The Challenge: Choosing a Color or Color Theme for Your Interior Paint

As always, I thank you for reaching out to me with your home décor questions! And let me start by saying it’s exciting to hear that you’re building your first new home! Very exciting!

So, now you’re faced with choosing an interior paint color scheme. You could always go with a standard white or off-white, but maybe you’re looking to be a little bolder and more creative. Tan? Blue? Green? Maybe a hot fuchsia?

It’s a decision you don’t want to take lightly because of whatever color or colors you go with will have a big impact on the look and feel of your home. Depending on where you live and whether you have to abide by any HOA restrictions, you may be somewhat limited in what you can do with your home’s exterior, color-wise. However, once you move into the interior, your color options these days are nearly unlimited.

How to Decide Which Colors to Choose?

Picking the paint color for one room can be tricky enough; how do you go about picking the colors for your whole house? First of all, don’t let yourself be paralyzed by the vast range of available options. If you just stand and stare at a wall full of paint samples in every color under the rainbow, it can start to feel overwhelming pretty quickly. Here are some strategies to help you approach your color-choosing task with a little more reasoned focus:

• Pay attention to which rooms are visible to each other

In other words, do a walkthrough of your house and note which rooms or spaces you’re able to see from each individual room. Obviously you want to make note of adjacent or adjoining rooms, but in some instances, you may be able to see farther than that – like down a hall and into the kitchen, for example. Mapping this out on a rough floor plan will help you think about how you want to approach your color plan from a whole-house perspective.

• Start by picking a color for the main central room

If you’re not sure which room to focus on first, it makes sense to start with your largest, most centrally-located room. In many cases, this will be your living room or your kitchen. Choose your colors for this main room first – whatever colors you pick here can really set the tone for the rest of the house. It might be best to go with something relatively soft and neutral here. Once you decide what to use for that room, work your way out, and continue choosing colors for your other interior spaces.

• Or, think about where you want to put the boldest colors

Instead of starting with the largest central room, you could also start by deciding where you want to put your boldest colors. If you have a special, favorite color in mind that you just know you have to use somewhere, you could begin by deciding which space will be painted with that color. Once you know that, you can then move on to the rooms which will have more subdued colors.

• Pro tip: build your color palette around shades of the same hue

Here’s a tip that works equally well for both home exteriors and interiors. Choose a color that you just really like, and plan to use different shades of that color for adjacent walls or rooms. There are several advantages to this strategy. For one thing, you’ll know that all your colors will match! Also, by using contrasts of the same basic color, you’ll be able to add both depth and visual interest to your various home spaces.

• Create a different color scheme for the upstairs or basement

If you have separate floors off of your main level, that opens up the door for you to be able to create a completely different visual mood for each level of your home. You can make one level more neutral while choosing to decorate the other level or levels with a bolder scheme of colors. And here’s another tip to make the project feel more manageable and less overwhelming – just focus on planning out one floor at a time. Rome wasn’t built in a day!

A Few More General Tips Based on Popular Trends vs. Timeless Choices

Like to stay in touch with what’s current and what’s “now” in terms of color choices? While it’s always advisable to try and choose colors that are “timeless” and won’t go out of style in a few years, there’s certainly nothing wrong with seeking to stay in touch with the times. At the same time, it’s important to choose a home décor color scheme that you personally love, and are likely to still enjoy down the road. Here are some basic things to keep in mind:

• Keep It Cool

If you’re interested in following current patterns, the color trends these days are getting away from earthy blues, browns, and greens, and are moving towards cooler, neutral tones in gray and white. You really can’t go wrong with lighter tones like these, as they can help to give your home a simple, crisp, clean appearance. Plus, with paint colors like these, you can pretty much do anything you want with your furnishings and accessories.

• To Be Trendy or Not

Trends come and go, so there’s no need to stress yourself out too much about what’s super “trendy.” And here’s some more good news – even if you end up choosing a color that you decide you no longer love in a few years, that’s OK. Paint is really not that expensive, so you can always repaint in a different color in a few years, should you decide to go that route later on.

• Be True to Your Own Personality & Tastes

Another piece of advice I’d give is to pay attention to the psychology of color. Different colors affect different people and their moods differently, so it would be wise for you to do a little research and inner soul-searching to ascertain which colors really speak to you the best. Once you have a good handle on that, then choosing the right colors for your home will become a whole lot easier. Be true to yourself, and to what will really suit you and your family best!

Check Out JenniferAdams.com for More Helpful Tips & Ideas!

I hope that you’ll find these suggestions to be helpful, and I wish you nothing but the best in your new home color selection journey! If you’d like to see some other home décor tips or would like to learn more about how to maximize your personal sleep environment, head over to my Home Journal blog page. While you’re there, I invite you to take a minute and check out our Home Décor + Living section, as well as our Luxury Bedding Collections, all of which are designed to help you create a home living space that you truly love!