Choosing the Perfect Interior Paint Colors: A Comprehensive Guide to Choosing Paint for Any Space
- Balm Interiors
- May 28, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: Jun 25, 2024
While blogs boasting titles like “The Best Wall Color for Your Living Room” are tempting to click, someone else’s right choice is almost always NOT yours. Personalizing the colors in your space are absolutely key to getting the pulled-together look we're all after. Let's do this.
Wall color has a massive visual impact because of its sheer surface area. Wall color is a critical stage of the design process, and it can feel life or death when you get it wrong. Trust me, I've been there. This guide will help you make sure you pick the right color for your space, not just the one that looks great in an influencer's home.
Color is all about context, so we'll consider your flooring, countertops, sinks, and exterior stone before making a choice.
Color is also about emotion and the kind of experience you're creating in the space you are designing. Soft blues can evoke calmness and serenity; vibrant reds can energize and excite.
By understanding the context and emotional impact of color, you can make a choice that truly reflects your personality and meets your design goals. Explore, experiment, and find the perfect hue to transform your space.
STEP 1 - Get Clear on Your Goals
Will you be selling or renting?
If you answer yes to either of these questions, realtors always recommend white, and a warm white (i.e. white with a tint of yellow) is generally the safest choice unless you have ultra-modern sleek bright/chrome finishes. Warm whites from Benjamin Moore are a good place to start. Download the guide for a list of specific color codes and suggestions to try in your space.
If you answer no, jump to the next step.
STEP 2 - Decide How You Want the Space to Feel before You Choose Your Interior Paint Colors
Let's embark on a mini-lesson in color psychology. Even if you’re sure you want a “white” or a “neutral,” take note of which emotions stand out to you in the Color Psychology graphics in the printable guide (click the link below to download).
Choose 2-3 emotion words and 1-2 colors that resonate with you. The below graphic is a great place to start.
Consider any negative association words, but don’t necessarily eliminate colors you love because of negative words on the list—not everyone feels the same associations, and you may have associations which aren't listed. Pay just as much attention to how you feel gazing at the color as what the chart lists.
Take some notes about what you’re observing or thinking at this step, and ask for input from anyone else living in your house. And download the resource for print-out worksheets to guide you through each step.
STEP 3 - Make Note of Existing Fabrics and Finish Color
Make notes of the color qualities of the colors you already have in your home and the room you're working on. Do you see any of the following?
jewel tones - clear, bright, birthday cake sprinkle colors
earth tones - softened, grayed, muddy versions of these colors
pastels - lighter clear, bright colors
neutral tones - beiges, grays, taupes (i.e. more hue pigment than a black or white, but not enough to read it clearly as a color)
This might seem tedious, but keeping the full color picture in mind will help create a consistent color palette in your home as you design. For example, if your living room has chalky pastels, you might want to maintain a similar softness in the rest of your space for harmony and avoid neutral colors.
Download the guide for a step-by-step process to determine what your colors are and which to use and avoid based on what you have.
If you aren't sure, be sure to have your samples and fabrics to compare when you get the paint samples in your space. This comparison will help ensure your new colors complement existing ones, and create a cohesive palette throughout your home.
STEP 4 - Assess the Lighting in Your Room
If your room has little to no natural light, you’ll want to choose a medium- or dark-toned saturated color. Light colors and white shades will always look flat and grayed in dark rooms, so avoid them.
Saturated color = hue pigmented color that reads in a classic color category (i.e. red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black)
Clients are often concerned that dark colors make a room look small, but I promise a cozy and warm small room is infinitely better than a flat-toned, grayed-out room.
If your room is brightly lit, you have many more options, so choose whichever you prefer that fits with your style: neutrals and whites, saturated colors, or light shades are all options for you. Bright light allows for more flexibility, making it easier to achieve an elevated look with any wall color choice .
STEP 5 - Choose Your Interior Paint Colors
Choose Your Color - Deep Saturated Colors
Refer back to the emotion and color psychology list. Remember to pick complex, nuanced versions of whichever colors jumped out at you on the color psychology list. Farrow and Ball is a great brand to help choose color for your space, because their websites includes a lot of color education and they are committed to color-accurate images, which is surprisingly rare in the interior industry. Remember you can have paint matched to any paint sample at your hardware store, so don’t let the cost of Farrow and Ball turn you off.
Search the Farrow and Ball website for the interior paint colors you want (e.g. blue) and filter for ‘dark-tone’. You can also search by additional colors in the paint (e.g. a color which falls under the blue-green category), and you can sort based on the secondary color category if you already have a preference.
Download the guide for some helpful search terms to narrow your search on the Farrow and Ball website to colors that vibe with the color qualities you're looking for.
Choose Your Color - Light Saturated Colors
Refer back to the emotion and color psychology list. Remember to pick complex, nuanced versions of whichever colors jumped out at you on the color psychology list. Farrow and Ball is a great brand to help choose interior paint colors for your space, because their websites includes a lot of color education and they are committed to color-accurate images on their site, which is surprisingly rare in the interiors industry. Remember you can have samples matched to any paint brand at your hardware store, so don’t let the cost of Farrow and Ball turn you off.
Search their website for the color you want (e.g. blue) and filter for ‘mid-tone’ and 'light-tone'. You can also search by additional colors in the paint (e.g. if it falls under the blue-purple category), and you can sort based on the secondary color category if you already have an idea of what range of a color you want.
Download the guide for some helpful search terms to narrow your search on the Farrow and Ball website to colors that vibe with the color qualities you're looking for.
Choose Your Color - Neutral Paint Colors and White Paint Colors
If you’re choosing a neutral paint color or a white paint color, make note of the other neutrals and whites in your home (e.g. cabinetry, countertops, floors, sinks, toilets, exterior stone). Compare these to printer paper or a pure white paint sample (e.g. Sherwin Williams' High Reflective White), and look for undertone in the white or neutral finish you’re comparing to.
You Might See:
yellow white or beige
green beige (ivory)
blue white
various grays (cool and warm)
taupe (brown) or slightly pink beige
You don't have to be able to make a firm determination (leave that to the pros), but if you can make a guess about whether your see warm, cool, beige or gray, that will be a big help in coordinating your paint color.
Download the guide for helpful resources and worksheets to find your undertones step-by-step, then narrow your sample search once you've found them. You'll also find paint sample suggestions broken down into each of these undertone categories.
Choosing White Paint Colors
If your existing finish tones are mostly warm (yellow, orange), cool (blue, purple), or neutral (brown, mid-tone gray) - select that category of white from a curated list of whites.
Download the guide for curated lists of whites that correspond to each category, depending on the undertones in your space.
If you want a creamier color in the space, you might consider a complex cream, which is actually a neutral – scroll down to the 'Choosing Neutral Paint Colors' section, and look at the complex cream color options.
Choosing Neutral Paint Colors
Neutrals can be really tricky to coordinate well. There are eight distinct neutral undertones, and designers aim to use no more than two neutral undertones per space to make it feel more pulled together. Neutrals can be tricky to see without professional color consulting, so here’s what I recommend if you’re struggling.
Narrow your choices down to gray (greige) or cream (complex cream), then choose five samples from that section of this list from Maria Killam [link]. Once selected, purchase large-size paint samples from Samplize.com to see them in your space, and compare them to your existing finishes and fabrics.
For a more detailed and step-by-step process, download my free "Your Perfect Paint Color" Resource.
Balm Interiors provides basic color analysis in all Total Transform eDesign packages, and I offer a deeper Color Consult as an add-on service if clients are interested in going deeper. Fill out a contact form if you're interested in more information on our color services.
STEP 6 - Choose Between Your The Colors You Like
By large-size paint samples from Samplize.com and compare them to colors in your home and room that are similar. Compare blues to blues, paying attention to color qualities (pastel, earthy, jewel), and neutrals to neutrals.
Rule out any of the samples that clash (i.e. they look weird together or like they’re fighting)
Narrow them down to the ones that coordinate (i.e. they look happy together or like they're matching).
Hang the remaining sample options on the wall in your room, and just observe how you feel.
Remember to put white paper behind the paint sample so you aren’t comparing the paint sample to the wall color.
Pay attention to how you feel over the next few days, checking on them at different times of day and in different lighting.
You may even want to move the samples around to different walls in the space to see how the angle of natural light affects the color.
STEP 7 - Buy the Actual Paint
You can color-match any paint sample to whichever brand your hardware store sells (this is a great money-saving tip!). Rooms generally look best when both walls are ceiling are painted the same color. For these spaces, ask the paint store to mix your ceiling paint at a 50% concentration.
For rooms with crown moldings, paint the moldings from the same paint can as the walls.
For textured walls (e.g. orange peel or knock down texture), I suggest specifying a matte or satin finish. Eggshell and gloss tend to draw attention to the wall texture, which is not typically something you want to emphasize.
Download my free "Your Perfect Paint Color" Resource for lots more tips and a checklist to break down the process step-by-step.
I am throwing a lot of information at you here. If you’d like a decorating bestie to walk along you on the road to home transformation, get in touch with me.
And drop your color questions in the comments below – I'm here to answer!
I promise these extra steps will give you so much better results than me telling you “the best white paint for your home” based on what works in mine. The truth that designers already know is there isn’t a "best white paint" for everyone’s home. It completely depends on what colors you have going on in your home and what you've already chosen and is installed.
And remember to download my "Your Perfect Paint Color" Guide for a step-by-step resource complete with checklists and worksheets to walk you through the process.
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Question and Answer
Struggling with choosing a paint color?
Decide if you're selling or renting – realtors always suggest warm whites. Check the lighting in your room – dark colors always look better in spaces with little or no light. Designers also consider color quality, color categories, and neutral undertones. We'll break those down step=by-step in this blog for folks without design degrees.
How do I choose between interior paint colors for my space?
When choosing between warm and cool colors, consider the overall vibe you want to create. Warm tones like yellows and oranges can create a cozy and inviting atmosphere, while cool tones like blues and greens can evoke a sense of calm and serenity. Think about the function of the space and how you want to feel when you’re in it. And review emotion associations based on Color Psychology before making your formal decision.
What color should I paint a room with little or no natural light?
In rooms with little natural light, it’s best to avoid light colors and white shades, as they can appear flat and gray. Instead, opt for deep saturated colors that will add warmth and richness to the space. Consider using glossy finishes to bounce light around and create a sense of expansiveness.
How can I ensure that the paint color I choose matches the rest of my home?
To ensure that your interior paint colors complement your existing color scheme. Keep samples of fabrics and finishes with you when choosing paint samples. Look for colors that harmonize with the tones already present in your space. To make your wall color sing, keep neutral undertones and saturated color categories front of mind – this blog breaks down how to do that without needing a design degree.
I’m torn between paint colors for my room. How can I make a decision?
If you’re torn between several paint colors, try hanging up large-size paint samples in your space and observing how they look over a few days. Pay attention to how the colors make you feel in different lighting conditions. Trust your instincts and choose the color that resonates with you the most and complements your overall design vision.
What is the Best White Paint color for Living Rooms?
If your tones are mostly warm, cool, or neutral, coordinate them to that category of white. Here’s a link to a fantastic list of whites and off-whites.
If you want a creamier color in the space, you might consider a complex cream. Look at the complex cream color options in the ‘Choosing Neutral paint colors’ section and download the guide for even more color options.
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