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Series Title: Interior Color Selection Advice From a Color Consultant

Article 1.

The Basics – Personality and Color Selection.

Over the years, I’ve discovered there is more to choosing a color than just finding something that matches. Sure, that’s an essential criteria. But a given color may match a customer’s space, yet still not thrill them.
That’s because color can be very subjective. What one person may consider a “soft, pretty green” may strike the next person as dreary. Color also carries an emotional impact, sometimes without us even realizing it. We all have innate likes and dislikes for certain shades, often because we associate them with something from earlier in life. These preferences will be unique to each of us, even though certain colors tend to be more popular overall than others.
In addition, people have different levels of what I call “color tolerance.” Sometimes this is due to personality, other times it’s influenced by one’s culture. North Americans tend to be more restrained in their color choices as compared to our livelier cousins in South America or India, for example.
And while some people love bold, saturated hues, many will experience strong color as too jarring. For this reason, I generally advise them to start with a shade that’s a bit more muted. Color has a way of getting stronger when you see a large expanse of it.

Pink Colored Walls - Pink Baby Room in North Dallas Home

But whatever color path you’re inclined to follow, subtle or vivid or somewhere in-between, here are some tips to make the choice easier.
First, consider what you want the new color to accomplish. Another way to ask the question is, “What is it you don’t like about the current color?”

Are you looking to warm up the space? A deeper or more golden tone may accomplish that. Do you like the general tone, but feel it’s too “heavy”? Try going up a shade or two on the same color strip.

Wall Texture Patch and Various Shades of Blue in North Dallas Home

Are you living with a neutral the previous owners painted, that never really complemented your own furnishings? Does the room in question not flow with the rooms on either side? Or are you just maxed out on beige walls, beige carpet, and a beige sofa, and desperately want to inject some color? (Beige Interior Image)
By answering questions like these in advance, you’ll have a better idea of what color families to look at first.

Thanks to Juli at http://www.paintcolorhelp.vpweb.com/ for the great advice above… Juli is an outstanding color consultant and currently authoring a book on paint color selection.

From a painting contractors perspective using multiple colors in a space will add cost to the project in the form of additional set up and clean up times, and an increase in material cost per gallon.

I would add: When choosing colors To sample on your wall use the whole wall as your swatch.
Thats right, do an entire accent wall as a preview of the color, and not just a small 2×2 color patch.

If you apply many sample shades of color on your wall you may see areas that “flash back” as more glossy or textured than the original wall when the new top coat has been applied.

Please leave a comment on this blog post with your advice for color choice, or questions!!