the painted surface

Six Step Paint Color Choice

Choosing a paint color or colors for your interior painting ideas can be fun and enjoyable, but sometimes, time consuming and frustrating. After all, the color will cover the largest single surface of the room. The paint color unites all the elements of any space. Of course the No.1 rule for choosing colors would be to use colors you enjoy, the following suggestions will be a guide to help find paint colors you love.

• Decide on a mood or theme you would like the room to reflect.
• Let the contents of the room inspire paint color categories.
• Choose a color family.
• Compare like paint colors.
• Paint sample cards.
• Make the final choice.

Decide on a mood or theme you would like this room to reflect. Having a goal in mind of what you want in the end can narrow color choices to the appropriate color families. Consider these ideas for moody colors:

Cool, Fresh - Pale blues, soft greens, lavenders and turquoise

Dignified, Reserved - Shades of gray, black, burgundy or slate blue

Earthy - Browns, golds, olive greens and tans

Feminine, Alluring - Purples, purple-reds, pinks and salmon

Luxurious - Golds, reds, purple and black

These are just a few examples of how moods can be protrayed in colors. There are also an endless number of themes for rooms and each theme will dictate a group of color choices. Whether creating a mood or decorating within a theme, there is a color for all of your painting ideas!

Let the contents of the room inspire interior painting ideas. Consider the furnishings that will adorn the room. Color choices can be found in the window treatments, upholstery, an oriental rug, a poster or painting and any of your favorite objects you plan to use in the room. The decoration of a space could be inspired from a single object or family heirloom. Paint is the most versatile of all decorative elements, it can be virtually any color! Let your treasured objects guide you to a perfect color.

Choose a paint color family. You now know the intended theme or mood of the room, and you see from the contents of your room what color families are possible. Now narrow your selection to one color family. Will it be the reds, golds, greens, beiges or browns!

Compare like colors. The color family has been decided. Now it is time to compare the colors belonging to that family. Beiges might range from pinkish to greenish and blues from periwinkle to slate blue.


By comparing all the like colors in a group, side by side, some shades will obviously not match. Ruling out undesirable shades leaves a few possibilities, hopefully only two or three.

Paint sample cards. It is time now for a trip to your favorite paint dealer. Your choice of paint colors has come down to a few candidates and now you want to see a larger sample, and of the actual paint. Most paint stores sell sample amounts of paint, usually a quart or less. Buy a sample container of each color you feel is a possibility of becoming the final selection. Sample cards or poster board of a size at least 8x10 inches large can be painted and viewed in the room you wish to paint. These can be moved around, viewed under various lighting conditions and compared to the contents of the room.

Make the final choice. Seeing the sample cards in the room should reveal the perfect color. From a general idea to a specific choice you have narrowed the search for a color that is appropriate, reflects the mood or theme of the room, and most of all, you love.