10 Tips for Selecting House Colors - interior and exterior

Ten Helpful Hints for Choosing House Colors 

1. WHERE TO START?
   Dream in color, starting in a smaller space such as a Bathroom, Hallway, or Accent Wall.
   Begin where you are most comfortable.Select a favorite color, drawn from artwork, rug, china, accessory or furniture, as a main color or accent.
   
   
2. THINK MOOD--LISTEN TO THE SPACE
   Choose your color according to the purpose of the space, for example:

• Bedroom:       restful, soothing, dramatic or intimate
• Dining area:   sociable, stimulating
• Library/study:quiet, peaceful concentration
  
  
  3. HOW ABOUT A COMPLEMENT?
  Check out a color wheel, and enhance your main color choice with contrast
  
  
  Consider these:  Complementary, Split, or Triad...
  
  4. MONOCHROMATIC, MAYBE? EMPHASIZE the ARCHITECTURE

• Achieve bold or subtle variations within one color group
• Contrast use of paint finishes. to make an elegant statement.
• For example: use closely related colors, or even a single color in different finishes, for walls and trim—and maybe even the ceiling
  
  
  5.MAKE WHITE the ACCENT COLOR
• Create variety with elegant neutrals as the main color.
  
  
  6. LOOKING UP, TINT YOUR CEILING!
• Add drama with a stronger color, or make the ceiling the same color as the walls, for the feeling of a more expansive space.
  
  7. TESTING, 1...2...3...TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT, including new ways !
• Consider strong colors or soft, deep earthy hues like chocolate brown or olive green as main or accent colors
• Be sure to test colors on primed poster board or large areas of actual wall.
• NEW! Check out the beautiful collections of paint colors shown here, and order your own 9"x14" actual painted sample cards that will stick on walls and are reposition-able! 
  
  
  8. What’s MISSING? ADD DEPTH OF COLOR

• Flat, dull walls become interesting and personal with subtle or dramatic  "Visual Texture" and "Broken Color."
• Burnished mineral/metal finishes and colored glazes add depth and interest.
• For example: Mica, Copper, Pewter, Bronze, and of course Silver and Gold
  
  
  9.  STILL WONDERING?
• Review your comfort zone and expand it, taking note of your response to your favorite colors.
  
  
  10. TO AVOID CONFUSION
• Try to keep others' opinions to a minimum. REMEMBER, It's YOUR home!

Most important:  TEST, TEST, and Test! There are great ways to do this.
You can read my article on traditional “best practices for testing paint colors”

And you can also try this new offering
Order actual painted color sheets, in a generous 9”x 14” size, that stick to your walls.

These are easily removable also.
Try them here in these curated collections, or just about any Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, or Farrow and Ball paint colors.

AND If you're Really Stuck...Call a professional!
I'm happy to help, local or long distance.