How Decorators Choose
Wall Paint Colors

Learn how to choose the right wall paint colors by following in the footsteps of professional decorators.

Professional interior decorators have a system for choosing paint colors for their clients' homes. If you cannot afford to hire a color specialist to guide you in your painting and decorating projects, you can follow the proven process outlined below for finding the right wall paint colors. Don't skip steps and you too will achieve professionally looking results.

Choosing Paint Color the Right Way

Interior decorators never specify home paint colors without taking your personal preferences into account. After all, what is the point of going to the trouble of finding that perfect shade of green, only to find out the client hates green in any shade?

Culture, age, associations, life experiences - these are just some of the factors that come into play and influence our color choices. A color expert will use photos and magazine clippings that feature different interior decorating styles to determine your reaction to various house painting color schemes.

Getting clear on your color tolerance is vital - in fact, it's the only way to create a home color scheme that makes you feel good.

Before specifying any particular color, a decorator will take a look at the lighting sources in the room. She will examine how much natural light is available and what geographical direction the room is facing.

Also, she will take note of what type of artificial lighting is used in the room and the color of lamp shades to figure out what tinge is cast on the walls. No matter how much you love a certain paint color, you cannot ignore the fact that your room may not lend itself to it.

If you don't pay attention to how light affects interior wall paint colors, you are setting yourself up for disappointment, because the color you choose will look nothing like what you expected. Before you have your heart set on any particular paint color shade, realize that your room simply may not take it.

Color professionals take inventory of the existing decor items in a client's home before making a color recommendation. They base their decisions on the colors that are already present in a room.

They may pull paint color ideas from your wall art or couch upholstery pattern. In fact, trying to re-use the existing decor colors before introducing new ones is the preferred method. In house painting and decorating (like in many other things in life), less is often more.

On the other hand, if your current room color scheme is bland or limited, an interior decorator will suggest a new, complementing color or shade that will add variety and interest.

Finally, a color expert will spend the most time on properly coordinating paint colors with your decor. This step includes recognizing the undertones in your home decor elements and finding wall paint colors that do not compete with those undertones.

There are hundreds of shades of any given color, yet only a handful of shades will look balanced and relevant in your home. Professionals know that testing home paint colors and making a paint color swatch board is an absolute must to ensure all colors within the scheme are in harmony.

You shouldn't take shortcuts either if your want your home to look like it's been designed by a pro.

See Also: