Skip to main content

Choosing Paint for Interior Walls

Are you contemplating painting a room or two in your home?  Recently, I went through the process of selecting paint for an entire house.  It felt like an overwhelming decision at first, so I thought I'd share some of my experience to help you when faced with making paint decisions.

How to Select Paint Colors for Your Home


The Beach-My Color Inspiration
Step One:  Look to Your Favorite Things for Inspiration
One of the first steps in the paint selection process is to decide on the color pallet you will be working with.  If you have existing furniture that you will be integrating into the room you'll want to use colors from the furniture to guide your selection.  In my case, I was starting with empty rooms, so I looked to some of my favorite things for inspiration.

Step Two:  Find Inspiration Rooms
The next step for me was looking for other rooms that were decorated using the same colors.  One of the first places I look for decorating inspiration these days is www.houzz.com.  It is a wonderful site to look for all kinds of decorating styles. You are certain to find rooms there that will inspire your own decorating style.

An Example of a www.houzz.com Inspiration

Step Three:  Get Tips from Experts
Next, you'll want to get tips from experts on selecting paint.  YouTube and various paint sites have videos you may find helpful.  Now you are ready for your trip to the paint store.  Select a variety of paint chips you think will fit your color pallet.  Bring them home to assess in the natural light of your home.  Cut the paint chips apart and discard the ones you have eliminated.  They will only confuse you if you keep them.  Stick the chips on the wall in the room.

Evaluating Paint Colors
Step Five:  Take Your Time
Don't rush to judgment.  In the picture above I was trying to decide between light and dark colors.  I hadn't decided which I preferred.  Hopefully, you'll be able to narrow your choices down so that you can afford to get sample sizes of the paint to bring home and try out on the wall.  Light changes throughout the day will affect how the paint color looks on your walls. Be sure you look at your colors in the morning, mid-day and evening light.


So, what colors did I select?  This is the paint selection I thought would best represent the beach colors I was striving for in my home.

My Paint Colors-Behr Paints
The entry, kitchen, living room, dining room and bathrooms are all painted in Tuscan Beige.  It is a light stone color that reminds me of beach sand.  Yacht Harbor is used as an accent color on one small wall that is visible from the dining room, kitchen and living room.  This Yacht Harbor blue makes me think of the ocean on a bright and sunny day.  Two of the bedrooms are painted in Silver Charm, a blue-gray that reminds me of the sky.  The final bedroom is painted in Provence Creme because it makes me think of sunshine.

My rooms have been painted for a little over a week and the colors seem right.  Now it is time for the rest of the decorating to begin.  Before I sign off from this post I'd like to leave you with some tips I learned from this painting project that will hopefully help you in your next painting project.

  • Take your time.  Don't rush the paint selection or the paint application.  You'll be happier with the result.
  • Make your decision about your paint color at home.  There is too much distraction at the paint store and the light is all wrong.
  • Apply a sample of the paint to your wall, but if you don't and the color isn't right, just start over.  You don't want to hate the color.  I had to do this in the Provence Creme bedroom.  The first yellow paint I chose was just too yellow for my liking.
  • Start with a light color.  Paint dries darker than it is when first applied.  Dark colors will be darker.  When in doubt start with a lighter color.

Happy painting!

Photobucket

Comments

More Popular Posts

How to Make a Perfect Bacon and Eggs Breakfast

In my opinion, the best breakfast consists of two perfectly fried eggs, crispy bacon, and toast made with hearty bread. This bacon and eggs recipe delivers. Bacon and eggs or eggs and bacon? No matter, it is definitely the breakfast you want on those lazy mornings when you have time to relax around the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee or two. The Best Bacon and Eggs Breakfast (This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience.  When you make a purchase using these links you help support this blog.) How to Cook Bacon and Eggs My technique was learned from my mom, by watching her make our family's breakfast over and over again, year after year.  This is a basted egg recipe which means the eggs are cooked in bacon grease. Cooking eggs in bacon fat is easy and takes just a little practice to perfect. All you really need for a great bacon and eggs breakfast is a good nonstick skillet and a good toaster . If you want to make your own bread fo

Crunchy, Spicy Gingersnap Cookies

Crunchy, spicy, and yummy are all words used to describe a good gingersnap cookie.   While my hands-down, favorite cookie is a gooey chocolate chip cookie I occasionally crave a spicy ginger snaps cookie or  this molasses cookie .  This old-fashioned gingersnap cookie is a winner.  It's easy to make and will be a favorite in your recipe rotation. Traditional Ginger Snaps Cookie Recipe ( This post contains affiliate links.  I will be compensated when you make a purchase with these links.) Gingersnaps Cookies In the U.S., gingersnaps are usually drop cookies with lots of cracks on the surface.  That's exactly how I like them.  Those found in other countries may be thinner and sliced.  The Lebkuchen, a traditional German cookie, and the pepparkakor, from Sweden, are often cut into festive shapes.  My gingersnaps are round. Reasons You'll Love These Gingersnap Cookies These gingersnaps are tasty cookies at any time of the year.   Their spiciness is perfect as a holid

Grandma's Soft and Chewy Date-Filled Cookies

One of the things I can count on as the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons arrive each year is a feeling of nostalgia. The traditional foods we serve at our family's holiday tables can sure bring out all the feels. Now that it is officially cookie season, we should kick it off with an old-fashioned homemade date-filled cookie recipe. This is a soft, tender cookie with dates that is a special, nostalgic, family recipe.   An Old-Fashioned Date Cookies Recipe This old-fashioned, date-filled cookie was my dad's favorite cookie from his childhood. My dad was born in 1932 so this recipe has been around for quite a while. 

The Best Asian Dipping Sauce You'll Ever Taste

If you're looking for a versatile, easy-to-make Asian dipping sauce perfect for sushi and dumplings, then you've come to the right place. This recipe for the best Asian dipping sauce is perfect for any time you want a  kick of delicious Asian flavor. An Asian Dipping Sauce for Sushi and Dumplings Try this if you are looking for a dipping sauce that is a little more flavorful than you typically get with your takeout order. You'll love it with dumplings, too!

How to Doctor Up Store-Bought Potato Salad

Here's a potato salad time-saver for you just in time for summer cookouts. You'll love how you can transform grocery store potato salad so easily no matter whether you are hosting a BBQ or bringing a side dish for a summer barbecue. There's no judgment here. We don't always have the time to make a potato salad from scratch. Sometimes it is just easier to stop by your local grocery store to pick up a container of store-made potato salad. It's good. It's predictable.  It will do.  All it needs is a little doctoring. How to Make Store-Bought Potato Salad Better When you need a quick potato salad, and have no time to make one from scratch, that ordinary store-bought potato salad you have in your refrigerator can go from blah to amazing in just a few minutes with just a few ingredients. Yes, you can improve store-bought potato salad. How to Doctor Up Potato Salad to have a little more flavor? You're going to a potluck picnic or you are having

Traditional New England Whoopie Pies

Are you looking for the best whoopie pie recipe?  Whoopie pies are a quintessential New England dessert and a memorable treat from my childhood.   My mom would make them for us every once in a while.  Oh, what a treat to come home from school to a platter of chocolate whoopie pies!  Yum! Today I'm sharing my recipe for the best-ever whoopie pies. The Best Whoopie Pies Recipe without Marshmallow Fluff Whoopie Pies Whoopie pies are soft round cookie-like cakes with a smooth cream filling sandwiched in the center. Debate rages about the whoopie pie's origin.  Some say these goodies originated in New England, others say they originated with the Amish.   There is also debate about what ingredients should be in the filling.  Many recipes include fillings made with Marshmallow Fluff or buttercream but neither is  traditional, in my opinion.  The whoopie pie of my childhood is a traditional Maine whoopie pie recipe, made with a cooked flour and milk mixture added to suga

How to Trap and Get Rid of Fruit Flies

Fruit flies can be a huge annoyance at certain times of the year. What can you do to kill fruit flies? We've all been there wondering how to get rid of fruit flies.  Fruit flies in the kitchen.  Fruit flies in the bathroom.  Fruit flies buzzing around everywhere in your home.   It's a frustrating problem that happens to everyone at one time or another.  If you are a fresh fruit and produce lover you certainly know what I mean. How to Kill Fruit Flies with Two Ingredients Those pesky little buggers can often be brought into your home on the vegetables and fruit you buy. You don't have to tolerate the annoyance.  This homemade fruit fly trap is one I have been using for many years and it works every time. 

Easy Chicken Parmesan-A Make Ahead Freezer Dinner

Chicken Parmesan is a favorite dinner in the Just One Donna house because it is a delicious dish that can satisfy your cravings for Italian food. It's also easy to make at home with simple ingredients you probably have in your pantry.  But what if you don't have time to cook on a busy weeknight? Don't worry, you can make Chicken Parmesan ahead of time and freeze it for later. I like to prepare Chicken Parmesan to have on hand in my freezer for those busy weeknights when we might be tempted to head to a restaurant instead of eating at home.  How to Make Freezer Chicken Parmesan for Busy Nights This post contains affiliate links.  I receive a small compensation when you shop using these links Easy Freezer Chicken Parmesan for Dinner Chicken Parmesan, also known as Chicken Pa

Can You Make Better Bacon in Water?

What is the best way to cook crisp, tender bacon? Today, let's investigate a new method for cooking bacon on the stove that I'm seeing suggested as a technique that will change your life.  It's frying your bacon in a pan with a small amount of water.  Is cooking bacon with a bit of water in the pan a better way to make bacon? How to Cook Bacon in Water This is a simple, relatively fast way to make perfectly cooked bacon every time. Whether you are looking to impress your guests with a decadent breakfast or just want to enjoy a delicious bacon treat, this technique is the perfect solution.

Forgotten Pork Chops-A Skillet Dinner

When I first made this pork chop skillet dinner several years ago I knew it was a winner but never predicted how wildly successful it would be with my readers. Perhaps it is the comfort food combination of pork chops with savory rice.  Or maybe it is the easy one-pan preparation.  Whatever it is, you're sure to love this updated, one-pan, comforting Forgotten Pork Chops dinner.  Pork Chops and Rice with Cream of Mushroom Soup (This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.  When you purchase through these links I receive a small compensation.)  So you might wonder why I updated the recipe. Like most recipes that are part of my menu rotation, a tweak here or there is customary. I encourage you to do the same.  A tweak here to there will make the recipe your own.