Choosing Home Color Schemes

One way to help you choose the perfect home color schemes is to peruse design/decorating magazines and books for ideas. Your closet is another great place to start. What colors fill your wardrobe? Do you see mostly brighter shades or quieter shades? Which colors stand out? See what works from these examples and choose colors you like. If you’re not sure what color to start with, look at what is already in each room. A picture, rug, bedspread, window treatments or the fabric on a favorite chair may provide a color pattern and inspiration from which to start. Use these colors to determine the color palette from which you will work. The color schemes of your home should complement what’s already in your home if you are not planning to purchase new furniture and fabrics.

When thinking about your home color schemes, your palette should consist of three colors: a light, medium and dark color. These three colors will form the foundation of your project. Lighter colors should be used as a background. If a color seems too vivid, you can blend in a touch of gray or white. The floor color should be a bit darker than the walls and ceiling. This helps ground the room.

You can use each color more than once for a coherent feeling. Window coverings and large furniture pieces should have the medium-tone from your color palette, especially if it has a tinge of the wall color mixed into it. Darker colors should be used as accents (e.g., accessories and small furniture pieces). Use these to punch up the design and distribute them evenly throughout the room. Be sure to take any existing pieces that will remain in the room as well as the various wood finishes present into consideration when planning.

Helpful Tips

The feeling of a room can be created by using different combinations of color. By rotating the three colors, you can place greater emphasis on the background or furniture. Typically, your eye will gravitate towards the darker, deeper colors such as burgundy, red or royal blue.

To be sure you're using the right color for your tastes, always check how the colors you choose look in both natural and incandescent light during the day and at night.

Keep colors in adjoining rooms compatible. They don't have to be the same but should not clash.

Always keep in mind the things you cannot change, such as a fireplace or other feature in your home and adjust your color scheme to mesh with it.

Your local True Value hardware store's Certified Color Experts can answer questions you have about both exterior and interior paint color combinations and point you in the right direction, based on your preferences. So bring in ideas and pictures of interiors and exteriors you like. While you're there, you can pick up a Custom Mixed Color Sample to try a few colors on your walls at home. The sample allows you to paint a small space and then live with different options for a few days before making a final decision. You can also pick up Idea Cards that have pre-determined palettes ready for you and/or Trend Cards for the latest colors or Stripe Cards that show shades of the same color.

You can also experiment online with our interactive Paint Color Visualizer to change paint color and furniture in six moods to preview how colors will look before you paint. The Color Selection Tool features a color wheel with every color in our paint palette.

There are three basic home color schemes. Each has its own appeal, but it's up to you to decide what you do with your rooms. Let your personality and tastes dictate the scheme you use.

Monochromatic
Monochromatic color schemes use tints and shades of the same color to create a sophisticated and elegant look. Colors from the same color family tend to look great together.

For a calm, quiet room, select a neutral color like brown or gray and apply different shades or values of that color to various elements of the room. This approach is pretty popular because it allows you to vary the look of the room by changing the accents and accessories. You can add interest to the room by using a variety of textures on the floor, walls and furniture.

Analogous
Developed from colors next to each other on the color wheel, analogous home color schemes offer more nuances while retaining the elegance of the monochromatic scheme. Usually, one color is dominant while others are used to enrich the effect.

For a relaxing effect, select a color scheme for your home composed of related colors: greens and blues or rose and peach are two examples. Keep the strength of the colors similar for a pleasing look.

Complementary
Complementary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel. These types of home color schemes add drama to any room. Complementary colors enhance the temperature of each other, which adds interest and energy to the décor. To get the most out of this scheme, use a warm color against a cool shade or add contrasting accessories to highlight the color of your walls.

Use colors that strongly contrast one another to create a stimulating, lively environment. You can select similar colors in their dark, vivid hues or select complementary colors.

Helpful Tip

Create an Accent Wall. Painting one wall with another color works well with a complementary color scheme because of the potential for contrasting colors. This creates a focal point in a room.

Now that you've done your homework, it's time to pop open the paint and start. Remember you can't always just jump into painting. There's a bit of prep work to do first. You need to make sure the surfaces are ready to be painted and often you should consider priming the wall before applying paint. For an in-depth "how-to" about painting a room, check out our Paint a Room project.

Good luck! You're now on your way toward rejuvenating your rooms with interior paint color combinations that can transform your home and an overall home color scheme that can tie it all together.