by Mike Morris
Are you struggling to decide which paint color scheme would look best in your living room, kitchen or bedroom? Creating a palette for your home — or even a single room — can be challenging.
But with the right guidance, you can take the pain out of choosing a paint color scheme for any room in your home. Here's some advice to help you determine which color combos will give you the look and mood you want.
Think about Color
Think about the colors you already have in your home. They're all around you and they're clues to determining which colors you'll like best on your walls.
Do you have a painting, furniture piece or area rug that you absolutely love? Look at those items and note their colors. But don't obsess about matching them. Just write them down.
Now take a look in your closet. The colors of your wardrobe are a good indication of what will make you happiest painted on your walls. Make a list of those colors.
What style is your home? A cottage by the sea begs for cool blues, sandy taupes and creamy whites. An upscale urban home might look best with a bolder, high-contrast scheme filled with rich browns and deep blues paired with white ceilings and trim.
Take this information and narrow it down to a list of your favorite colors.
Think about Mood
Before you start choosing colors, take some time to think about the mood you want to set in the rooms you're painting. For some rooms, this is easy. For others, it's much more difficult.
What activities take place in the room? How do you — or the person who primarily uses the room — want the room to feel? Is the room visible from adjacent rooms? If so, the color schemes need to play nice together.
Every room can have a different mood and color scheme, however, even if the rooms are adjacent. A family room, for example, that has a warm and welcoming color scheme can flow naturally into a kitchen that has a peaceful and calming scheme if you choose colors that work together, both independently and between the rooms.
Once you've decided what mood you want in each room, choose the paint color scheme that achieves that mood and coordinates with the furnishings you already have or intend to buy.
Choose Your Colors
Staring at the store's paint chip display can make you go colorblind and cross-eyed. Here are some suggestions for five paint color schemes and the moods they'll create. Primary is the main wall color, while secondary is for an accent wall.
Warm and Welcoming
Primary: Sunny yellow
Secondary: Peach
Trim: Bright white
Ceiling: Ceiling white
Peaceful and Calming
Primary: Light blue
Secondary: Pale yellow
Trim: Bright white
Ceiling: Ceiling white
Feminine and Romantic
Primary: Pink or rose
Secondary: Light green or yellow
Trim: Bright white
Ceiling: Ceiling white
Masculine and Strong
Primary: Brown
Secondary: Brick red
Trim: Gold
Ceiling: Off white
Bold and Adventurous
Primary: Black
Secondary: Purple
Trim: Bright white
Ceiling: Bright white
Manage My Life editor Mike Morris favors Warm and Welcoming and Peaceful and Calming paint color schemes.
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