Create magazine-worthy interiors with these tips for choosing colors.
Paint color regret is a real issue. You’ll quickly know if it happens to you. In the paint can, you love your Marsala hue that’s perfectly trendy, but on the wall it’s either too bright or too blah.
Many of us have made our own decorating mistakes by hastily choosing a paint color. If you’re ready to remedy a room or beginning with a fresh slate, here are some tips for choosing colors wisely in your dream home.
Determine the Mood
In some rooms, the strategy is bright and bold. In other rooms, you’ll want to be more restrained. Red may play well in a kitchen, dining room, or family room, but most people don’t want the brashness of crimson in a room made for relaxing or sleeping. Those quarters call for more tranquil and subtle hues. Before you think about painting a room or choosing accessories, determine the mood you want to create and what you’ll be doing in that room.
Identify Inspiration
With the mood of the room determined, look for a source of inspiration to build your color palette around. It should be something that will catch your eye whenever you enter, like a fireplace, piece of art, or window covering. Once you’ve determined what the room’s inspirational element is, you can choose your paint colors, furniture, and accessories based on it. Consider making these products from Heat & Glo your focal point.
Accessorize
When it comes to designing with color, accessories are your friend. Designers recommend choosing your accessories before your paint colors or furniture. It’s easier to choose a complementary paint color based on an accessory, than it is to pair an item with a paint color already on the wall. Accessories are also a good way to pull a color from one room into the next, creating continuity throughout the house.
Accessories are one of the best ways to change up the look of a room. Keep your furniture neutral and add new pillows and area rugs for a fresh look. If you can, get swatches of the fabrics from the accessories and place them in the room you are decorating for a few days. As lighting changes and the sun moves, you’ll be able to determine if they are a good match.
Choosing Paint
It’s time to choose a paint color. You should strive for a 60-30-10 color palette in a room – 60 percent should be the main or dominant color, 30 percent should be a complementary or analogous color, and 10 percent should be an accent color, generally pulled in with accessories. Remember the vibe you hoped to create with your colors as you think about your options.
Sherwin Williams has web and mobile apps to help you identify the paint color that matches your chosen focal point. Simply snap a picture of your source of inspiration and it will tell you the hue that matches it! You can also take a picture of your room and the Color Visualizer will let you drag and drop a new color into the photos.
Putting color to good use in your home doesn’t have to be hard. It just takes a little thought, creativity, and time. When you’re all done, you can sit back, enjoy the fire, and relish your accomplishment.
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