Paint Pointers from the Pros

Like creating a painting, the art of choosing a paint color starts with the canvas, which is layered with an overall background palette and accent colors, creating a unique work of art. 

The first step in choosing your paint palette is to look to the ’canvas’ of your home — it’s flooring, countertops, cabinets, built-ins and finish carpentry — everything permanently attached to your home.  You should also consider your existing furniture, fabrics and wood finishes.  Then, you’re ready to select your paint colors!

Three colors are striped horizontally in this room, creating visual interest and pattern

Select your main color first.  This should be a neutral that will blend with the accent colors throughout.  Typically neutrals have undertones that lean in a color direction, so pay close attention when selecting an overall color that it works with your home’s canvas.  Sherwin Williams has some great neutrals, such as SW6120 Believable Buff, SW6127 Ivoire, SW6134 Netsuke, and SW6149 Relaxed Khaki.  You can move up or down the paint deck for a lighter or darker neutral.

The second consideration is your trim color.  Often, we select one color for baseboards, door and window trim, interior doors, and crown moulding.  If you do have crown moulding, a second, slightly warmer color may be chosen for ceilings, to create more drama.  We recommend a trim color that has a nice contrast to your main color, such as SW7006 Extra White or SW7012 Creamy.  Make sure the undertones of your trim color and main color feel good together. 

Finally, the fun (and most difficult) part — choosing accent colors!  Choose locations first –  an impact wall or niche, a whole room, a ceiling, above paneling, etc.  The amount and location of the accent color will affect the saturation of your choice.  A little color goes a long way!  I can’t recall how many times I’ve heard “it looked great in a small paint chip, and then I got it on the walls and it was day-glow!”  Some examples of our favorites are SW6408 Wheat Grass, SW6211 Rainwashed, and SW6681 Butter Up.  Our rule of thumb is to keep paint muted — you can add punch with fabrics, art and accessories.

For all paints, we recommend asking for ‘drawdowns’, which your painter can provide, so that you can see the color in your home.  These are 8 1/2″ x 11″ painted samples which you can tape to your walls prior to painting.  Artificial and natural light, plus surrounding surfaces, will affect the look of the color.

Happy painting!

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~ by Ericka on September 13, 2009.