How To Pick The Perfect Paint Color, in 7 Easy Steps

I’m often asked by clients and friends alike how to choose the perfect paint color for a room. I’m sure you’ve been here before, you’ve loaded up on paint chips, painted sample squares, and stared at the options in the morning, afternoon and evening sun (Thanks, HGTV!) - and none of it helped you make a decision. Selecting the wrong color can ruin an otherwise perfect room and costs you time and money to repaint.

Before you begin swatching wildly use my 7-step formula to build a color palette, make smart color decisions, and avoid the hassle of repainting.

1. Identify What Stays. The first step to determining your color palette is understanding what items will stay in your room. Interior palettes typically include between 3-5 colors including a white and a neutral. Review your items for colors, whites, and neutrals to begin building your palette.

2. Select the Main Color. This is an easy one. Your main color (not neutral) will come from the largest pattern or solid piece in the space. If all of your pieces are neutral you can select any color you want. Try starting with your favorite color or playing off of neighboring rooms.

3. Choose Your Level of Contrast. If your main color comes from a sofa or a rug your next decision will be how much you want the piece to stand out. For example: A green sofa against a white wall creates high contrast but the same sofa against a soft green wall creates a low contrast and subsequently a more peaceful space. This is where color balancing plays into the equation…

4. Balance With Accents. Once you have your main color you’ll need to balance it out with a few accent hues. Use the color wheel to choose 1-2 additional colors by selecting a Monochromatic, Analogous, Complementary, or Split Complementary scheme. Click here for more detail…

5. Add a White and a Neutral. Neutrals are either beige, brown, taupe, gray, or black. Since they coordinate with any color think again in terms of contrast when making your decision. Pink and black is high contrast but pink and soft gray is low contrast.

6. Match the Undertones. The final step is to match the undertone. This is make or break territory here. You can get any color in a cool or warm undertone but all of the colors in your palette including the white and neutral should have the same undertone. To help with this step paint manufacturers split their displays by warm and cool undertone.

This Valspar display shows colors with a warm undertone on the left and cool undertones on the right.

7. Make your selection. The steps above are all you need to create a color palette for the space. Any of these hues will work as a wall color. Trust me!

Selecting the perfect paint color gets a lot easier when you create a balanced palette in the same undertone. When executed correctly the color will enhance the furniture and accessories and establish the overall mood of the space. Now that you know my formula for color success, go forth and pick your paint color! And if you’re still feeling unsure about it snag my offer here and let me do it for you!