Design Tips & Blog

Choosing a paint color is a creative and fun way to begin any home decorating project. The right color can easily brighten up a dark room, or create the illusion of more space in smaller areas. Before you paint a room, take time to choose the exact color of paint you want. These tips will help you select the perfect shade.

Supplies Needed to Choose a Paint Color

For this project, you will need;

• a 1-inch foam brush
• a handful of 6-inch by 4-inch pieces of white cardboard
• various paint swatches
• a small jar or two of paint samples, which can be picked up at your local home improvement store

Consider the Mood of Your Room

To get started, consider the mood and feel that you want to achieve when changing the color of the room.

Warm colors such as reds, yellows, and orange hues tend to make a room feel cozy and can be a good choice for larger spaces that receive plenty of natural light.

On the other end of the color spectrum, cooler colors such as blues and greens can open up a small spaces while creating a more calm effect for relaxation.

Decide on a Contrast Color

When choosing colors for wall trims, doorframes, or borders, white is often times the standard. However, using a paler shade of the main wall color can further open up a small space, whereas using a darker color will work as a bold contrast without closing off the room.

How to Match Paint

Keep in mind that is usually best to avoid matching your paint to larger pieces of your furniture as it will give your room a cluttered look, and the shades are likely not to match exactly.

Be certain if matching a fabric pattern with your wall color, match the color with the background and not with the pattern.

Hang Your Favorite Color Swatches on the Wall

Once you have decided on the feel and general color scheme for the room, look through paint swatches, color wheels, and paint samples while standing in the room you want to paint to help narrow down your paint color options.

Once you have only a few options remaining, hang your favorite color swatch options on the wall to see how the color looks at different times of the day. Remove the options that no longer look appealing under different lighting conditions.

Paint the Cardboard Samples

Once you have narrowed down the paint color to only two or three colors, pick up small sample jars for each individual paint color at your local home improvement store.

Using a 1-inch foam brush, apply two to three coats of each color to individual pieces of white cardboard. Allow the paint to dry for 24-hours.

Hold Up the Cardboard Samples

One at a time, hold each painted cardboard sample as you slowly walk around the room. This technique will allow you to see how each of the colors you are considering will change as the light changes at various points in the room.

Once you have decided on a color, youre ready to begin creating a whole new space for yourself!