The world is your paint box!

Ok maybe not the world, but your world...your home!

I've done a lot of painting and color selecting in my life. In this house alone, in 4 years, I've painted the kitchen twice, the dining room 3 times, the living room 3 times, the bathroom twice, the playroom twice, our bedroom 3 times, plus the rooms that have only seen one coat of paint...yet. :) The good thing about that is that I have learned a TON about picking colors that you love because I have definitely picked some that I didn't!

So, this is my advice for choosing paint colors:

Find inspiration.
Whether that's in a magazine, online, or in homes you visit, figure out what colors you are drawn to. What colors do you like looking at? Cause if you put them on your walls you are going to be looking at them a LOT! I keep a folder in my desk of magazine pages I rip out with ideas and colors I like. I also have a folder on my computer with photos I come across on blogs I read that inspire me. I started to realize that in pictures I loved the color gray especially with crisp whites and black, but I don't have any gray in my home...until now! I also learned that as much as I love the color red, I prefer it in small doses in my home. It's a very difficult color to master from a paint can.

Size does matter.
It's the power of paint. You can make a small room look big or a big room look small just by the color you slap on there. In my experience a dark color makes the room look smaller. Figure out what you are going for and use paint to help you create that feel. If you are really in love with a darker color, but the room doesn't get a lot of light or is pretty small to begin with, paint one accent wall with the color and something lighter for the rest of the room.

Shed some light.
Different rooms get different amounts of light and that is going to affect your color. Do not go to HD or Lowes and pick the paint for your house without bringing home a paint card or sample! Never ever! Those colors will look extremely different under the store's florescent lighting than they will in your home. I also usually don't share my paint color names on here for the simple fact that you shouldn't see a color you like in someone else's home and run out and buy it for yours. It may look completely different in your lighting and sized room. In fact, a color used in one room in your house may look completely different when used in another room in the same house. Keep that in mind!

I'll take the sampler plate.
I take a ton of color cards with me and then I tape them up on the wall in the room I am painting. I can immediately eliminate a few off the bat, but then I give it time and eye it each time I'm in the room to narrow it down more. Then, take your favorites and tape them to a different part of the room (different walls will have shadows or more or less light changing your color slightly). If you can't get it down to one, then I recommend getting a couple samples -- you can buy a sample size of the color for under $5 which is totally worth it in a lot of cases. Our living room can be dark, but by using a sample on the wall of a color I wasn't leaning towards from the cards showed me that it gave light to the room! And I LOVE the color!

Go with the flow.
It's nice to have colors from room to room that compliment each other rather than compete with each other. Stick to the same color schemes or tones so that the rooms easily flow together, but have fun with your colors. Don't feel like every room should be a shade of beige! If you really want your home to have neutral wall colors, but want to add some brightness, you can even shake things up by painting a small bathroom or laundry room with a bright pop of color.

It's all relative.
Don't be afraid to repaint! Paint is relatively cheap in the scheme of home improvement and gives you the biggest bang for your buck! If you don't like it you can redo it. That's the beauty of paint...and it's a lot cheaper than buying a whole new house :).

Happy Painting!