Choosing Interior Paint Colors

[Warstud]

Rant.....I am so disappointed in the interior color choices I picked I'm about to hang myself. I've painted every room in the house now since I moved into this house and I'm currently painting the bathroom. The only room I like is kitchen. I'm currently painting the bathroom and [censored]...it's to dark of a gold/yellow and I'm going to have to repaint it. Every color is either to dark or to light so I guess I'm going to have to go with a medium for now on.
This isn't easy! Rant Over

 

[Eddie]

I usually go to a paint store like Sherman Williams and look at books with pictures to get a feeling for colors in specific rooms. That really helps me. Ed

 

[spasm3]

I usually am pretty decent at picking colors. If you are not, or not happy, get a womans opinion, help picking colors.

Originally Posted by Warstud
so I guess I'm going to have to go with a medium for now on.
This isn't easy! Rant Over


If you go with a medium, at least go with a female medium for the paint colors! ( Sorry i could not help it).

 

[PimTac]

Sherwin Williams has a app you can use. I'm guessing other paint companies have the same. You can take pictures of your rooms and then go through colors to see what you like.

There are color groups that are designed for different rooms. So for example if you like a light sage green then there are compatible colors that go with that scheme including whites.

 

[Rolla07]

I learned that neutral and soft colors are best. No dark or dramatic! Sometimes best to just leave as off white /white.

 

[Lyman]

I just painted my dining room Antique White. I like the way it looks.

 

[AZjeff]

I just read in some artsy magazine while in a waiting room to let rooms white and get your color (& mood/theme) with your decorating choices. Sounds good since this house is all white. We've done muted and bold before and muted always remains acceptable longer.

 

[Audios]

I usually go with a few 8 oz samples to paint most of a wall to get an idea for the color. Also makes the walls look like a pre school for a while too haha

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted by Warstud
Rant.....I am so disappointed in the interior color choices I picked I'm about to hang myself. I've painted every room in the house now since I moved into this house and I'm currently painting the bathroom. The only room I like is kitchen. I'm currently painting the bathroom and [censored]...it's to dark of a gold/yellow and I'm going to have to repaint it. Every color is either to dark or to light so I guess I'm going to have to go with a medium for now on.
This isn't easy! Rant Over


Sign in Williams Lumber:

"husbands picking out paint colors need a note from their wife".

 

[Touring5]

My experience has been to stick with light colors. After trying a few more daring tints, we've settled on pretty much keeping the tried and true colors that the house had originally. A couple of years ago I painted 5 rooms and did get a slightly darker version of the beige for two of the rooms than used in the other 3 rooms. This was because those two rooms have a Southern exposure with large picture windows, making them much brighter. Generally I always do the flat white ceilings in all the rooms and this really pointed out the importance of paint versus ambient light - on a sunny day the well lit areas show huge contrast between the wall and ceiling, whereas in the corners with less light (on the south wall) the contrast is way less.

One tip is to always get a chip sample of the colors you use and keep them for future reference.

 

[Gebo]

My wife always get those little pint samples to try out on the walls. I bought 6 of them 2 months ago. Sorta expensive but you only have to paint once.

 

[DejaVue]

When deciding what color to paint interior walls, the correct answer is always Fire Engine Red.

Barn Red is also acceptable.

 

[Revving2Redline]

Get the blonde colored paint... It's not bright but spreads easy

 

[Vuflanovsky]

I would just go with the trend and in spaces where there's no real intent of a particular color I'd just paint them some form of "greige" ( gray/beige ). I painted the bedrooms a variation of greige in a townhouse I recently sold and it modernized it while being neutral to the extent that most things from furniture to picture frames would match without issue. I used Glidden "Natural Linen" and I was happy with something that looks decent and I didn't have to agonize over.

The problems happen when your idea of a particular color doesn't match the reality..either too light, too dark, or doesn't match what you eventually intend to do with the space. I think samples are great...but in my case, they tend to talk me into those colors to the exclusion of the bigger picture. That can be a tough row to hoe if you don't give it sufficient thought and planning. I can understand why many houses I go into these days are painted this greige color.

 

[Warstud]

Originally Posted by PimTac
You can take pictures of your rooms and then go through colors to see what you like.


I might do that.....thanks.

 

[doitmyself]

My rule of thumb is that neutral and light colors always seem to look darker/richer on the walls compared to what the color swatch looks like. I usually do o.k. by picking the color swatch shade that seems to be a little lighter than what I actually want, if that makes sense.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted by doitmyself
My rule of thumb is that neutral and light colors always seem to look darker/richer on the walls compared to what the color swatch looks like. I usually do o.k. by picking the color swatch shade that seems to be a little lighter than what I actually want, if that makes sense.




I agree and the color itself plays a big part. Several years ago we painted the kitchen. My wife wanted a light yellow like a lemon color. I picked the lightest lemon yellow shade in the catalog. The final result was a bit stronger than we expected. I diluted that mix 50/50 with white and we were then satisfied with the finished color.

It may be a personal preference for me but I like very faint colors in large areas. The color is the background and should not be the focal point. This is why the trend is towards neutral colors and using other means to inject color into the space, like a throw rug or decorative items like paintings or vases. A recent trend is the use of led lighting like the Phillips Hue for example.