How to Choose the Interior Colors of a House

Color sets a mood, defines a style and serves as a way to hide or enhance architectural features. It is often difficult to create an interior color scheme that is attractive and, at the same time, harmonious. A variety of tools, such as the color wheel, can be used to choose the best colors for your home. With a little bit of research, a few interior decorating strategies and some thoughtful planning, a coordinating color scheme is within reach for every homeowner.

Things You'll Need

• Paint chips
• Fabric swatches

Instructions

Creating Interior Color Schemes.

1. Get inspiration. If you are not sure what colors or mood you want to create in your home, look through magazine or visit nearby hotel lobbies for ideas. You can also do some research on the Internet to define your color scheme preferences and design style.

2. Incorporate what you already have. Include existing flooring and big ticket furniture items in the overall interior color scheme of your house. Use them as a beginning step in your color selection process.

3. Consider personal preferences. Your home is your personal space, so choose your desired interior color selections to create a pleasing environment in which to live.

4. Know your light sources. Plan your interior color scheme with a knowledge of light sources, such as natural light and artificial light, as variations in light affect paint color perception.

5. Use the color wheel. Color schemes range from monochromatic (variations of one hue) to analogous (colors next to one another on the wheel) to complementary (colors opposite on the color wheel). Choose your interior scheme with the knowledge of the particular mood each of these combinations creates.

6. Pull patterns from fabrics. When choosing an interior color scheme, take a color or two from a couch pattern, bed comforter pattern or chair design to properly select appropriate hues.

7. Think in threes. If you use a pattern to inspire your interior color scheme, opt for the lightest color for walls and flooring, the medium color for the big furniture items in the room and the darkest for the accessories and accents for a well-coordinated space.

8. Create a color flow. You want to coordinate colors in homes with an open floor plan, so choose interior colors schemes that coordinate to create a harmonious design.

9. Consider your desired mood. Color creates a mood in a home, (i.e., red is energizing while blue is calming), so choose color carefully to create the desired mood for your interior space.

Tips & Warnings

• Buy trial-sized paints. Most paint stores sell small cans of paint to try on a small area before committing to a particular color. Because lighting affects the perception of paint colors, use these trial paints to choose your wall paint colors.

• Make a small, purse-sized color board with paint chips and fabric swatches to make shopping easier. Keep big ticket furniture items, flooring, wallpaper and kitchen countertop selections neutral, as color preferences change over time, and it is best to bring pattern and color into the accessory choices.

• Paint in a well-ventilated area or buy volitale organic compounds paint to minimize fumes.

References

• Essortment: How to Choose Color Schemes for the Interior of Your House
• HGTV: How to Choose a Color Scheme
• House Beautiful: 12 Great Color Combinations

Resources

• Amazon: The Color Scheme Bible
• Amazon: Can't Fail Color Schemes