5 tips for choosing the right paint colour

If you’re decorating a room, it’s important to get the colours right. Finding the perfect colour can be tricky though, especially when there are so many options and so much to think about. Keep reading to take a look at some of our top tips for choosing the right paint colour.

1 – Use colour swatches

If you’re looking for the right paint colour, you’re probably not going to find it straight away. You also don’t want to commit to buying a pot of paint if it turns out you don’t like the colour choice once you get home. Use a colour wheel or paint swatches and see which colours catch your eye, then keep a list of the ones that you like the most.

2 – Don’t forget to use a tester as well!

Colour swatches are great for helping you make up your mind, but nothing compares to the real thing. Of course, if you’re not sure about the colour, you can use a tester to see if it suits your tastes. Instead of painting it straight onto the wall, try a few different colours on a couple of patches of card. This way, the existing wall colour will have no effect on your new paint sample. If you don’t like one of the colour samples, it’s also a lot easier to get rid of the card than it is to repaint your wall!

3 – Think about the furniture and the room

Now that you’ve got your colour swatches and some nice samples to consider, you should think about the room itself. Take a look at the colours you’ve chosen and see how they look against the furniture you own. Do the colours go with the furniture, or do they clash with what you already have? Don’t forget to test your potential painted cards against things like floors and curtains too. If the colours don’t work, it’s time to try something else!

4 – Don’t forget lighting

Lighting is another important thing to take into account when it comes to picking the right paint colour. This is also another reason why you should use colour swatches and paint samples – depending on your room, the paint won’t always look exactly the same way it did in the shop! For example, north facing rooms tend to have a colder, bluer light, so dryer colours like greys might not look as good. South facing rooms tend to be brighter on sunny days, so keep this in mind when it comes to picking your paints.

5 – Pick an inspiration

If you’re struggling to find the perfect colour, why not start with a theme or an idea instead? If you find a style or design that inspires you, that can be a perfect place to start. Why not take a look at some of our projects in our interior design gallery to get inspired today?