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How to Pick Colors For Your Home

Written by Cassity

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Hey y’all, if you have been following along with my family room projects you know that so far we have built in a huge wall of storage, added a faux mantel, are in the middle of creating the coolest indoor playhouse eveah… but one thing I have yet to do is paint all the walls.   And no, this is not a post about how it is done…  Cuz I have to paint the ceilings too… I am just not looking forward to that.

I am not color phobic, but I just haven’t decided what exact direction I want to go, and like I mentioned I have the dreaded ceiling to face… The whole ceiling… ugh.

I painted the TV wall with some old paint we had kicking around from other rooms, but it isn’t exactly what I want.. we have it narrowed down to 2 choices right now, and I am pretty sure I know which one I am going to go with,  Well maybe. I am just not sure I am ready to make the commitment to paint THAT MANY WALLS… (insert beautiful room with white painted walls and a ton of fun pops of color to make me feel better while I wait on painting image source)

5 easy steps to picking color for your home

I know I am not the only one that gets a little overwhelmed with picking colors right?

Okay, so the big question is, how do I pick colors?  It is a question that I get A LOT!  “How do I pick colors for my home!”

This decision is usually associated with a lot of knuckle biting and fear!  But let’s save those knuckles and take some fear out of it.  There are a few ways that you can easily narrow down the colors that you will enjoy in your home, and I am here to share them with you!

First: Go to your closet!  HUH?  Yeah, the closet where all your clothes are hanging out.  Take a good look at what you have there.  (yeah, I know, don’t we all wish our closet looked like this:)

 

Now ask yourself-

  • What are the colors I gravitate toward?
  • What are the colors I love to be in?
  • Are they there because they make me happy.
  • Why do I always seem to be buying ______ colored shirts?

Whatever it is take a clue from here.  If you love the color, why not use it in your home?!

 

Second:

Now that you know what color groups you tend to like, lets take a trip to the fabric store… Yeah, not the paint store, not yet, let’s go to the fabric store.   One of the best color choosing advice I have ever heard…find a piece of fabric THAT YOU LOVE preferably one with several colors that work together well, and use this as your color scheme.

Amy Butler Daisy Chain Deco Rose Forest  Premier Prints Royal Suzani Chocolate- Natural

Richloom Cornwall Garden  Swavelle-Mill Creek Indoor-Outdoor Gomer White Tea

P.S. BE SURE TO BUY A FEW YARDS!

 

This fabric that is the whole foundation of your home, buy some and use it throughout, as pillows, as art, dinner napkins, a teddy bear… whatever!

One of the pluses to choosing your color this way, is that you can see very clearly how the colors interact.  And bonus- if the fabric is in a line you can buy coordinating fabrics for your home very easily!

As a warning, be aware of choosing really seasonal colors!  Sometimes while shopping for colors you will get caught up in a particular season. For example, if it is almost fall and you are loving fall colors.  Be aware, that if you do all fallish colors in your home you may be sick of them in the spring!… unless you followed step numero uno and that is where it led you!

***I should mention here that it doesn’t have to be fabric.  It could be a special painting, a photograph, a rug, whatever speaks to you!  Like this new rug I have in my living room!

 

Third:

One of the best tips I learned in college for getting a house color scheme to work together is picking about 5 colors total for the home.  So, lets count it out on our fingers… yes I still watch Sesame Street!

  1.  A white (or black…if you are daring)  This white will be the color of ALL your, well white surfaces be it moldings, doors, walls, ceilings etc.  The nice part about this is that when you need to touch something up there will never be the… ugh, what color was that… moments.
  2.  A neutral – be it tan, grey or even a blue.  Whatever color it is, it must be able to act as your neutral.  This color should be a simple color that will be the neutral in your home it is an easy way to bring everything together and a simple choice when you are not sure… for example a hall, or a ceiling.  This neutral might be the best color for your sofa too…  (if you are doing a tan, one personal suggestion, unless you plan on adding a lot of yellow-which is fine but not everyone’s thing, stick to a grey based tan and you will be happier, otherwise your neutral just might end up being more of a color than a, well, neutral!)
  3.  Color of your choice (use your swatch as a guide for theses three choices)
  4.  Another coordinating color of your choice
  5. Yet another coordinating color of your choice’
Photo Source
Check out my color pinboard for other great ideas!

Now the five finger thing might sound too boring, but in the words of Maria, “It is a very good place to start”  If you are unsure of color this is the way to make it work.  And then as you become more comfortable, add a little more.

 

Fourth :

Now, use these colors to pull the look together!  From step one, you know what colors you love, from step two you have found the colors that work perfectly together, and finally step three you have narrowed down your major colors.  NOW THE FUN BEGINS! Go collect as many paint chips as you can!  Take them to your home, look at them with your fabric, at different times of day in different lights and rooms. Narrow down the paint colors you love.

 

Fifth and Final:

Where do I put these colors?  Another SCARY question!  If you want your home to flow naturally from room to room, this is where all the steps we’ve taken will make this process a lot easier.  Let me explain by taking you virtually through a few rooms:

Ding Dong! (that is the doorbell in case you are wondering, I wasn’t calling you names!)  Welcome to my home!  When you enter the foyer, you will notice I have white trim and moldings… neutral walls and sea salt ceiling,  There is also a fun display of bright red framed art.

I invite you to come in and you walk from the foyer into the living room, that has sea salt walls, white trim and ceiling, on the neutral couch there are such fun pillows in pops of red, and another that was from my starting fabric on a pillow… gee it looks like that fabric was MADE FOR THIS ROOM!!!

You walk into our dining room (hopefully you are lucky and I’ve made crème brulee!) But the dining room is far more dramatic with white walls a red lacquered dining table, and sea salt place settings and mostly white furnishings with pops of sea blue throughout.

Image source and other great ideas are there too!

 

Okay, so maybe a red lacquered table might scare you some… but I hope you saw what I was sort of talking about.  You take the colors you have chosen and switch them up with each room, but you have hints of them through out the entire house- the bathrooms, halls, living rooms, kitchens.

Then as you enter each room, you don’t think, “Wait, am I on another planet?”  Instead each room flows into the next, your eye is able to enjoy the transition.  It doesn’t mean that you can’t be bold with color, but that you bring a hint of what was in the last room in.

 

Image From BHG

 

(Side note, when it comes to kids rooms, my personal opinion is to let them express themselves.  So, if they don’t match your “house” color scheme- so be it!  As long as we are allowing them to create the space that makes them feel like they have a place in our home as well, I think that is what is most important) Any who, I hope this helps you feel a little less terrified of picking colors!  Good luck!

 

Whole Home Color Scheme

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Published: February 24, 2012Filed Under: *Our Family, *Our Projects, Informative, Remodel Inspiration By Room, Tutorials Tagged: Color, paint, Tips and Tricks, Top Ten, tutorial, Tutorials

About Cassity

Cassity started Remodelaholic with her husband, Justin, to share their love for knocking out walls together. She is an interior designer, wife, and mother of two. She and Justin have remodeled three homes from top to bottom and are working on their fourth. Making a house a home is her favorite hobby.


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Comments

  1. [email protected] says

    February 24, 2012 at 7:31 am

    Great tips Cassity and right on time! I read your post thoroughly as I’m about to paint my living room walls and I can’t decide on the color. I have white (coffee table), I have neutral (beige sofa and brown tv stand). So, my intention is to paint the walls white with an undertone… of what? … grey or yellow-beige? I would say grey as I love this color, but again the floor is beige-yellowish tile. Agrrr… any help? (in case you’re dying to see what my living room look like – LOL! – take a look here: https://www.stardust-decorstyle.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-living-room_07.html). I would really appreciate any thoughts!

    Reply
  2. Inspire Me Heather says

    February 24, 2012 at 7:40 am

    I loved this post – thanks!!!

    Reply
  3. Shelley @ Calypso In The Country says

    February 24, 2012 at 7:43 am

    The perfect post for me to read now! I am in the process of choosing a color for my son’s room, or shall I say – My son is in the process of saying no to whatever color I choose for his room! I agree that kids rooms can be totally different from the rest of the house. Since I have been focusing on his room, it has made me think about possibly changing some other rooms too! Thanks for the great tips!
    -Shelley

    Reply
  4. Karina says

    February 24, 2012 at 1:19 pm

    Great suggestions for pulling it all together.

    Reply
  5. Chelsey Grange says

    February 25, 2012 at 8:59 am

    where did you find your rug?

    Reply
    • Cassity says

      February 25, 2012 at 3:47 pm

      I got it from Shaw flooring, thier HGTV by Shaw Flooring (India in Teal) I LOVE this rug! I REALLY love it!

      Reply
  6. classic•casual•home says

    February 25, 2012 at 11:26 am

    Such a fun post. That closet is amazing…fun colors.

    Reply
  7. Sarah says

    February 27, 2012 at 1:45 pm

    Thank you so much! I’ve been having SUCH a hard time with this… and after reading your post I’ve got a much better idea of how to finally narrow down what colors & how to use them to create a good flow in our new home.

    Reply
  8. Erin{LavenderandLemonDrops} says

    February 28, 2012 at 12:16 am

    Love these tips! So funny I just did a little series on how to choose the right paint colors for your home 😉 I LOVE your blog and all of your awesomeness 🙂

    Reply
  9. cindy says

    February 28, 2012 at 1:06 am

    Great ideas! i used fun color palettes to design my blog. Color is amazing–I wish I were more confident. Baby steps!

    Reply
  10. claire says

    February 28, 2012 at 11:15 am

    Great post 🙂 Thanks for joining us at Creative Mondays 🙂

    Reply
  11. Amy @ New Nostalgia says

    March 5, 2012 at 12:37 pm

    Hi!! You will be featured on New Nostalgia’s Anti-Procrastination Tuesday(again:))! Thanks for linking up!!

    Reply
    • Cassity says

      March 5, 2012 at 2:22 pm

      Yea! Thanks Amy!

      Reply
  12. Trish @ Uncommon says

    March 5, 2012 at 6:43 pm

    Ok. You can just move in with me now and help me do my whole house! This is such a good post full of helpful info! You should really write a book! Thanks for sharing this at our link party! We would love to have you anytime!

    Take care,
    Trish

    Reply
  13. nicolette @ momnivore's dilemma says

    March 7, 2012 at 4:56 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing at Creative Juice last week. I’m in the midst of repainting my entire home, so this post was rather timely for me.

    I featured your painting tips tonight and shared at pinterest…

    Have a good night,
    Nicolette

    Reply
  14. Tara says

    May 11, 2012 at 9:48 pm

    pinned!
    https://pinterest.com/pin/217791331950261696/

    Reply
  15. Nancy carr says

    January 23, 2014 at 12:44 pm

    I’m really anxious to get started and mostly can have my husband help me because I am disabled

    Reply
  16. Elaine says

    January 30, 2014 at 7:59 pm

    Loved this article. Very easy follow.

    Reply
    • Justin says

      January 31, 2014 at 9:19 am

      Glad you found it helpful, Elaine.

      Reply
  17. Ashley Boyd says

    March 1, 2015 at 10:27 pm

    OMG! This was so amazing and inspiring!!! I’ve been so overwhelmed with choosing color schemes for our new house. Currently all walls are brown! Two shades of brown, but still BROWN! LOL…I had no clue how to choose colors and make them all work together but this helped immensely! My question is for you…We already choose a scheme for our bedroom (before reading this I thought that every room would have a different scheme and just hoped they looked well together). But we are invested in our color scheme for the bedroom. It’s yellow and gray. Y & G wall decor, bedding, shower curtain (in the bathroom connected of course) and we even painted our furiture a rusted look to match doing a yellow first coat then gray on top and sanded it to show some yellow. My thought was doing the walls a gray and painting the ceiling a pale yellow. Is this too much??? I feel like it’s getting over done. But then again I also thought every room was suppose to be a totally different scheme. LOL…Please help.

    Reply
    • Cass says

      March 19, 2015 at 1:52 pm

      Hi Ashley! Do what makes you happy (no matter what rules/tips I or anyone else says ;). Although I will say that painting ceilings is not usually pleasant, so I would probably steer clear of painting the ceiling something that you’ll want to change relatively soon. I love painting in neutrals so I can switch up my other colors any time I want, personally.

      Reply

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Hey there, I am Cassity! Nice to virtually meet you!

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