In Living Colour - Tips for Picking the Perfect Paint Colour

Livable Color: Choosing Hues You'll Love to Live With

What's the secret to choosing the right color? Sure, there are principles and guidelines, but the real secret is to choose colors you can live with and will love to come home to. Use these tips from designers and color experts to help you reach that goal.

 

- "Think of places and spaces you love for inspiration.  For example, I love the cream-colour stucco walls I see in Italian churches, and I try to match that feeling."  Lulu DeKwiatkowski, TEXTILE DESIGNER

- "Warm colours like red, yellow and orange have an energizing effect.  Blue, green and grey are calming." Davi Bromstad, DESIGNER and HGTV STAR

-"Always sample paint colours. Paint a sample board so you can move it around a room." Diana Hathaway Timmons, DESIGNER

-"Look at paint colours in the morning and at night, and put them near your furniture." Emily Henderson, STYLIST

-"You can take just about anything to the paint store and ask the associate to mix a paint that's a perfect match using the store's colour reader." Danny Seo, LIFESTYLE EXPERT

-"What's more livable than the colours found right outside your back door? Look to earthy, natural colours - blues, greens, beige and taupe - when choosing colour for your rooms." Sehra Han, DESIGNER

 

-"When choosing wall colours, find versions of your favourite colours that are muted with grey." Erica Lugbill, DESIGNER

-"Choose the best paint you can afford.  Good paint has better pigments and a more livable finish." Courtney Price, DESIGNER

-"When you shop for paint, take along an existing pillow, a piece of drapery fabric or a photo of your space.  You'll make informed colour decisions." Alejandra Bernardez, DESIGNER

-"Play with intensity. I love monochromatic rooms that use a single hue in a variety of ways." Sarah Richardson, DESIGNER

-"Layer bold colours with midtones and neutrals to balance colour in a room." Khristian A. Howell, TEXTILE DESIGNER AND COLOUR EXPERT

 

-"If you find a colour that you love but you are afraid it might be too dark, ask the person mixing the colour to do a 50 percent tint of the colour." Gail Wright, DESIGNER

-"Colours close together on the colour wheel are analogous and will make a calm room.  Colours that are farther apart are complementary and add drama." David Bromstad, DESIGNER and HGTV STAR

-"Choose colour based on the use of the room.  Morning rooms can be brighter; rooms used at night can go dark." Beth Kushnick, SET DECORATOR

 

-"Your home is made up of more than walls - ceilings, floors, stairs and doors are also great places to have fun with paint." Bob and Cortney Novogratz, DESIGNERS

-"Give yourself permission to use a bold colour.  You don't have to have it everywhere - one throw or pillow might be just enough." Nate Berkus, DESIGNER

-"When rooms open to one another, avoid choosing radically different colours, or the space will look choppy and small." Courtney Price, DESIGNER

- "Choose your favourite colour, but watch that it's not too bright." Maria Killam, COLOUR EXPERT

-"In the same way a bright shoe adds surprise and fun to a black outfit, an unexpected touch of trim along a curtain panel or in piping can add colour in a way that's easy to live with." Anna Lobell, DESIGNER

-"Start with colour you love. Even if it's not a trend at the moment, it will always be on trend in a space that resonates with you." Khristian A. Howell, TEXTILE DESIGNER and COLOUR EXPERT

-"For a cohesive look, flow two or three of the same colours in each room.  An accent wall in the family room is reflected in the master bedroom bedding, for example." Diana Hathaway Timmons, DESIGNER

-"Save strong wall colours for statement rooms that are smaller and visited less-a library, guest room or a powder room." Lulu DeKwiatkowski, TEXTILE DESIGNER

-"Blend in strong colours. A bold colour on the wall will feel jarring unless you consider the trim and ciling colour in your plans." Patrice Cowan Bevans, DESIGNER