Color Guide: Choosing Paint for Your House

Paint colors completely change the look of any home, and once you go through the act of choosing you’re going to live with them for a long time. So find out how to determine on the best type of paint and the best colors for all your different rooms, and design a pleasing style for every part of your home.

Color Therapy

One school of thought suggests that certain colors are capable of evoking certain emotions. If this is true, the paint colors you choose will have a big effect on your day-to-day life.

Cool and neutral colors, like pastels and tans, create a feeling of peacefulness or tranquility. These shades are perfect for bedroom and bathroom environments, which should feel restive and relaxing.

Warm colors can make rooms feel more inviting. Some studies suggest that contrasting color schemes create a more social atmosphere, so you may want to try this for the living room or den. Deep red and royal blue, for example, will make the room feel lively and vibrant.

Finding Colors

Visit the paint section of any home improvement store, and it’s very easy to get overwhelmed by all the choices. This is the best place to start. Think about your favorite colors. Look for paint samples containing the shades you like best, and grab them. Next, think about the colors of your furniture and room accents (window treatments, pillows, and so on). Grab paint samples that contain these colors as well. Paint samples have several shades of color on them to help you find just the right look.

Pick the shades of paint you like best and walk through your home with them. Hold them against the walls, and imagine. Hold the paint sample against furniture and fabric in the room. Compare different colors and different shades to get an idea of what will look good (and what won’t). Use the paint samples to play with different color schemes, and mix and match the shades.

Accent It

Don’t forget about the trim when you’re choosing paint colors for the different rooms of your home. Often, trim is consistent throughout the home. This means that the paints you pick should look good with the existing trim or the trim color you choose.

Paint colors look different depending on the type of paint you purchase. High gloss paint is shiny; it reflects light and looks brighter. Semigloss paint has only a faint sheen to it. Matte paint is not reflective at all.

Remember that you can always change your paint color if it just doesn’t work. Get samples of the colors you like, and test them against a blank spot on the wall before you commit.