Choosing the perfect color for that room can be a tough decision but I am here give you some tips on how to pick the color that will be perfect for you and your personality. I am going to assume that you know what furnishings are going into the room. The easiest way to pick a color for any room is to draw from what you already have. Choose a color that is a shade or two lighter than a say a color in your couch or go darker for a more dramatic look.
Now if you are re-doing a complete room and buying everything new, I would find one element of the room that you really love and go with that color for your wall color. When you find that color you love, try to have that color (just a little) in each of your accessories to tie the room together.
Most people make the mistake of painting their ceilings white. One sixth of your room is ceiling. If you paint your ceiling a lighter shade of your wall color, it will make your room feel higher and if you paint your ceiling a shade darker, it will make it feel cozier and lower.
Also you should consider the light in your room. If it is a dark room that only gets light for certain times of the day then you would want to stay away from dark colors and use your paint to lighten up the room. If you have strong light from lamps or overhead lighting, you may want to go with a medium shade of that color that you love.
First, you need to understand a little something about color. Color is broken down into three categories: Warm, Cool and Neutrals. There are many shades of color so here is something to remember. Light colors are expansive and airy, they make rooms seem larger and brighter. Dark colors are sophisticated and warm; they give large rooms a more intimate appearance.
Warm
Let's start with the warm colors. Warm colors are red, orange, yellow.
Neutral
Now let's look at Neutrals. All neutral schemes have their own challenges. Their virtue lies in their flexibility: you can add color to liven things up or subtract it to calm things down.
Cool
Cool colors are considered the "Calm" colors.
I hope this has given you some ideas on how to pick a paint color that will represent you and your lifestyle.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what color to paint our bedroom? We have a red satin duvet cover and our room will be asian inspired.
Alison
Celadon green or a rich taupe with red and black accessories
I bought a red and black oriental rug and had a handyman help me choose a wall color to go with the rug. He picked out several shades of red paint chips which we used to find the matching red in the rug. We then returned to the store to find a complementary color to that shade of red. I opted to move up a few shades and ended up with a warm salmon pink. At first I thought it was too much, but I really like it now.
How about a warm gold?
I like the idea of a pale jade green. Or how about ivory, or pale bamboo-brown/beige? I think paint that matches the duvet would be a bit much. Besides, if everything is the same color, the duvet will just melt into the background and won't stand out.
If it is a deep red I would go with a black accent wall that the bed would be on. Also some golds and deep reds are good colors for that.
I recently bought a new house and the dining room is the color of pea green, which I like, but I want it to be asian theme. My questions are what works best with that color? For curtains and rugs. I am going to be getting a black dining room table to go in that room and I have some asian art work to put on the wall. But every time I look for something asian theme on the computer it always shows a red wall, I really dont want to have to pain the room over. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I need some advice regarding my kitchen ceiling which has become stained due to cigarette smoke and cooking. My kitchen isn't very large and has light oak cabinets and cream colored walls. It leads off into the sitting area where there is a large french window. I have no window in my kitchen, but it's not too dark.
I'm wondering what color to paint the ceiling as I know that white will discolor very rapidly. My color theme for accessories in the kitchen is red and the living area is cream and beige with touches of red. The ceiling in the living area is white and the walls are cream. Any suggestions, please? I'm really stumped as to what color to choose.
By cettina from Malta, Europe
I would still paint it white, it will brighten up things and if you paint it an off white or taupe it will also darken and look even darker. Good luck.
What about a color like terracotta? But a lighter color of it, like a light baked clay? You could mix white paint in it till you got the color you liked, maybe more in the reddish family to go with your red touches.
I'd love to see how it turns out whatever you decide; can you post a picture if you decide to paint your ceiling?
Have fun!
Hi Cett, I agree with Metroplex's idea! If you choose that idea the height of your ceiling should determine the depth/darkness of the terracotta. If you have a high ceiling use a deep terracotta and if you have a low ceiling use a lighter terracotta.
I would love to see a picture of your finished ceiling too. ;-)
I'm really impressed! Light terracotta sounds lovely. I don't have high ceilings since I live in a very old cottage which once had high ceilings with wooden beams but had been replaced many years ago with steel beams which i have had to hide with a false ceiling in the kitchen. Shame really, but I'm assuming that it was a necessity to keep the roof from falling down. My home is hundreds of years old. Thank you so much. I knew I could rely on you all for excellent suggestions! When it happens, I will post a photo. Thank you all again.
I need paint color advice for an open concept kitchen, dining room, and living room. My kitchen has hickory cabinets and gray counter tops with blues, gray, and light brown flakes in it. The current color is a sandstone color, but doesn't accent the beauty of the wood. It blends in with it.
I have the same color in my living room and dining room. My house has 1 wall that is cedar tongue and groove along with my ceiling. My floors are also hickory. What color would you suggest to accent the wood, furniture, and cabinets.
By Wendy L
Consider using a blue that is a few shades darker then the blue in your countertops. With so much neutral color in floors and wall and cabinets, some contrast might be good. Hope this is helpful.
I agree. Or an eggshell. You need to lighten up the room without taking away from the wood...which is lovely btw.
I think I would like a light, warm olive green. With the beautiful view out the windows of the trees, I'd continue the green inside but a warmer shade. With a few olive accents like tea towels, tea kettle, I think the gray counters would be ok.
My master bedroom we just painted deep red (I love it). My hall wall is chocolate brown I still need to paint the two extra rooms! I need help deciding what color to paint them. Do you have any ideas?
I take it all these rooms can be seen from the hall so you want colors that coordinate? How about tan and a deep green? Red, green and browns coordinate well and, I think, give a luxurious, sophisticated look.
I like perfumed fan's suggestion.
I have azul carmel in one bathroom and volga blue in another and I need help in selecting a paint color for the walls. I was told a warm silver but I am leaning to the warm blues.
I am looking for paint colour ideas for a kitchen. The kitchen is big with light oak kitchen unit and oak doors and skirting.
I would also like ideas for the hall and landing colors. The hall and landing have plenty of light with oak stairs and oak doors and skirting. One wall runs from the hall downstairs right up to the landing ceiling upstairs. I was thinking of doing this wall in a darker colours than the rest?
Pale yellow or mint green would be beautiful.
I'd go olive green-- would be lovely with oak:)
I am about to put my house up for sale and was planning to repaint the interior. I am wondering if I should paint everything the same color or different colors for each room? If different colors, are there certain rooms which should be painted the same to blend together?
By Pat
Neutral colors that are light enough to be painted over easily by new owners are best. I would paint any open plan rooms you have the same color. Different neutrals in rooms that do not open into one another could be done. If you plan to paint the whole house, go with one color all over because it is easier, and probably cheaper as you won't have several partial buckets of paint left. Hope this is helpful.
I would paint everything the same light neutral colour. Certainly, I wouldn't use any more than two colours throughout the house, because you are not decorating it for someone. You are making it look clean and fresh and bright and full of light. You might want to tour some show homes and see what colours they use, and then pick something similar.
The primary wall color in my home (living, dining, family, kitchen, hall) are all a light yellow (French Sonet). The yellow is very light with a small hint of brown. I have a laundry room, guest bathroom and two bedrooms I would like to repaint, but I am not sure what colors I could use that would compliment these other rooms.
I thought a light beige/cream for the bedrooms. Carpet is not a problem since I will eventually be replacing that as well. However, for the bath and laundry, I have tile which is kind of a rustic color that went okay with the yellow, but I don't want yellow in these two rooms. I am getting kind of yellowed out. Any suggestions? I'd like to incorporate some blue, but I am not sure if that would work. My home is old world/traditional with yellow, browns and copper colors, with sage accents.
By VicDanis from Sacramento, CA
Use Nature as a guide. I think that the color of sunflowers against a blue sky are beautiful. So if it works in Nature it should work in your house. I would just be careful not to choose too dark a blue color or it would be too dominant. Brown and Beige are neutral tones so they go with anything. But most of all have fun and if you like it then who cares what others think.
Try your local paint store for samples.They can help you choose several colors to take home and put on your walls,live with them a few days,check morning,afternoon and evening lighting.Then you'll have a better idea on what YOU like. And really, if after a few weeks you end up just hating your choice,repaint, life is short.
Greens and Blues have tons of shades. Have fun. Great granny Vi
Is there any software available where I can upload a picture of the interior of my house and then paint online with different colors?
By cindy from FL
You may not be able to find software in which you can use your own pictures. Online you can see what their various rooms look like with different colors of paint, but the pictures they use have been edited in an image editor such as Paint Shop Pro, to make the background a solid color. If you have an image editor, you can remove the background in your image then try different colors. You could even do it in MS Paint if you wanted to remove the background pretty much pixel by pixel.
The other option is to use the online software with their rooms and paint colors. There are quite a few room options and many many paint color options. The link is for the Benjamine Moore website:
www.benjaminmoore.com/
Yes, there is a way to use your own photos to test out paint colors online. Behr Paint's website has an option called "Paint Your Place," where you can paint your own digital pictures of your rooms with their paint colors, and subscription is free!
www.behr.com/
Click on the "Demo" video to see step-by-step explanations of how it works.
I painted my bathroom copper! What other color goes with it?
By Jim from Pacific, MO
Think of copper as it ages, that lovely soft green should go nicely with it. And a warm, creamy white perhaps for accent pieces.
This room needs a firecracker of color to make it "pop." There is not a lot of light in this room to begin with. We have a medium gray tile floor (Daytona Beach sand remedy) and dark brown leather furniture. The walls are a combination of a medium tan and aqua. Any accessory ideas with colors to brighten it up?
By Vickie Biggs from Daytona Beach, FL
Whether you are choosing a bold contrasting paint or a subtle variation, it is important to select just the right shade. This is a page about choosing a coordinating paint color.
