6 Tips to Easily Pick the Perfect Paint Color
If you’re looking for ways to pick the perfect paint color I’ve got a few tips to help you out!
If you think the hardest thing to choose in your home is the paint colors, you’re probably right!
I mean it’s tough to paint ceilings and I’m no fan of removing wallpaper (which is why I have shortcuts when I hang it in the first place!).
But choosing a color. Well that’s a tough one.
Double the stress if you’re working on choosing a whole house color palette.
So I’ve got a few tips to share with you to make the process a little bit easier.
Or a lot easier.
It depends on how stressed you where when you started the process!
Keep it Neutral
If you like changing up your decor – either seasonally, or as trends come and go, you’re going to want to stick to a neutral.
If you stick with white or a very neutral color on your walls you can easily swap in colors in different spots in your home.
Not just in your decor and throw pillows but even on your cabinets and doors.
A neutral backdrop is the perfect paint color that makes it easy to change the things around it.
Remember, a neutral does not always mean white or beige!
Look to Nature
If you’re struggling with what colors look good together there’s no better place to see color than in nature.
Mother Nature definitely knows a thing or two about the pairing the perfect colors!
Any designer will tell you that It’s always a good idea to bring the outside in when you’re working on a home. So doesn’t it makes sense that looking to nature for inspiration would be a great place to start?
It just might not always be a place with think to look.
Unless it’s coastal style.
You see the ocean and you picture blue and white fabrics and usually some rattan or basket weaves to mimic the sand. These are easy colors that come to mind!
You can do the same in any form of nature.
Bring in the sky. The forest. The meadow. The desert.
Nature always knows how to pick the perfect paint color.
Or you can use your favorite drink.
Or my favorite drink.
Which is coffee.
See how this color palette has all the perfect nature colors/earth tones?
Nature is calming and that’s definitely a feeling that we want in our homes. That’s why earth tones are always popular in homes and home decor.
These colors can be very soothing and calming.
Look Around Your Home
This might seem like an easy tip, but try looking around your own home.
Not only will this help you see colors that you already like, but it can also help you pick out the colors that you don’t like.
Knowing what you don’t like is just as important when you’re making design choices.
Take a few minutes to walk through your house and look at the spaces.
What things in your house make you feel good? Happy, calm or energetic.
Which things in your house make you feel not so good? Sad, anxious or helpless.
I’m always a huge fan of picking an anchor piece and working outward from it.
An anchor piece can be art, a rug or a beautiful piece of fabric. It’s easier to use the color palette and patterns from an existing piece because the color palette is already there!
Done!
Try an App
There are lots of different apps that can help you visualize what a color will look like in your room.
Most of these are so advanced now that you can actually scan your room and see the color on the walls or the cabinets.
It’s pretty amazing.
I’ve used ColorSnap by Sherwin Williams and ProjectColor by Home Depot. I like both of these and I know that there are at least a dozen more to pick from.
In ColorSnap you can open your camera in the room that you’re in and it will paint the walls as you pan around the room. It’s a fun way to visualize a new color in the space.
ProjectColor will paint in a photo from your camera roll but it doesn’t have the video feature to it.
Remember that these are just to help you visualize a change and the colors aren’t going to be exactly what they’ll look like in your space!
Both of these apps will take any photo that you upload and create a color board for you.
I think this is my favorite way to pick the perfect paint color!
Try either of these apps or another to help visualize colors in different rooms and spaces!
Ask an Expert for the Perfect Paint Color
There are plenty of places to get an expert to weigh in on your paint choices.
You can usually find a Sherwin Williams expert to give a consultation but it may take a few days to get an appointment.
These appointments are generally virtual these days but that doesn’t mean it’s not a valuable amount of advice.
Many of the larger paint company’s have a color expert in house who can help you narrow down your colors as well.
Make it Cohesive
You don’t have to paint every room the same color, even in an open concept floor plan.
Your colors do need to relate to each other though.
You don’t want to feel like you’re walking from one house into another when you walk from one room into the next.
It helps if you have some colors in common so that the rooms will relate to each other.
It’s easy to use a lighter shade of a color in your connecting spaces (hallways and entryways) that help the colors flow from one space to the next.
If one room is painted navy, you may want to use a pale blue or gray for your hallway. In the next room you’ll want to have some navy accessories to help connect the spaces.
It’s always a good idea to have some colors that help your spaces feel connected and give you a nice transition between them.
Use Paint Chips and Samples
I will admit that I’ve been guilty of just choosing a color and calling it good without testing it out.
This is usually when it’s a space that we know is going to be a temporary fix and I’m not overly concerned with the actual outcome.
This is actually a terrible idea because sometimes that “temporary” fix lasts a lot longer than you think.
You might wind up with a lipstick red wall in your kitchen for longer than what you considered an “I can live with this” amount of time.
Yes that’s happened to me. I mean, I did that.
All those paint chips in the stores are supposed to be making your life easier, not harder. Try to narrow your color down to three shades and then get samples.
The swatches on a paint card can be pretty small but you can get giant stick on samples from Samplize. I love that you can move these from one spot to another in your room so you can see it in different light.
Move your samples around your room so that you can see them on different walls at different times of the day.
A sample can also help you see how the paint looks with the rest of your house. Your fixtures and your furniture all play a role in how your paint will look on your walls.
That’s not enough for me though, I always buy a sample of paint as well.
BONUS TIP
If you’re like me and you love trying out all different colors in the form of samples here’s a great tip for you.
Take down a piece of art and paint your sample behind it.
Then (if you’re like me) you can hide your samples if you need to.
Now you might be the kind of person that starts a project and finishes it in a day or two, or even in a few weeks. The kind of person that just has one project until that project is done.
I’m not that person.
I have numerous projects happening at any given time so I’ve found ways to keep them somewhat hidden so that they don’t take over my life.
Well, it’s actually my house.
They don’t take over my house.
Or at least not the whole house.
Once you’ve had some time to choose your color, all that’s left is to put it on the walls.
Then you can sit back and enjoy your perfect paint color and how it changes the look of your home!
Be sure to follow me on Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest for more inspiration!
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