The color choices you make for your home play a huge role in how each room is perceived and what kind of emotions they might elicit. They're a personal expression of your own unique tastes and one that should continue to appeal to you long-term. So it's no wonder that picking the right color for a room, floor, or the exteriors of your home can seem like a daunting task. We're here to help! Here is are some tips to help you decide on which color is right for you.
Changes in Lighting
Remember that the lighting in your home will interact differently with the color compared to the lighting in a paint store, and may be even more drastically different to what you see on your computer screen while browsing for paints online. For this reason, it’s a good idea to start off with a test area or have a professional help you understand the impacts to the color based on lighting. Figuring out what quality of lighting will strike a wall can also help you decide what color to paint it. A bright color, for example, might be blinding if placed near a large window, but work well as a feature wall to brighten up darker areas of the house.
Use a Test Area
Starting with a small space such as an entrance room or a bathroom will allow to you see the color in the context of its new environment and help you to decide whether or not you’re happy with it before you make the commitment of painting the entire house. You’ll also discover the results a lot sooner than if you select a larger room. Remember to let the paint dry before you give it the final judgement. If you happen to change your mind, a small area is easy enough to paint over.
Function and Mood
Keeping the function of the room in mind might help you pick out a color, as this will help you decide what kind of emotion you’d like that room to elicit. A baby’s room in rich, bright colors may be too dramatic and stimulating, where something a little more soothing would be better suited. Cool tones and neutral color give a room the air of formality and a quiet mood, while warmer tones and contrasting colors will offer a livelier, more social ambience.
Focus on Key Points of Your Home
Permanent features of your home such as hardwood flooring, tiles, furniture, and carpeting, can help you select or modify your palette. If there are particular features you’d like to highlight, consider adding accents that match their color. Accents might include painting the baseboards, ceiling cornices, or doorframes. Or you could simply create a feature wall that unites the elements of a room.
Back to the Basics: Using the Color Wheel
A simple color wheel will help when picking out two or more contrasting colors. You might remember from high-school art class that colors opposite one another on the color wheel are complementary, meaning that they match because they are each other’s complete opposite. If you have certain pieces of furniture or architectural features that you’d like highlighted, the contrast created by adding the complementary color to your palette will help to bring these features out.
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