The Art of Choosing the Right Colors

Many times we are asked an impossible question by a client: so what do you think about this color? If we were experts on color theory and psyhchology, perhaps we could answer. Or if we were schooled in interior design we could add some insight. And we certainly have our own tastes. But we are experts at applying the colors that our clients want on the surfaces they own. That’s what we do day in and day out. So what better source to talk about colors in and around an environment than Architectural Digest? Read on… we will also, and we can all learn something.

How to Choose Paint Colors for Your Entire House: 8 Tips to Make It All Come Together

FROM ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST / BY YELENA MOROZ ALPERT

Avoid a color clash with these expert recommendations

Creating a cohesive paint color scheme in a house is akin to selecting your wardrobe—you may love more than one color, but you wouldn’t wear everything at once. The same applies to choosing a unifying palette. When deciding on the hues for your home, it helps to go back to the basics.

Start with where your home is located. “When beginning a project, look to the home’s surrounding environment for color clues,” suggests Gary McBournie, a designer in Boston. “A good designer can make most color choices work. However, some choices may be more appropriate for a specific home than others.” For example, the discord between a moody interior paint and the atmosphere of a seaside residence might be tough to pull off.

Likewise, Leah Alexander, principal designer for Beauty is Abundant in Atlanta, likes to zero in on her clients’ existing materials—cabinets, countertops, floors—before presenting paint color chips. A historic home with rich chocolate trim and wainscoting might not exactly jive with an icy cool paint on the walls. “When you are looking to create a cohesive look in a home with color, the one thing to keep in mind is staying consistent and selecting the similar undertones,” says Ashley Banbury, senior color designer at HGTV Home® by Sherwin-Williams.

Read on for eight more tips on devising a consistent paint color scheme for your entire space.

Amplify the paint color you love

You don’t have to start from scratch when deciding on your house’s hues. “If you have an existing accent color that you love, but are looking for a complementing shade, select a color that has the same undertone—it will look intentional and coordinate seamlessly,” Banbury says. For example, if you are looking for a complementing neutral for an existing blue accent wall with a red undertone, select any neutral with a red undertone, and they will look great together.

Adhere to the same color tone: cool or warm

Deciding on a cool-tone or warm-tone palette is often influenced by the home’s environment and existing elements and furnishings. Once you determine which color family works best, stick to it, Alexander says. Mixing the two tones has the same effect as seeing a car with a bright, warm-toned headlight and a stark, blue-toned headlight: It’s jarring!

Use neutrals to your advantage

“I like my rooms to talk to one another, and a neutral can be the conversation facilitator,” McBournie says. For example, a neutral color on the trim and doors throughout the home can help connect the spaces. McBournie also uses a neutral as a “palette cleanser” on the walls of a room that may be between other rooms with stronger colors.

Find a favorite white paint

“Every single home has white somewhere,” Alexander says. Once you settle on a white, all the whites in the house should be this hue. With a known base, you can then start to layer in other colors. Try a white like HGTV Home® by Sherwin-Williams’s Greek Villa (HGSW7551) or Alabaster (HGSW7008). “They are not too stark, and don’t read blue. Both are slightly warmer than an extra white,” she says. “These colors are approachable and give you that clean look.” HGTV Home® by Sherwin-Williams’s Infinity Tintable Interior Paint + Primer resists scuff marks, a welcome bonus when it comes to white walls.

Layer the color room to room

You don’t have to commit to one color throughout, even in a common area. “When you have rooms that connect, and you want to create a nice flow, choose a color that is a few shades lighter or darker within the same color family and tones,” Banbury says. “It is easier on the eyes when you transition from room to room.”

Don’t get boxed in by one color

Inviting a new color can give your house much needed dimension. “Part of the fun in design is not limiting yourself to a confined box,” says Margaret Naeve Parker, founder of M.Naeve in Houston. “I love a house that has a room, or two, with a nice bold color that differs from the rest of the home.” When the wall paint transitions well, that peekaboo moment sparks a pleasant surprise. Parker recommends limiting this effect to a dining room or a study in order to avoid a color clash that comes off as too busy.

Think about the trim

Be wary of factory-white windows, as the ultrastark hue can create dissonance, especially when paired with a warmer off-white window trim. “While not always the rule, I like the trim and the mullions to be the same color, which further promotes a cohesive feeling,” Parker says. Matching trim to wall color also helps with the transition, especially when you use a high-quality paint. “Using the same color on all the trim and doors is an architectural element that remains consistent, unifying the entire home’s aesthetic,” Banbury adds.

Give your paint selection some wiggle room

Even though you may have a dream color palette in mind, the reality of your household may keep you from going all out. Say, your kid is obsessed with pink, but you don’t want to have a Barbie bedroom. But just because hot pink is in demand doesn’t mean you can’t compromise in a way that plays nice with the rest of the house’s palette. To appease both parents and kids, Alexander suggests painting a surface that is not all four walls, like a ceiling. She used a dusty hot pink to adorn a nursery. Not only will the color be hidden from the doorway view, it’s exciting for kids to look up from their bed and see their vision come to life, she says. Alternatively, you can hide the kid-coveted color in a bathroom by painting vanity cabinets or adding a playful color band.

At the end of the day, as long as you anchor your house with a few key paint colors, you’ll have flexibility to maintain a cohesive color scheme even with some outliers.