Paint Color Ideas for My House
Don't be overwhelmed by choosing from the thousands of paint colors for your house. Decide whether you want to go light or dark, which colors appeal to you most, then narrow down the choices to a workable few. Also consider your existing furnishings and what goes best with these, unless you plan to replace them all.
Golden Yellows
Two or three shades of golden yellows, like amber, honey and lemon, go well together. Accent the yellow with contrasting gray or beige. Remember that yellow can look even brighter when it's on a large wall than it does on a paint chip. Designer Barry Dixon, who was on House Beautiful's List of Top Designers in America from 2002 to 2005, suggests, "If you're leaning toward the brightest yellow on a paint chip, go one shade down." He also suggests taking it down a notch by selecting a more autumnal yellow, which will appear less Magic Marker-bright when applied to a large area.
Peacock Blue
This bright and deep blue shade is more intense than navy. For a bold look, pair it with complementary or opposite colors, including apricot, pink, orange, red and yellow. Choose browns or grays for a more subtle look. With either color combination, peacock blue will give your room a dramatic look.
Chocolate Brown
Another bold choice, chocolate brown painted in a semi-gloss reflects light. If you're worried about the room looking too dark, try painting it on a single wall for interest. For dramatic contrast, use white or cream as the other room colors. Light blues or bright pinks are also good choices.
Red
Red is considered a difficult color to work with because it's hard to find one in paint that goes on warm, instead of pinkish. Yet a warm red goes well with a variety of colors, like navy blue, whites and neutrals. If you're scared of the color, try painting an accent wall instead of an entire room.
Gray Blue
Gray blues recall seascapes in a very sophisticated manner. It looks classic when used with dark wood, or like a sea-side cottage when used with whites and light browns. Make sure the grays don't veer toward brighter blues, which are best saved for a child's room.
Computer Color Matching
If you have an object in a color you love, you can bring it to almost any paint store or home improvement center and have it color matched. Make sure the paint store has computer color matching, which is more precise than a human deciding which pre-existing color is closest.
With computer matching, the computer creates the exact object shade for you, so even if it's not in the pre-existing paint palette, it can be mixed.
Paint Color Visualizer
The Sherwin-Williams Paint Color Visualizer allows you to download a photo of your room, then apply paint colors on screen to see how they will look. This way, you can select your palettes with confidence. Keep in mind that the colors will look different in real life due to screen color limitations and light variations.
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