April 28, 2021

How to Pick the Right Paint Color

There’s more to choosing the right paint color than you realize. Today, we’re highlighting professional tips for choosing the best paint color.

The right paint color can transform a room. Some colors make a room feel twice as large. Other colors shrink a room.

Most people don’t know how to pick the right paint color.

Sure, you might have a collection of samples from the hardware store. You might have a paint color sampler. Maybe you even applied a few paints to your wall to test them out.

However, there’s more to choosing the right paint color than you realize. Today, we’re highlighting professional tips for choosing the best paint color.

Consider the Biggest Pattern in the Space

Your paint needs to match the room. Professional interior designers may try to match the largest pattern in the space. If you have a large rug that’s red and white, for example, then your interior painting colors should complement that rug.

Consider your upholstery, furniture, or any paintings you have on the wall. Take a color from these patterns, then use it as your paint color.

If you’re painting with a neutral color, then HGTV recommends taking the white or beige patterns from the pattern in your room. It gives the room a neutral appearance while still accenting the upholstery, furniture, rugs, and other items in the room. It’s an extra level of interior design, but it could transform your room when implemented correctly.

Move from Dark Floors to Medium Walls to Light Ceilings

Many interior painters borrow from the natural world.

In the natural world, the ground beneath our feet is dark, while the sky above is light. Your interior space can replicate the natural world by taking a similar approach.

Think of what you see when walking around outside. You walk on dark colors (like pavement, grass, or dirt), see medium colors in front of you (like buildings and trees), then see lighter colors everywhere else (the sky and clouds).

To make your interior space effective, take a similar approach. Start with a dark floor or rug color, then use a medium to light color for your walls. Ceilings tend to be the lightest. With this simple approach, you can pick the perfect paint colors for your home.  

Understand the Color Wheel

The color wheel isn’t just a tool from art class: it’s a system for matching colors to one another. If you want to choose the best interior paint for your home, then it helps to understand the color wheel.

Many interior designers recommend using colors next to each other on the color wheel because they create a relaxing effect. Blue and green are next to each other on the color wheel, for example, which is why many people associate these colors with calmness or relaxation. That’s why blue and green colors are popular in bedrooms.

Look for color wheel tools online. You can find color wheel websites that create complementary colors. Spin the wheel, test the colors you like, and pick the perfect interior paint colors for your home.

Use the 60-30-10 Rule

Interior designers often talk about the 60-30-10 rule.

When dividing a room’s colors, consider following these ratios:

• 60% of the room should have the dominant color (say, your walls)

• 30% of the room should have the secondary color (like furniture, rugs, or upholstery)

• 10% of the room should have the accent color (accessories, smaller furniture, etc.)

The 60-30-10 rule makes a room feel balanced. Instead of a room feeling too weighted towards one color or another, you can make it feel cohesive.

Complement with Gray or Black

Gray has been one of the trendiest colors in interior design in recent years.

Why? Gray complements everything.

Some say gray has a chameleon-like effect. It complements warm and cool colors, helping a room look warmer or cooler. It can even work with pastel colors or brighter tones, taking some of the edge away.

Many interior designers also add black to a room for different reasons. Adding small black tones to a room can clarify colors throughout the rest of the room. Something as simple as a black lampshade or a black coffee table, for example, can make interior colors pop.

Use Undertones to Find the Perfect Paint Colors

If you’re new to picking an interior paint, then be sure to research undertones. They can be the difference between an ‘okay’ paint and your perfect paint.

Undertones are the colors beneath your favorite paint color. They’re the subtle hues within a paint that give it a unique appearance.

Undertones play a crucial role when choosing interior paint colors. Your room is filled with undertones already – like the grey or green of your sofa. By paying attention to undertones and testing different types of undertones, you can maximize the appearance of your home.

Test different undertones when choosing interior paint colors.

Start Researching at Home

Visiting the paint store to pick a color can be overwhelming. Instead, start your search at home.

Check magazines and catalogs. Browse the internet to find homes and styles you like. Make a list of your top 10 favorite interior painting styles or colors.

The hardest part of choosing an interior paint is having too many choices. There are thousands of paint colors at your local store. Narrow down your options ahead of time, and you’ll thank yourself later.

Book a Paint and Sip LIVE Event for a Basic Painting Lesson!

A single painting class can teach you important lessons about painting, complementary colors, and design.

Paint and Sip LIVE offers the most entertaining painting classes on the internet. With live DJs, comedians, themed nights, and professional painting instructors, Paint and Sip LIVE’s virtual painting classes are unlike any other painting classes you’ve seen.

Book a Paint and Sip LIVE event today to choose the best interior paint for any room in your home!

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