Color

How to Pick a Paint Color

We settle on the new (new to us) house next week and the very first thing that has to happen is FRESH PAINT.  And I mean everywhere — all rooms, main areas and even the kitchen cabinets.  So here’s the age old question (and one I hear literally every day) — How do I know what color paint to pick?

Just follow a few simple tips (I was going to says rules of thumb – but in design rules change for every situation):

1st – ask yourself what colors make you happy – go with what you love vs. what the trend is.  You may need to look for photos of inspiration rooms to help with this.  Or you may have a piece of art or furniture that’s your starting point.

2nd – consider using the same color throughout your main areas that connect all of your rooms.  This will make your home look larger and more unified.  If you want to paint rooms off of your main areas a different color – go at least 2 shades lighter or darker – this will give you a great visual transition.

3rd – paint a test square.  Make the square big enough so you can really get a good feel for the color – at least 2’x2′.  Look at the square morning, afternoon and night.  Trust me the color will slightly change throughout the day.  What was grey in the morning, could be lavender at night.

4th – trust yourself – the great thing is that paint is not permanent

 

A Few Other Tips

When it comes to trim – keep it white.  Benjamin Moore’s Simply White is a great choice.

I typically paint my walls in Eggshell and my trim in Satin or Semi-gloss.

Don’t forget the ceiling – as soon as you paint your walls your trim and ceilings will immediately look dingy.  If you want to keep your ceilings neutral consider going with a ceiling white.  Or in many cases, I will take the color of the paint I’m using on the walls and cut it down to 25% of the wall color.  It gives a wonderfully easy transition from wall to ceiling.

Stay tuned for next week when I show you how my painter and I make selections for every room in my house.  It should be excitiing!!

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