When redoing your home’s interiors, picking paint colors for every room can feel like a daunting task, especially among all of the other design decisions you’ve got to make. In an ideal world, you would paint one room at a time, ensuring it looks and feels good before moving onto the next space. But, when you’re building a new home or fully redesigning one, you won’t have that luxury.
To be prepared for your design project, you’ll want to pick the right paint colors for your home. Picking complementary color palettes is a skill; Our designers at InterLux Interiors weigh in on the dos and don'ts of selecting paint colors when redecorating your whole home.
Do: Get to Know Your Style!
When designing your home, it’s important to consider your personal preferences before jumping the gun and slapping colors on the walls. Get to know your style! What kind of feeling do you want to capture in the room?
Do you want to feel warm, cozy, and relaxed? Or do you want to feel ready to party?
Do you want the colors in your home to blend together or would you prefer unique and unpredictable experiences in each room?
What are your comfort colors? Take a look at the clothing you regularly wear if you aren’t sure. It’s best not to risk picking a color you aren’t naturally drawn to.
Don’t: Give Every Paint Color Center Stage
Unless you know your decor (and your brain) can handle it, there is no need to select a bold color for every room in the house. If you love color, you’ve likely already selected a lot of colorful furniture and decor. Unless you want your home to feel like a circus, tone down the urge to go big or go home in every room.
If every room is bold and bright, it can be visually overstimulating. Incorporate some calming neutral moments in rooms that are meant for unwinding or rooms that are in between statement colors.
Don’t: Worry About Your Home’s Architecture
While permanent fixtures such as tile, flooring, and molding should complement the original architecture of your home, you don’t need to be as picky about the wall colors.
Any kind of architecture can function as the backdrop for a variety of design styles! This offers an exciting opportunity to liven up an older home with more modern color selections.
Don’t: Ignore Permanent Fixtures
Although you may not need to place much concern on your architectural elements, you should definitely pay attention to the colors of your other permanent fixtures.
For example, your wall color needs to compliment wood flooring, otherwise you risk the space looking muddy. Pay attention to tiling, fireplaces, and any other permanent structures in your home.
Pay attention to the colors of permanent fixtures in your home. Select colors that compliment hardwood floors, fireplaces, or other permanent structures.
Do: Choose Paint Towards the End of the Process
It’s a good idea to select paint towards the end of the design process, after you have found your main furniture and color scheme for the room. Don’t try and find curtains and a sofa that compliment your paint selection, instead, reverse this process with and pick your perfect furniture first!
Do: Focus on the Room’s Purpose and Mood
A room in which you plan to entertain guests and shake up fancy cocktails will probably have a different vibe than where you want to unwind with a face mask after a long day. While your bedroom should help you relax with soothing colors – not be visually overstimulating.
Before picking any colors, sit in the room and visualize how you want to feel in that space. What you plan on doing in that room should influence the colors you & your designer choose.
Do: Compliment Colors with Nearby Rooms
If you can see multiple rooms from one place or if you have an open-floor plan, you must select the colors with that in mind. You don’t want the colors to be too close in shade that they look off when seen together.
The last thing you want is to finish each room with colors you loved, only to see all the pieces come together in an unpleasant way. A great designer can help you blend the color tones and patterns to give the best visual aesthetic to your space.
Don’t: Paint a Low-Lit Room White
It’s a heartbreaking truth that naturally lit rooms can get away with far more in design than one that has poor access to the sun’s rays. A room with giant windows is suited for light, medium, and dark paint colors. Darker rooms, however, can feel cold and dead with light walls and no beams to bounce off of them.
While you don’t necessarily have to select a dark or bold color, a warmer tone can help emphasize the coziness of the space. Don’t be afraid to soak in the darkness.
Light colors can feel cold and dead in a poorly lit room, so lean into warmer and darker tones. Don’t fear the dark side!
Don’t: Paint an “Accent” Wall Unless It Architecturally Makes Sense
Accent walls can be a beautiful way to incorporate a pop of color and create depth in a space, but they look out of place if not done purposefully. Consider adding an accent wall behind a bed or in an eating nook, but not on a random wall.
Accent walls should be added with intention. Make sure it serves a purpose to highlight an aspect of the room.
Do: Incorporate Darker Colors to Create Depth
Selecting a lot of light colors sounds bright and airy in theory, but adding a darker color can help create a grounding sensation and draw you deeper into the room. This can make the room feel bigger by adding depth. Once again, don’t be afraid of darker colors. They can help create balance in a bright, open space.
Paint a Luxury Escape with InterLux Interiors
We get it – all of these do’s and don’ts may feel limiting, but when it comes to colors, there are countless factors to consider in order to achieve your desired look. From natural lighting and room size to your permanent fixtures and selected pieces, the right knowledge gives paint the power to tie it all in together, creating your dream oasis.
If you’re unsure of how to start the paint selection process, we are here to help! We can pick paint colors, find unique furniture pieces, connect you with experienced contractors, and more. Our seasoned interior designers have what it takes to create the luxury home of your dreams. Contact our team today!