Picking paint colors for your new home can be daunting. I know because I’ve had to do it when we built our new house. Since then, I’ve helped several home owners with their paint colors so they are happy with their choices. Let me share the process we went through and how you can use the same steps to pick your colors too.
Brainstorm paint colors
Are there certain colors that you REALLY LIKE or DO NOT LIKE? Start there to help you decide what color scheme you want to go with.
Are you leaning more towards white?
Are you a beige kind of person?
Or maybe you really want to try some bold colors.
It is YOUR house so you can pick anything you want. But it helps to know which color family you want to narrow it down to.
However, if you are moving in the next 3-5 years, keep in mind you may have to change it to more neutral colors when selling your home.
Start a Pinterest board of colors or ideas on how to decorate your space. This is a good start to help you envision what you would like to see. Paint colors are a personal thing so take the time to pin ideas and come up with colors that inspire you.
Top paint colors by brand name
If you want to start with more popular paint colors, then take the time to find the brands you like or have heard about such as Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore, Behr, Valspar and others.
I personally like to work with Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore, but sometimes there are other paint colors that I prefer from other brands. Most of my house is painted in Sherwin Williams Kilim Beige but my office and master bedroom is painted with Magnolia Homes Rainy Days. It’s a soft gray blue that makes me feel calm that I could not find anywhere else.
You can also look up Top 50 popular colors for each brand to narrow down the possibilities. Sherwin Williams has the top 50 popular colors and Benjamin Moore has the most popular colors list as well. These are a great way to see what paint colors others are choosing and using in their homes.
Paint colors by room
When working with paint colors, you want to be physically in the room. The lighting, time of day and the way the room faces (north, east, south or west facing) will make a difference. The paint color will look different in a south facing room versus an east facing room because there is more light coming in the south facing room. Jane Lockhart Design does a great job explaining paint colors in her YouTube videos in her Mad About Hue episodes.
I recommend going to your local paint store to pick up a few paint chips. The lighting in the store will look nothing like the lighting in your home so take few different ones and bring them back to your home.
Use a white piece of paper to help you look at the paint chip in your room. This will help you see what undertones are in the paint. For example, a white paint color may look white in one light but when you put it up against a white piece of paper, it may look more creamy or yellow. Using this “white paper trick” will help you see what other colors are in your paint color.
Consider trim color
Trim color around your home is important too. This includes the molding along the floor, around the doors, the doors themselves and crown molding if you have it. Most choose to go white while others will go with something else. One of my clients didn’t want white trim because of her numerous pets. She wanted to go with Accessible Beige by Sherwin Williams.
In this case, she was inspired by a picture she saw online. She loved how the door and trim were not white but still had some color and she really loved color!
Notice how the rest of the base molding is painted white and not the same Accessible Beige. You can do it all one color or mix and match. White and beige will complement each other and give you a warm and bright colored room.
Paint color case study
The same client who wanted a different trim color asked me to help her choose paint colors for her whole house. It took us 2 hours of going back and forth but we finally got it. It helps to have another person who knows how colors work to be there to prevent you from second guessing yourself. We made sure the paint colors paired well with the flooring, cabinets and countertops when making final decisions. Below are the colors she chose for each of her rooms.
I hope these paint colors give you some inspiration to pick ones for your home. Picking out wall colors can be daunting but if you go through these steps, you can find ones that make you happy.
And if you need help picking out your colors, feel free to reach out to me via email [email protected].
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