Pick Paint Like a Pro

Paint color can make a huge impact on the overall feel of your home. Selecting the perfect colors involves many elements, including lighting, architectural style and color preferences. Here are some tips to help in your selection.

Pull colors from furniture fabrics, art or area rugs.
Decide on the atmosphere you are trying to create and select colors that represent that mood to you. If you are going for calm and serene, try ocean colors like sea-glass green or misty gray.
Select colors that reflect your personality.
Go with a monochromatic palette for a sophisticated look. If you want to jazz it up, add one or two accent colors like green and blue or gray.
Select soft or neutral tones for the overall wall scheme. If wall colors are too bright, they may be uncomfortable to live with. Save bolder or bright colors for accent.
Use a dark or bold color on an accent wall if you want to add major drama. This is great in powder rooms and on entry walls. In the photo above, I used deep blue on one side of the room to create a focal wall.
Invest in a sample-size paint can and try the color on at least one small area before painting the entire room. Paint a swatch on the wall, or paint a piece of poster board so you can move it from wall to wall. View the color at different times of day and in different types of lighting.
Consider all the colors throughout your home and try to tie the main rooms together to create a cohesive flow.
View the Pantone color forecast if you are interested in color trends for the season. These forecasts are used for selecting home-furnishing color trends. Two Pantone colors that can be used to create a perfect palette are Sand and Paloma. You can see them on my Pinterest Color Trends board: www.pinterest.com/robbiemaynard/color-trends

Robbie Harbert Maynard, ASID, CID
Principal, Robbie Interiors
215 S. Highway 101, Suite 212
Solana Beach, CA 92075
858-755-7467