How to Decide on Paint Color?

As you look to refresh your home with paint, think of the entire space and traffic flow.  How does it feel to walk from room to room?  Does the color change in each room?  Rather than a completely different look in each room, find a color that you love. Consider various shades of that color of paint to achieve a cohesive look throughout your home.  For instance, in Florida, lighter colors are hugely popular. However, a room with contrasting colors of darker navy and white is a stunning combination that can ground a bedroom or study.  

Today’s paint color choices are endless; knowing the “undertone” of the paint is important in choosing a warm or cool color.  When selecting a paint color, take existing flooring, art, rugs, and furnishings into consideration if you don’t plan to change them.  Complimentary undertones in the paint color are best paired with other elements of the room.  When in doubt of the undertone of the paint, look at the darkest color on the color strip. Then, you will get a better idea of the amount of brown, gray, blue, green, or even white.  When painting a room, use the 60-30-10 Rule to assure color achieves balance in your room.

Wood and paint tones should play well together.  Wood flooring generally has a gray, yellow, or red undertone.  Snowbound SW7004 pairs well with gray undertone flooring.  Westhighland White SW7566 pairs well with yellow undertone flooring, and Pure White SW 7005 pairs best with red undertone flooring.

Neutrals bring nature into a home and soften the mood.

Where to Add Contrasting Paint Color?

As you walk through your home, find accent walls that can be carved out with a different paint color (or wallpaper) than the rest of the walls in the room.  They stand alone. These walls become the backdrop for creating interest and depth in your home with color, art, mirrors, and furnishings.  Metallic paints are trending up and create a beautiful sheen.

Color Triggers Emotion  

Think of how you feel when you are surrounded by color, whether it’s in a home, an art gallery, or any retailer, restaurant or bar.  The colors they choose can dramatically impact mood and energy levels.  

• Pink: fun, lively, soft, bright, happy, and feminine
• Red: passionate, daring, intimate, energy, anger, comforting, festive
• Orange: stimulates creativity, evokes warmth and coziness, sweater weather
• Yellow: welcoming, sunny, happiness, cheery
• Green: tranquil, invigorating, brings the outside in, restful and balancing
• Blue: peaceful, serene, calm, meditative, restorative
• Violet: stimulating, sexy, cooling, spiritual, royal

Paint color creates the mood and can compliment or clash with existing elements in your home. So when in doubt, consult a color consultant at your local Sherwin Williams paint store.   I suggest starting with The Living Well collection, which has the newest fresh palettes that reflect today’s lifestyle. 

Those Coastal Colors!

Living in the sunshine state provides the opportunity to let the light inside your home, and here are some of the most popular colors for Florida homes.  Click on the links to see the color in a living room.

• Alabaster SW7008
• Snowbound SW7004
• Greek Villa SW7551
• Sea Salt SW6204
• Respose Gray SW7015
• Rainwashed SW6211
• Shoji White SW7042
• Agreeable Gray SW7029
• Naval SW6244
• Tradewind SW6218 
• Origami White SW7636
• Light French Gray SW0055
• Westhighland White SW7566
• Pearly White SW7009
• Pure White SW 7005

So download the Sherwin Williams COLOR SNAP app and experiment with color in your own home from the comfort of your sofa.  Then take some photos of your rooms, make an appointment with your local Sherwin Williams color consultant, and transform your home with fresh color!