When furnishing, decorating or painting the interior or exterior of your home you should consider the following rules when selecting colors:
Rule no. 1: Decide on a mood or theme before you begin
When people see the interior or exterior of your home, and the various spaces that make up your home, what do you want their senses to tell them? Cool or warm? Cosy or business-like? Bright and cheery or subdued and reflective? Cute or grand? Correct color selection is the first step towards achieving your mood or theme.
If you have existing furniture that you intend to use in your newly decorated room make sure it fits the intended mood or theme, or can be altered to do so.
Rule no. 2: Choose a color scheme before you begin
Color wheel from the Color Wheel Company
| To help choose a color scheme buy a color wheel like the one shown in the pictures below (made by the Color Wheel Company) and which can be purchased from art supply shops like Eckerley's or online directly from the manufacturer. Let one color dominate the space or surface. In addition consider getting a color fan deck from a paint manufacturer (note: usually these are not free). An example of a fan deck is shown below. (By-the-way: you can single-click or double-click the color wheel to see the reverse or enlarge it.) | |
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Rule no. 3: Choose different values or tints for your selected colors
To quote from Dulux's color tips web page: Nature conditions us to expect ....
- The darkest value at our feet
- The medium value at eye level
- The lightest value above us
Using this knowledge select darker colors, shades and tints on the floor, medium colors, shades and tints on the walls, etc. (see our rule about ceilings in the next section).
Rule no. 4: Use neutral colors on the ceiling
Ceilings encompass the entire area of an interior space and affect the mood of the entire area, unlike a wall, which when painted has a more localised effect, and unlike a floor which can be broken up with rugs, carpeted areas, tiles, etc. If you select the wrong color for the ceiling it will ruin the intended mood or theme. Dark colors on the ceiling generally do not work, they give a room an oppressive mood.
For more information on the use of neutral colors read Color Consultant Samatha Bacon's case study.
Rule no. 5: Use feature walls
Painting all walls the same highly saturated or intense color does not work. Even shades or tints of the same color might not work if the color is too intense. If you are going to paint a room all the same color, use a neutral color. Thus it is common practice to paint one wall with a bright color and to paint the remaining walls a neutral color (white being a common choice).
Better Homes and Gardens recommend that a feature wall should ideally have the largest area within the room or space, it should not contain any windows or doors, and it helps if the wall has interesting angles or something else eye-catching like a fireplace. The "red room" shown below is a great example of a room with a feature wall that not only has interesting angles, but a fireplace as well!
Rule no. 6: To make a room seem warm and cosy...
| To make a space seem cosy/warm use warmer colors on walls; e.g. tints of red, warmer browns, red-violets, etc. The lounge room and bedroom shown below are perfect examples of what can be achieved. | |
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Rule no. 7: To make a room seem cooler...
| Put tints of blue, green and violet on the walls to make a room fell cooler. Two examples are shown below. | |
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Rule no. 8: Consider the size of the space
If your space is large use 30% strong, darker colors, 60% medium and 10% lighter colors. This will make the space feel welcoming, but using the same color scheme in a smaller space will make it feel cluttered and even smaller than it really is. In a smaller space the percentages should be 10% strong darker colors, 30% medium and 60% lighter colors.
Rule no. 9: Use accents
Use items such as paintings, pieces of furniture and vases to accent a room with complementary colors. For example: place a green vase against a red feature wall, or put a brightly colored painting with a complementary tonality on a wall painted in a neutral color. The fisherman's cottage show here makes use of red trim to complement its main exterior colors.
Rule no. 10:
Use lighter colors on textured surfaces
Rough surfaces (like brick walls) appear darker than smooth surfaces (because the reflected light is more scattered). Thus it is prudent to select lighter shades or tints when painting these types of surfaces.
Rule no. 11: Don't forget about lighting & reflections
Remember to be careful when using white for brightly lit spaces. Reflected light causes glare which in turn can cause headaches. Also remember that when light reflects off an object and hits another object it affects the color of that object. The brighter the light source the more noticeable the effect. Thus a shiny red object reflecting on to a yellow-orange object can make the yellow-orange appear to be red-orange.
Take advantage of natural light whenever it is practical and cost effective to do so. If a room seems dark consider installing a skylight or window, or use a bold color on a feature wall to lift the atmosphere. Alternatively create a cosy atmosphere by using soft artificial lighting and warm colors.
See our article about light and lighting for more information on this subject.
Rule no. 12: Confirm and double check your color decisions
First try our color wheel selection tool. (Click on the image on the right.)
Second: Be really thorough and try some of the online tools provided by the various paint suppliers. Here is an incomplete list:
- Sherwin Williams' Color Selection Tool
- Pantone's Paint Selector
- Benjamin Moore's Personal Color Viewer
Finally: Buy sample pots of paint and paint medium sized rectangular pieces of cardboard or wood (or whatever is handy, and flat) and hold these painted surfaces up (after they are dry) against your furniture, the wall, and each other to confirm that what you think goes well together, does go well together. Make the comparisons in different lighting conditions.
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