Design Tips & Tricks - #3 Choose Paint Colors Last

Ever wonder why it can be so hard to choose a paint color? Lots of folks decide they want to paint a room, head to the local paint store, pick up a bunch of sample cards and bring them home to review. And then they stare at them. Maybe the samples get taped to the wall. More often than not, those samples stay there for a long time. Why? Because there are literally thousands of paint colors and despite the fact that you might know you want gray or blue, there are so many variations to even one color that it quickly becomes an overwhelming and miserable process.

In my experience, picking a paint color before you’ve decided on an overall design scheme is like heading to the grocery store, buying spices and then, based on what spices you brought home, deciding what to cook. The process is backwards and as such typically much harder than it has to be. So, while I can understand the urge to move into a new home with freshly painted walls, unless you know what’s going to be happening decor wise in each space, try and wait. Choosing a paint color once you’ve got an overall scheme working, perhaps using pillows or a rug you love as inspiration, will be a much simpler, less stressful process.

Check out my recent blog on How To Pick A Paint Color in 4 Easy Steps to learn more about choosing paint colors!