Choosing paint colours can feel overwhelming if you don’t know where to begin. I’m excited to share my best decorator tips for choosing paint colours with you.

The wrong colour can make or break a space. Trust me on that. I’ve corrected more than my share in my travels. Not all of us have the luxury of a redo, and paint is not inexpensive.

Here’s my process for getting it right - the first time!

Paint Colour Comes LasT

This might surprise you, but we usually pick the paint colour LAST! You need to pick a paint colour that relates to the other things in the room to get a great end result. Your hard surfaces will determine the undertones you want. Look at your flooring, countertops etc.

A paint colour that looked amazing in your friends home, might not work in yours. The exception for this is if you’re starting with a completely empty room from a new build or renovation. Maybe you love a particular hue and want to introduce it into your home. Then we have choices and can add the hard and soft finishes from there.

Where To Start To Get The Best Room Colour?

Limit your pick to not more than three colours in the range you like, or you’ll be overwhelmed getting the right choice for your room colour. Decide on the “jumping off point”. I’ll often look at the artwork you have in the space, or that perfect area rug that excites you and has to be a part of whats going on. This will often direct the choices for the entire colour palette. Think about adjoining rooms and how the palette will flow from space to space throughout your home.

Decor Paint And Accessory Samples

Collect your sample swatches to keep in a folder - one client keeps hers in a ziplock bag - that you carry with you when you go sourcing for your project. I encourage you to keep that with you all the time, not just on specified shop days. You never know when you’ll come across that perfect fabric on sale, and are left wondering if it will work or not.

Your samples can include fabric, tiles, counter top, pillow covers, photos of the bigger pieces like artwork, rugs, and sofas. You’ll gather all of these to see how they’ll work together, and in the room itself.

How To Use Paint Chip Samples

Toss those teenie-weenie paint chips once you’ve narrowed down what colours you think will work the best. I supply 8” x 11” paint sample sheets to my clients when I do consults. Sometimes we tape several together for a really big sampler. You can make your own with a sample pot of paint and a large sample board, making one for each colour you’re considering.

You have to test your samples in your individual space and it’s unique lighting. It’s important to try them on all four walls in any given room and at different times of the day and night.

Put your large sample boards on the wall with a white backdrop. You can even grab a sheet of printer paper for the white, if you’re stuck.

If you put the sample directly on the wall, you’re actually comparing the new colour to the old colour. I like to say that colours talk to each other, too. I see so many little chips taped next to each other on an already painted wall, or paint colour patches brushed right on to the wall. These are no-no’s! You want to isolate the colour.

Move your paint sample boards around to different walls and heights in the room. Try them next to the window, then on the opposite wall, then above the baseboard and so on.

Metamerism And Light Reflective Value In Paint

You need to know a bit about Metamerism when choosing paint colours. Paint colour will change in a room depending on the time of day and both the natural and artificial light in that room. A colour might look different at 10:00 am than it does at 4:00 pm. Also consider that the light reflecting on any individual object is going to affect the colour we see. The same colour of paint on two adjacent walls will read differently. In a nutshell, metamerism is how the light interacts with the colour match of the specific sample you’ve chosen.

Light Reflective Value is a number assigned to each paint colour in any particular palette. It indicates how much light a certain colour absorbs or reflects. Sherwin Williams has a scale from 0 (meaning it absorbs all light) right through to 100 (meaning is reflects all light). So the lighter a colour is, the more it will be affected by the light that comes to it and then in turn that it will project back to our eye.

You want to get a feel for how the colour might change in various times of the day when the natural light changes too. Evening and night time changes the look of paint colour significantly. For example, you might use your home office only at night. If you use the space at a particular time of day only, then be sure to choose your paint colour from your sample at that time.

Natural light is also an important consideration when picking paint colours. I bring a “cheat sheet” to my Colour Consultations that has the basic rules for North, South, East and West facing rooms. North rooms in particular can be tricky with the cool gray cast from the natural light. Sometimes they can feel cold and unwelcoming when paired with the wrong paint colour.

Get The Right Paint Product

Think of the exact paint product you want. Your paint store staff can help you understand their specific product line for different purposes, and many paints are far more durable/washable these days. I worked as the In-store Designer for Sherwin Williams for a year and learned all kinds of things about certain paints that are mildew resistant, have low VOC - solvents released into the air - making them great choices for a babies nursery especially, - and you want high durability for kitchens and bathrooms.

The Best Paint Sheen For Your Project

The sheen of a paint depends on what you are painting. Different sheens can affect the room colour as well. Shiny finishes reflect more light, while matte finishes absorb. A really lovely affect in a monochromatic room is to choose the same paint colour but in different sheens. The walls in a matte finish with semi-gloss trim in that same colour can be stunning and I think somewhat sophisticated.

Here’s a breakdown of Benjamin Moore’s Sheen Descriptions:

INTERIOR PAINT SHEENS

Flat - light absorbing finish, hides minor imperfections
Use - low-traffic areas and ceiling paint

Matte - Minimal light reflectivity, shinier then a traditional flat
Use - all conditions

Eggshell - Creates a soft polished glow, excellent for busier areas
Use - bedrooms, dining rooms, family rooms

Pearl - A medium sheen finish, without a full gloss showing
Use - walls and high traffic areas

Semi-Gloss - creates a smooth, reflective sheen
Use - interior trim, doors, window frames

Just for fun, I’ll include their exterior options as well.

EXTERIOR PAINT SHEENS

Flat - least reflective sheen, smooth appearance in areas with surface imperfections
Use - main body of home/building

Low-Lustre - Attractive subtle sheen that offers a rich look
Use - main body of home/building

Satin/Soft Gloss - medium sheen finish, without a full gloss showing
Use - walls and trim in high traffic areas

Semi-Gloss - shiny and reflective
Use - highlight architectural details and trim

INTERIOR/EXTERIOR

High Gloss - high reflective sheen
Use - front doors, trim and other highlights

What Paint Finish To Use Where?

CEILING paint is usually Flat
WALLS are beautiful in my go-to Matte finish for a designer look, while some prefer Eggshell, Satin or Pearl
Semi-gloss does the job for BASEBOARDS and MOLDINGS
I save the Gloss for FURNITURE and speciality projects

I hope you’ve enjoyed my best decorator tips for choosing paint colours. It’s one of the most overwhelming tasks for most of my clients.

I’m ready to help you choose your paint colours and get it right the first time.

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