thoughts on color selection
starting the color selection process
how lighting affects color
how sheen affects color
painting accent walls and "architectural blocks"
choosing the colors
purchasing color samples and thoughts on where to apply them
still struggling with color selection? thoughts on hiring someone to help
starting the color selection process
If you have not selected your colors, or are having some difficulty choosing them, let’s spend a couple of minutes discussing color selection. Note that this chapter is not about specific color selection. I do color consultations with my clients, and those choices are so personal, it would be impossible to do that in this kind of format.
This chapter does include where to draw inspiration, tips and thoughts on choosing your colors, and purchasing and applying paint samples.
trim and ceilings
In the majority of my projects, the trim and ceilings are painted with the same color, but different sheens. Most clients choose a white or off white for the trim and ceilings, but adding color to the trim is certainly an option. If you are going to paint the trim, you will want to choose the colors for the walls first, then select a trim color. If you choose the trim color first, you will start to limit the color selection for the walls, as trim and wall colors affect each other. Some whiter shades are cool. They tend to have a blue, gray or black undertone, so when you put a color next to them, the two colors can look cold together. Warm, creamy off-whites will make colors next to them seem warmer.
Another option for ceilings is to paint them a lighter shade of the wall color. Clients will take the wall color, then do a ceiling color, say, at 50% of the wall color formula. Lighting affects walls and ceilings differently, so you should apply samples of the colors before making any final decisions. Alternately, you could paint a completely different color on the ceiling, but be careful of choosing a dark color. The danger here is that painting a ceiling a dark color can make your room feel smaller as it will feel as if the ceiling is coming down on you.
If you are not going to paint your trim, but you're not excited about your existing trim color, I think it's more important to have colors you like on the walls. You don't want to be forced into choosing colors for the walls, that you are not excited about, just so the wall colors go with the trim.
walls
How do you want to define your space or spaces? If you are painting the entire place, do you want one color throughout? Two or three primary colors throughout? Different colors for each room? Accent walls or accent areas/blocks? Many of my clients like to define spaces; kitchen and dining room as one space so you could paint them the same color. Accent walls can be a nice touch to add a pop of color. I'm also a fan of painting accent blocks, like a wall bump out, to add color. Defining different levels in your house is also another option.
Here are some general thoughts:
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Naturally dark areas, because of poor lighting, could be painted lighter to make them feel larger and brighter
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If you're worried about painting a room a darker color, as you believe the room will look smaller, I find that painting darker colors on the walls tend to make the room feel more inviting and comfortable. If the room has poor natural or artificial lighting however, I would stick to a lighter color. Painting the ceiling a dark color is when a room may start to look small; it will feel as if the ceiling is coming down on you. Rooms with a good size ceiling, quite a bit of trim, along with a few windows will also help break up a darker color
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Be careful about using deeper, darker colors. As these colors can be dramatic, you may find that sometimes, especially at night, these colors get "lost," in other words it will be hard to notice the color itself and will almost look black. The best way to check is to apply a sample of the color your interested in (I discuss applying samples below), and view the sample at different times of the day and night
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Hall colors are usually completed using transition colors separating one or more areas of the home. In most cases, those transition colors tend to be more neutral or soft. I find that if you paint the hallway a color that is more dramatic than, say, the living room color, that might be distracting. Now if your hall is the main centerpiece, then, of course, that would be a different matter
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Your location can have a dramatic effect on the colors you choose. In Seattle, where we have many cloudy days, painting a room gray or blue may feel like you are bringing the cloudy weather inside. This is subjective, but if you like gray or blue, choose a warmer or earthier gray or blue. On the other hand, if you paint a more ochre type of color, then the room will have a warmer feeling even when the weather outside is not so inviting
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I wouldn’t worry about trying to match the kid’s rooms to fit into to the palette of your home; you could think of it as "the kid’s rooms are the kid’s rooms;" they don't need to belong to the main color scheme
how lighting affects the paint color
If the artificial lights in your home have a warm undertone, the yellowish (warmer) lights will affect the paint color and make the paint look or feel warmer. Cooler white lights tend to have a blueish undertone which can affect the wall color making it look or feel cold. Natural and artificial lighting in a house makes a huge difference in how a paint color ultimately looks.
how sheen affects color
Higher sheens reflect light from the light source, so at certain times, the color will be lost to the shiny light reflecting off the wall. A flatter paint surface will absorb the light more so the color will not be affected as much.
painting accent walls and "architectural blocks"
Accent walls can add a nice touch to a room, but, I like to do more of what I like to call architectural blocks. I like the idea of wrapping a color around a couple of walls, or a bump out. Something to keep in mind: make sure you can see the difference between the two colors. Sometimes clients will look at a color fan, choose the primary color, then pick the next color chip up for the accent color. The issue here is that the colors may be too close together and it will be tough to notice the difference in colors once applied. The way light works in a room different walls differently, so make sure you can genuinely see the difference between the two colors. Applying samples is the best way to determine this.
choosing the colors
There are a few ways to start working on color selection:
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One is to use inspiration from your existing palette, i.e., your furniture, paintings, rugs, etc. Using a color fan, choose some colors that you like to go with your décor
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Using Pinterest is a great way to find inspiration. Many of my clients like to start a Pinterest page focusing on interior color palettes. It's great for quickly adding and removing colors and color schemes
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My favorite way to start choosing colors, that has worked well for my clients, is to go into a paint store and start grabbing paint chips and color brochures you're interested in
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Go into a paint store, preferably the brand you plan on using and start selecting paint chip colors that you like. Don’t worry if you think they don't go together, pick them because you like them. Don't worry if you think they might be too dark or too light; if you like them, grab them. If you find that you're not happy with the colors at the store, try another store or another manufacturer's color palette. It’s okay to choose chips from a manufacturer you are not going to use, then have the chips matched later on
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Now when you are looking at a paint chip, and that chip is held parallel to the floor, it will show up lighter than if you held the chip up vertically to the wall. The chip will appear lighter because the light is coming down directly onto the chip. Make sure you always hold the chip up vertically to the wall to check the color. Also, be aware that the lighting in the store will affect the color chip differently from the lighting in your house. Personally, I wouldn't make any final decision on color(s) in the store
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When you get home with your chips and color brochures, you should find, for the most part, a lot of the colors you have chosen will fall into the range of things you already have in the house. In other words, most people know what they like; you can see it in their furniture, clothing, art, rugs, etc. Whether you're looking for a dramatic change or just an update, you can start narrowing down the color chips and start discarding the ones you're genuinely not excited about. With my clients, I recommend narrowing them down to a couple of colors for each area or room to be painted
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If you are going to do any paint matching, you should keep a couple of things in mind. Most specialty paint stores are great at matching. If you go into a retailer that uses the “eye”-matching machine, which most large home improvement stores use, make sure you check the match carefully before you leave the store. The best color matches are done by the human eye and usually take a day or two.
When you are approving the match, have them put a small amount of the matched paint color on the paint chip or next to whatever you're having matched. Have them dry the sample, and look at it straight on (if you compare the colors from an angle and the sheens are different, it will not look right even if it’s a perfect match). And remember, it will almost always never be perfect as matching is difficult, but if it is off too much, you should let them know so they can address it.
purchasing color samples and thoughts on where to apply them
Once you have decided on a few colors and where you want them in your home, it's worth spending time purchasing samples and applying them to your walls. You want to make sure you're happy with the colors you have chosen and it can be difficult to visualize a color from just a small paint chip. I've had clients choose a color from a paint chip without purchasing and looking at a sample on the wall, and when they saw the color once it was applied, they wound up not liking it. It's worth the extra time and effort to apply samples.
Purchase samples of the colors. Make sure you ask the store if they have sample pints or quarts. Most samples come in a single sheen, but don’t worry about that right now since you are just trying to narrow down a color.
Apply each sample on different walls in the room. Apply them to part of the room that receives little light, and a part of the room that gets a lot of light. Also, make sure you apply a sample right next to the trim so you get an idea of how it will look next to the trim color. Once dry, you ideally will want to see the samples on the walls at different times of the day. If it’s possible, you will also want to see them on a sunny and a cloudy/rainy day as well.
You should also apply all the samples before you start any work in the room. If you have everything prepped and covered up, you will not be able to get a good idea of how it’s going to look in the room as you will not be able to see it with the floor, your art, furniture, etc.
still struggling with color selection? thoughts on hiring someone to help
If you are still having problems narrowing down your colors, you could hire a color consultant, an interior designer, or, alternately, bounce ideas off a friend whose taste you like or trust. Color selection is very personal and remember, it’s your home. If you hire an interior designer and, assuming you just want help narrowing colors down, make sure that the designer is on board with that. Interior designers may have their own visions of how rooms should look, so if you are okay with giving them a lot of freedom, then great.