Feeling Colorful? Tips for Selecting Interior Paint Colors

Paint color has a powerful effect on how a home feels, and even on how you feel in it. Before you pick up a brush, ask yourself what you want each room to accomplish. Should it feel lively and social, or quiet and restful?

Here are a few tips from our design team to help you pick paint colors that are right for your home and your lifestyle.

1. Consider How You Want to Feel

Whether a room feels calm or dramatic is determined partly by the color on the walls.

• Social spaces: Warmer, brighter colors add energy to kitchens, dining rooms and family rooms.
• Restful spaces: Softer, more neutral hues create a quieter mood in bedrooms and bathrooms.
• Active spaces: Saturated colors can be great, but they often work better in a playroom than in a child's bedroom.

2. Check (or Change) the Lighting

Before you commit, test how a color looks in different light and at different times of day. Lighting changes paint more than most people expect:

• Incandescent and warm LED bulbs add a warm cast and bring out yellows and reds.
• Fluorescent and cool LED bulbs sharpen blue tones.
• Natural daylight shows the truest version of a color.

Some paint and hardware stores offer light boxes where you can view a chip under different lighting. Better yet, paint large swatches on several walls and watch them in the morning, afternoon and evening. This is especially important if you are planning a single accent wall. You may also find that changing your bulbs is part of getting the look you want. Our post on home lighting types and trends covers your options.

3. Follow the Rule of Three

When designing a room, picking three coordinating colors is a simple way to create a space that feels cohesive and well designed. A small color wheel can help you find pleasing combinations (and rule out pairings that won't work). If your walls, textiles and decorative pieces stay within that trio, the room comes together naturally.

4. Work With What's Already in the Room

Choose colors that complement the elements you're keeping:

• With dark flooring, a lighter wall color helps brighten the space.
• With very neutral furniture, a deeper or contrasting wall color can add depth.
• Always test samples against your cabinetry, countertops, flooring and main furniture pieces.

Looking for inspiration? See the hues we've highlighted in posts like 2020 color trends, and learn which finish to choose in our guide to paint sheens.

Color Your Home With Confidence

The paint on your walls can shape your mood and transform a room. As part of our design-build process, we help clients narrow down paint colors that suit their space and their remodeling goals.

Planning a home or office renovation? Call Tracy Tesmer Design and Remodeling at 678-450-1700 or contact us here to align your home with your lifestyle.