Tips for Picking the Perfect Paint Colors
Updated November 11, 2016
Tips for Picking The Perfect Paint Colors-use these tips to pick out the perfect paint colors for your home!
Whether you are building a new home or just need to freshen up a room it can be hard to pick out the perfect paint color. We are currently building a home and we were overwhelmed with all of the paint options. I think picking out paint colors has been the most stressful part of the entire house building process. There are SO many colors to choose from! We have learned a few things along the way so today we are sharing our tips for picking out the perfect paint colors.
Do Your Homework: Get an idea of the colors you like by using the internet, social media, and asking your friends. I stalked designers on Instagram, read home interior blogs, and spent a lot of time on Pinterest. I made a secret board on Pinterest and pinned paint colors and room inspiration photos that I liked. I also asked several friends for advice and made a list of colors they loved. I kept gravitating towards gray colors so I knew we needed to look at gray colors first.
Get Professional Help: After you have a general idea of the colors you like, visit a paint store. We went to our local Sherwin-Williams store and asked for paint advice. Ian, a paint specialist, talked to us about the color wheel, saturations, hue, lighting, etc. We showed him a few pictures and told him about our home and he helped us narrow down our search, which was super helpful because there are A LOT of paint colors.
Think It Over: Take home paint chips and think about it. The lighting in most paint stores isn’t the best, so take home your paint chips and view them in natural light and the light in your home. Hold the chips up to something white so you can see the true color. After awhile, all of the colors start to look the same, so take a break and go back to them.
Sampling: Once you have your top paint colors picked out, go back to the store and purchase paint samples. You may think you have selected the perfect color based on the paint chip, but the paint chips are small and you will get a better idea of the color once you see it painted in your home. Sherwin-Williams sells small, affordable, Twist-n-Pour containers that cover about 75 sq. ft. By sampling colors at home, you can be sure you’ve selected the right colors for your space.
Testing 1-2-3: Take your samples and get painting. You can paint an area on the wall or drywall or paint white foam boards. We wanted to use some of the colors in multiple rooms and the lighting can be different in each room so we decided to paint white foam boards to transfer them to multiply rooms. We moved the boards around the house during different times of the day and we were really surprised by the difference some of the colors had from room to room. I am SO glad we did this because we ended up choosing different colors after our little paint sampling project.
The Finish Line: When you have your colors picked out, then you have to pick the finishes. I know, more decisions!! Flat, Satin, Semi-Gloss, or Gl0ss? The sheen you choose is based on the final look and wearability you want and is personal preference. Note-when you test your colors, choose the finish you are wanting because the finish can make a difference in the look of the color.
So what colors did we pick?
Sherwin-Williams Pure White (7005)-We are using Pure White for the exterior of our home. It is going to look great with our black windows!
Sherwin-Williams Extra White (7006)-We love this crisp, clean, and bright white and are using it in the majority of our home.
Sherwin-Williams Light French Gray (0055)-We chose this gray for the boys’ rooms and it is perfect! It is a real, true gray!
Sherwin-Williams Repose Gray (7015)-When I asked around for a good gray color, several people recommended Repose Gray. We wanted a slightly lighter gray, but loved the color so we are using it at 75%. This color is going in our master bedroom and hallway.
Sherwin-Williams Classic French Gray (0077)-We love this darker gray and are using it in our guest bedroom since there are a lot of windows and natural light.
Sherwin-Williams Naval (6244)-We went pretty neutral, but I wanted a fun wall in one of the boy’s rooms. I chose Naval because it is classic and fun at the same time!
Sherwin-Williams Tricorn Black (6258)-In my opinion, Tricorn Black is the perfect black! I love it! We are painting our interior and exterior doors black.
We will be sharing photos of our painted house soon, so come on back! And make sure you are following me on snapchat, twopeasandpod, for house updates. I love sharing behind the scenes house videos. I also share teaser photos on Instagram!
Good luck picking out the perfect paint colors for your home! YOU CAN DO IT!
This post is in partnership with Sherwin-Williams, but our opinions are our own. Thank you for supporting the brands that continue to make Two Peas and Their Pod possible.
Love this post. I’m getting ready to paint the condo I just bought and while I’ve painted previous houses it’s been a while and my tastes have also changed. I was just looking at all the grays at the hardware store yesterday and immediately had to walk away since I was feeling so overwhelmed.
I am glad you found this post helpful! Best of luck with your painting project!
Great post! We’ve used the sample pots before and they are invaluable in making the final color decision. The other tool we used was an online tool where you can upload pictures of your room, hallway, etc. and mark off the area to paint and start applying colors. This was great as we had no idea what colors we wanted and picked ones we may not have after testing it out in this tool. Great way to try color combinations with existing floors and furniture. We used Olympic paint’s tool but I’m sure there are others out there.
Yes, the sample paints are so helpful!
I LOVE our local Sherman Williams!! Their employees are also so friendly and helpful. They also have the HGTV collection, which are several collections of colors made to all coordinate and work together. I have used 3 colors from the Coastal collection in our bedroom/closet/bath area.
Aren’t they the best? Every time we go in we have a good experience and I am loving the colors!
I love the Light French Gray and the Naval – I think the boys rooms will look great!
Thank you! The colors turned out great!
great tips! Can’t wait to see your house!
Thank you!
I love all the colors!!! I’m so excited to see them on the walls!
You will have to come see it in person:)
I love the grays. Lookward to seeing the color you pick.
For me the light fixtures.
Thanks Mara! We can’t wait to show the final rooms!
Make sure the bathroom paint matches your towels. We pocked out a color for a bathroom a long time ago and my hubby was already painting it. Then I put clean towels in the bathroom and we realized it didn’t match. It was hideous. We needed more of a grayish blue then the turquoise color we were using. We had to pick a new color. The new color was much better.
Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for sharing, love all your paint colors! What type/color of floor did you get, looks so pretty with the paint against it! Can’t wait to see the progression!
Thank you! The floors are hardwood and they are being stained weathered oak. We will share more photos soon!
I love art and paintings and now, I am going to renovate my home interior with creative art. I love art walls etc. I will also try your amazing and inspiring suggestions during renovation. Thanks for sharing!
Gray is s hard!!! Warm tones, cool tones, blue-ish greens…so hard to pick the perfect one.
The right selection of colors is the most challengeable task for every painter. Your points are innovative and creative because I have not heard such tips before. I think, every painting should follow these points practically.
I love to play with colors. Your tips are quite good but I think I am already good in selection of true colors for my painting activities.
Thank you for the tips. I particularly liked what you said about visiting a paint store, and getting recommendations from a paint professional. My sister’s paint has been peeling in one of her bedrooms, and wants to get it painted soon. I’ll make sure that she visits a good paint store, and gets expert help.
I agree that paint has a huge effect on how the overall house looks. Many people leave the natural white paint on their walls when adding some color can add a lot to a house including increasing the value. I think that it would be important to choose a company that has experience with interior design. If they have more experience they can even help you with color matching.
I agree that you should get professional input when choosing interior painting colors for your home. We can tend to act more with the short-term benefits in mind rather than the long -term, especially when it comes to designs. It’s important that we pick a color scheme that we are happy with years down the road. It also may be wise to hire professionals who can do a quality paint job that will last.
On the walls you did white did you do your trim the same white?
My husband and I have been wanting to paint over our yellow walls for quite some time now, but we haven’t been able to decide on a color that will look good throughout the whole house. I hadn’t thought about painting a board to see how the color would work in multiple rooms, but this seems like a great way to sample the color and see how it will look in different lighting. It seems like the right mix of research and help from a professional will lead to a great looking coat of paint throughout our house. Thank you for the information!
I like the idea of asking a professional about colors so you can narrow down the choices. My husband wants to paint our room something warm, but I’m thinking gray—I just can’t decide which gray. Maybe if we ask some painters their opinions, they can help us choose the right color for our room.
Hi!! super quick question. Which color do you feel is lighter? repose gray at 75% or light french gray?
I think the repose gray at 75% is lighter.
I painted my family room Repose gray at 75% . Now painting ceiling bright white. Halfway finish but i think it’s too stark. What color did you put on your ceiling?
This is a really amazing post. Well written and described. Keep writing and posting Thank you for this one.
Do you feel Light French Gray is a neutral gray? No green, no blue, no purple……
Awesome post! I liked it…….
When you say Repose Gray @ 75%, do you mean 25% lighter or 75% lighter?
25% lighter, so just a touch lighter.
Curious how you liked Repose Gray at 75%? Full Repose looks really purple to me in many rooms of my house but the 75% looks great! Just worried it will look dingy in low light areas like a darker hallway that we have. I’d love your feedback!
We really like it, but every house is different. I recommend getting a sample and testing it out.
Okay. Thank you so much. The color difference is amazing!
Hi! Love your home and blog! Your s’more cookie recipe is also the BEST! I’m researching paint colors and wanted to know what you used in your masterbath walls? Finish? Thank you!
Thanks! Sherwin Williams Extra White in satin finish.
I love the colored you have picked. We are building a new house, picking colors are very hard job. Question for you, with this gray color palette, what colors of doors and celling did you do in your house?
Our doors are actually Tricorn Black and the trim is pure white.