How to Choose the Ideal Colour for Any Room

Posted on Friday, January 10th, 2020

When it comes to painting a room, you might be fraught with indecision as to the colour for which you should opt. Yes, you could simply paint over a surface if you change your mind, but this would require extra time, expense and, of course, paint that you can save by deciding more carefully first.

All the same, though, there is a risk of settling for an overly ‘safe’ hue. This is why it can pay for you to thoroughly research different paint colours before you finally reach a decision.

Choose colours you like, not ones that are simply fashionable

Some paint colours can date a room straight away; just think of how common mustard and orange rooms were in the ’70s and the fashion for avocado-hued bathrooms during the following decade. Paint colour choices can indeed be driven by trends, but should you always follow them?

To make a long story short: choose colours with which you are comfortable, whether or not they are fashionable. That way, the room will be left truly looking like yours.

Carefully consider the room’s purpose

Are you set to paint a dining room? Bright and bold colours could faithfully reflect the fun and laughter that erupt here among family and friends. However, if you will be painting a child’s bedroom, you should consider choosing a calmer colour scheme to help the child to sleep restfully, as Ideal Home suggests.

If the room will largely serve as a gallery space for your art, gather that artwork together before thinking about which colour could go well with it without causing an unwelcome distraction.

Take account of the room’s size and shape

These factors could affect how much light the room gets and where. If the room is relatively cosy, as a study or living room can be, then a deeper colour could nicely suit both that and any larger rooms abundantly bathed in light. Touches of strong colour can enhance a room’s perceptible depth.

House & Garden advises that you leave ‘brilliant white’ in the bathroom unless you seek a highly clinical look, while ceilings and woodwork elsewhere in the house could benefit from a softer white.

Check paint colours in the room, not in the store

Fairly judging a particular colour for your wall on the basis of an in-store colour card can be difficult, given that it doesn’t enable you to assess how the hue looks over a larger surface area. When studying a particular colour, isolate it with a sheet of white paper to prevent nearby shades inadvertently impairing your assessment.

What will your chosen colour appear alongside?

You should particularly strongly consider the floor – as, after the walls, it is the room’s largest surface, so the relationship between its colour and others in the space will be crucial. A wooden floor, for example, could be in a honey-hued, cherry or lime shade.

Are you uncertain how a particular colour might look next to specific decor and appliances in the room? You can find out by experimenting on the image-sharing social network Pinterest, or on a small surface elsewhere in the house.