A Sea of Paint Chips - How to Choose the Perfect Wall Color

It's time.  Every time you walk into the room you think, "I've got to paint."  You might have even made it to the hardware store to pick up paint chips, but none of them call out "I'm the perfect color!"  Or maybe you're fond of buying the tiny paint jars and painting part of the wall. Whatever your process, choosing wall color can sometimes feel daunting.  There are so many choices!  During a recent paint color consultation, a client watched me navigate my sea of paint chips and asked me simply "how do you pick the right color?"  It's a creative process that differs with each individual, but a few tips can help keep you on the right track: 1) Take in your surroundings. Make note of the colors that won't change once you paint: tile, hardwood floors, the view out the window. Also take note of the colors in your upholstery, artwork, curtains and carpet - especially if you have no intention of changing them anytime soon.  The color you choose should complement, not clash, the existing colors in the room.  2) Consider the "feel" of the room. Do you want it to feel cool or warm? Formal or casual? Contemporary or traditional?  Whites, blues and grays tend to feel cooler and more formal than creams and tans, which tend to feel warmer and more traditional.  3) If there is a color you love that's found all over your home already, keep it your accent color. A red pillow will fade into a red background, but it'll pop from a cream or light tan.  4) We've never seen dark brown walls work. Ever. Anywhere. 5) Once you've narrowed your color choice down to one or two, it's time to find the right shade.  When choosing paint chips, gather up as many shades in your intended color as you can.  There are a hundred shades of yellow and none of them will look the same in the hardware store as they will at home, so don't waste time looking at the colors carefully in the store.   6) Choose paint chips from the brand of paint you intend to buy. Benjamin Moore is favored by painters and designers because of its coverage and color choices, but it's also one of the most expensive. Sherwin Williams offers a competitive product and many large corporations offer their employees a discount on SW paint. If you'll be doing the painting, do some research. If you hire a painter, they will be happy to recommend their favorite brand.  7) If you'll be painting more than one room, you might consider purchasing a fan deck.  It's a useful tool available for purchase at most paint stores or can be ordered online.  The Classic fan deck from Benjamin Moore gets a workout during our color consultations. We also like their Affinity and Color Stories collections. Sherwin Williams' fan deck is also a great resource.  Again, it's best to know the brand of paint you want to use before you choose your color. 8) Take your paint chips home. Now this is where it gets subjective. There's no other way to put it - use your gut to find the shade that feels right. When I do in-home color consultations, my clients are part of the process. If their gut doesn't like what they see, we keep looking.  9) When you think you might have found the right shade, use double-sided tape to stick the chip to your walls. Take a glance at different times of day and at night. If it doesn't look right to you in any of those settings, move to another shade and repeat the process. 10) Choosing the right color can take time.  If you don't have the time, call a professional to come in with an objective eye and provide recommendations quickly.   Eye to Eye Interiors, LLC is an interior redesign and staging company serving homeowners in Chicago and suburbs since 2007.  Wake up your home!   www.eyetoeyeinteriors.com  773-350-7020