe me on this – every green color will look different on your walls. Olive green will give quite a different appearance than a shade of hunter green.
Then you have forest green Hampshire Gray, Sherwood green, and many other colors to choose from.
Now, how to choose paint colors from all these choices? So, exactly what color should I paint my room? Aren’t you feeling overwhelmed already?
Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered.
This post will give you a fool-proof method to choose the right paint color for every room of your home. And don’t forget to check out the tips we have mentioned at the end of this post.
How To Choose Paint Colors
Every home is different and its needs for color and lights are different. That’s because every home invites different levels and angles of natural light. Also, other elements of interior design impact the best color that should go on the wall.
In short, no one color is the right color. And the perfect choice changes as you change the location of your house, flooring of the room, lighting options, and furniture colors.
So, don’t select an option without checking it out on your walls in the presence of all the colors and lights it will have.
Here is the whole process that details how to choose a paint color?
Before you give paint color a thought, plan the furniture and lighting of the room. It’s easier to choose the paint color to match the furniture palette than to choose furniture around the wall paint. Also, you should be clear about the flooring style you will use.
Visit the hardware store and order color swatches of the color you have chosen. Don’t be too narrow on the swatches you bring home. Most stores offer these swatches free of cost so you aren’t losing by picking more than a few swatches.
Bring these swatches home and look at the swatches under different light conditions, at different times of the day, and with pieces of furniture that will impact the room’s color scheme.
Most houses use up to five colors to build a complete color scheme for the home. These colors keep appearing in every room. In other words, you should change colors from one room to another.
Out of these colors, one will be your chosen shade of white. Another one should be neutral. This can include gray, or lighter shades of blue, beige, or brown.
The last three colors can include any hue that matches your color theme and personality.
After testing these colors for a day, shortlist the color options to four or five. Now is the time to get samples. Also, select up to colors each for white and neutral colors.
Order them online or head to your nearest paint outlet to get samples. You will have to buy small containers of your chosen hues.
You can either paint these colors directly on the wall or paint them on Bristol boards. The second method is easier and cleaner. You can move the board to different rooms to check out the lighting effect on it at different times.
Again, you would want to complete the scene with different colors of the furniture, lighting options, and flooring to assess the paint’s suitability.
At this stage, allow the paint to sit on the wall – or the Bristol board to be displayed – for some days to be sure of your choice and its impact on the ambiance of your room.
You will also want to decide the sheen you want for your home. This decision, again, will vary from room to room. This change across the room doesn’t depend on the color you have chosen for your room, rather it depends on the traffic each area will get.
Rooms that get heavy traffic and mild abuse – like living rooms and kids’ rooms – usually do well with gloss or semi-gloss sheens. For more secluded areas like a master bedroom, you will go with a flat or matte finish.
This part of the post discussed how to choose paint colors. Next, we shall explain some tips that will bring beauty and energy to your choice.
Tips for Choosing Paint Colors
Here are a few factors you should keep in mind while choosing the right paint color for any room in your area.
Define One Color Scheme
We have said this before if you want to build a personality for your home, you should stick to one color scheme for your home.
Every room in your home should relate to the other room. So, if you are using beige color as the central theme in your home, every room will have some parts of its walls painted in this color.
You can change how much emphasis you would give to a certain color in a room depending on the energy level you want there. You may also choose to skip one color altogether from the palette of a room if other colors appear enough for it.
Stick To One Temperature
Color temperatures have a huge impact on the energy level a room will have. At the same time, it interacts with the natural light your room receives to balance out the energy present in a room.
If your room receives lots of natural light and your light bulb’s LEDs are producing warm light, your room will naturally have warmer energy. On the other hand, those rooms which do not allow direct natural light and use cooler colors for artificial light sources may appear cold.
The undertone of your wall paint determines if these colors will give warmer or cooler vibes. Colors with yellow or red undertones have a high color temperature.
Those paint colors that have gray or green undertones have a low temperature and soothing effect.
You would want to pair more natural light with paints with cool undertones. At the same time, cancel out the lack of natural light in a room with warmer undertones for your paints.
Choose Neutral Colors
White and neutral hues are perfect for walls especially when you plan on accentuating the vibe with accent pieces. This way, you can experiment with the color scheme as and when you get bored of the existing balance.
Neutral tones are also good for those rooms that have marginally higher traffic. Medium neutral tones will flawlessly hide dirt and dust.
Choose The Right Sheen
Gloss and semi-gloss may appear too shiny. If you want to get less shine in your paint, you can choose some milder options like satin, flat, and eggshell.
You can use a flat sheen for your living areas that attract lots of natural light and dirt. The best feature of this sheen is how easily it hides away the dirt and dust.
Note that this is the most difficult sheen to clean because of its porous surface. This is the perfect sheen if you don’t want much light to deflect from your walls.
For a room that needs regular cleaning because of a high level of abuse, satin is the best sheen. At the same time, it hides stains and dirt.
Choose Brighter Colors For Kids’ Room
The kids’ room is the only room in the house that can deviate from the norm. It has its unique personality. And it has to be brighter than other areas of the home.
In short, you can use more than three colors to paint your kids’ room. The best way is to pick a theme for this room. Get inspiration from the Jungle Book, Frozen, or Encanto.
Or you may want them to showcase your kid’s passion for his talent, sports, or inspirations.
Research
Don’t underestimate the power of research and inspiration when choosing from different paint colors. Start planning months in advance. Take inspiration from nature. Or get ideas from other houses, interior designing blogs, and vlogs.
Look up different colors and see what’s in trend these days. Learn how to pick paint colors after getting inspiration from furniture color and style.
Take Away
You know it’s time to give a fresh look to your home by repainting it. But you can’t decide on the color that will look cool.
How to choose paint colors when you are a naïve person with minimal experience in interior decoration? Can you trust yourself in this?
Luckily, you can trust yourself. But you will have to be a little careful and test the colors thoroughly before choosing the perfect paint for your home.
This post explains the whole process from researching to testing and then buying the perfect color for your interior decoration project.