When it comes to painting walls or the outside of your home, I find choosing the color is the most challenging part. Experts always point you to the color wheel…you know from art class!
We have our primary colors of red, blue, and yellow and then your secondary colors are made when you mix primary colors together to make green, orange, and purple. I was in first grade and we used finger paints to learn this.
As a adult, I was watching Trading Spaces…LOVED that show! Anyway, one of the designers was talking about complementary colors.
If you haven’t heard, these are the colors that are straight across from one another on the color wheel: purple & yellow, blue & orange, and red & green. These pairs of colors are very pleasing together.
Another hint I learned from Trading Spaces designers is find an inspiration for your color scheme. It may be a picture on the wall, a rug, or some other item that will then tie your room together. So, for my woman cave, I looked to my fabrics for inspiration. Here is my inspiration
So brown and turquoise it is! Problem solved…not yet! Which brown and which turquoise. It’s off to my friendly home improvement store to check it out!
I went to Home Depot because they allow you to get samples of your paint in 8 oz bottles for approx. $3.00. That is enough to paint an area large enough so that you can see what the color actually looks like on the wall.
I purchased many different colors to try out. This was about $15 worth of paint. I lot cheaper than having purchased gallons at $20-30 each and run the risk of being disappointed! The only downside is your samples are only mixed in flat so you won’t get a look at how semi-gloss or gloss paint will look. Look at my samples on the wall and ceiling.
UGLY but I was able to make a decision. Take a look at what I chose (keep in mind my room is still in progress so there is no crown molding yet).
I like it. Without the samples, I would not have been anywhere near as pleased…these were not my first choice of colors!
TIP: If you can’t get samples or you are painting the exterior of your house a great tip from my husband. Tint your primer! You will be able to get a look at your room and if the color is a bit off, you can go up or down a shade and it should still cover in one coat!
Anne @ Domesblissity
Sometimes those men of ours have good ideas, don’t they Marilyn? I like to let something in the room be inspiration for my colour palette too Marilyn. Just which colour is the problem! LOL
Anne xx