How NOT to Choose
Paint Color

There is a lot of info on this website on how to choose paint color the right way. But did you know there is also the wrong way of selecting colors to paint a room?

If you want to improve your chances for finding the best paint colors for your home, avoid these common mistakes that we see people make too often:

Never Choose Paint Color...

...In an Empty Room

New construction homeowners are the worst offenders here. They start with the wall color mostly because they think it's much easier to paint a room while it's still empty.

Some will agonize for days trying to decide what color to choose. Others will quickly pull out what seems like a random shade from a paint deck and get busy painting.

So what can I say? If you choose a paint color like this, I can almost guarantee that you will want to repaint the room as soon as it is furnished and decorated. Or you will live with the wall color and hate it every day for years.

If you take away only one thing from this website, let it be this: it's never about the wall color! It's about the context of the space where it is used.

In an empty room, there is no context - virtually any color will look great there. But you are not going to keep your room empty, are you? You will bring in some furniture, fabrics and accents - how can you be sure that they will look good against your wall color?

The purpose of the paint color is to tie all the colors of your decor elements together. It should look good in the context of your room - not just by itself! See "Planning Home Color Design" for more tips.

...In a Paint Store

When I see people choosing paint colors in a paint store, I can't help but think to myself:

Are you going to paint the interior of the store, or you simply don't care about the results?

Because, if you are choosing a paint color for your home and you want it to look good there, then what are you doing here - standing under the fluorescent lighting of the store, bare-handed, drowning in the selection, trying to make a decision?

Don't you know that, when you bring the paint home, the color will look nothing like what you think you bought!

So if you are one these people, explore this website further - but only if you want to learn how to choose paint colors more effeciently.

See Also: