FLOW

So yesterday I gave some hints on selecting a paint color for one room. Today I am going to give some advice when choosing paint colors for an entire home. Try to select a color palette-three colors that you want to use throughout your home. Ideally pick these colors from something that you already have like a rug or the fabric in a pillow. These are colors that you are going to use throughout your home in fabrics, furniture, art, accessories, etc. I am not saying these are the only colors you can use but they should be predominant colors and they should be used, in some way, in each room so that your house has "flow." No, not your monthly visitor. And not Flo the saucy waitress from Alice.

But flow as in having a rhythm so that the colors easily transition from one room to the next. Flow is something that you don't necessarily notice when it is done correctly but you definitely notice when it is not done in a home. Have you ever been in a house where each room is painted an entirely different and totally random color? It is wacky. And it chops up the place. You need some sort of congruity. I am going to use the same fabric from yesterday to illustrate my point.

You can see that some paint colors are repeated in different rooms throughout the home. You will also notice that variations of the color (or different values of the same hue) are used in different rooms to give some interest. This is an easy design trick. Try to remember this instead of using four different colors of blue, use four different values of the same blue hue. I used Sherwin Williams to illustrate this point because their paint decks show the different values of a hue on the paint strip so it makes it super easy. But you can always ask your paint store to add black or white to get a different version of the hue.

Again, this is best case scenario but it gives you an idea of how the process should work. And to continue my point on making the house flow, I would carry some of these colors to other areas of the house. For example, let's say that the inspiration fabric is on pillows in the living room on the first floor. Then you could have orange linen Parson's chairs in your dining room and/or paint the vanity in your powder room the same orange as your mud room and/or use a blue and orange mosaic tile in the master bathroom. So it doesn't always have to be through paint color alone. Get it? Well, that my friend, is what you call FLOW.

No Fear!

People seem to be terrified of picking paint colors. Oftentimes living with the builder's white for years out of fear. I understand that you can make a poor paint choice...I have done it myself. Once I chose a shade of brown that looked like I had wiped my nephew's diaper all over the wall. It was gross. But guess what I did? I repainted. It is really that simple so have no fear!!! Here are some (hopefully) helpful hints when picking out paint.

For starters, don't arbitrarily select paint colors! Choose the color from something in the room like a rug, bedding, a vase, etc. If you don't have anything in the room then wait to paint until you have made some other selections. It will be worth it. Why? Because there are infinite colors of paint to choose from and you can pick a shade to match anything (literally). It is a bizillion times easier to work forward instead of working backwards. If you have ever spent hours, weeks, months, or years trying to find the perfect fabric to match a paint color that is already in the room then you will know of which I speak.

If you do have let's say a fabric that you are trying to pull a paint color from then you can either match one of the colors in intensity like this...

Or you can go to a lighter or darker version of the color (hue) like this...

If you are afraid of an actual color then you can try pulling one of the neutrals like this...

Or you can match the "ground" (background) of the fabric like this...

**These paint colors show differently on your computer screen. I promise the do match the fabric!

Be sure to look at all of your room selections together when selecting a paint color-carpet, fabrics, trim color, window hardware, furniture finishes, etc. as all of these can affect the way a color is perceived.

Be sure to look at the paint color options in the actual room and in the various lights of the day.

People often have a hard time seeing how the room will look once it is painted just by looking at a tiny paint chip. This is understandable. If you are able, paint out a section of the wall so you can see it in larger scale. If you are unable to do this then paint a sheet of white poster board (paint the entire thing corner to corner and paint on the dull side) and put it in the room.

Once you have selected a color...go for it! And relax, it's just paint.