In my experience, a top reason people are afraid to pick a wall color is that they fear they will be picking the wrong color.

Can you relate?

If so, then you’re probably attempting to seek approval from the ‘others’ in your life.

The fear of what will they think can influence any of us both consciously and subconsciously.

Nervous lady sitting on a bed — Alex Green

Think about it.

Everything you do, from the colors of clothes you wear, how you wear your hair, and even how you interact with others is conditioned into us from a young age.

To “fit in”, we seek approval from our parents, our teachers, peers, and then our employers and on and on…

We’re taught it’s polite to be considerate of others before ourselves.

It’s one of the most natural things we do.

I’m sure there is science involved and that this “habit” is designed to keep us safe from danger.

But, worrying about if you can pick the right shade of off-white paint color based on what you think other(s) will think is very limiting.

When you censor yourself in favor of seeking ‘approval’ from others, you become paralyzed from making the choices that will reinforce your own desires.

True, picking the right paint color for your living room is not a life altering decision. But it’s a decision that will affect the aesthetics of your home.

Can color affect your happiness and enthusiasm for your home?

Certainly.

However, it’s important to note that paint color can be changed – relatively inexpensively and with some frequency if desired.

So, instead of relying on what someone else might like or feel is the right wall color for your living room, I’m going to show you how to pick colors for any room based on my own tried and true process for getting it right the first time.

Who knows? You may even be surprised by a few of the techniques I’ll share.

The Foundation

My goal here is to provide you with some good tools that will help you make the right wall color choices.

This is not an exhausted list, just a few of my favorite techniques for bringing colors together that you will love.

Now, take a deep breath and read the next few lines carefully.

(Deep breath…)

This is your home, and you are the only critic that you should listen to about your decor choices.

There. The pressure is off.

You live in your home and if it feels right to you, then it’s right.

So, to free yourself from color anxiety:

· I advise you to trust your own instincts.

· Don’t be afraid of color.

· And, keep your mind and heart open to inspiration.

Let’s begin with how color works

When you want to bring color into your space but you’re not sure how to pull the colors together, my advice for perplexing color questions is to consult a color wheel.

The color wheel is much more than a round rainbow.

It’s what the pros used to mix color palettes that relate to one another successfully.

To begin, I like to think of the colors on the color wheel as being divided into two hemispheres.

Warm and cool colors on the color wheel — Michael Helwig Interiors

There’s a warm hemisphere, the side with yellow’s, oranges and reds, and the cool hemisphere, with a purple, blues, and greens.

When you think about the color wheel as warm and cool hemispheres. it becomes a bit easier to start to distinguish how you want your room to feel.

cool color hemisphere — Chastity Cortijo

Pay attention to this concept as you begin to plan your decorating project.

Vivid and energetic rooms tend to gravitate to the warm hemisphere and refreshing, soothing, and calm rooms tend to result from the cool hemisphere.

To truly use the color wheel successfully, there are a couple things to keep in mind.

First, the colors of red, yellow, and blue are referred to as primary colors.

When combined, red and yellow make orange, red and blue make purple, and blue and yellow make green.

These combine colors are referred to as secondary colors.

Taking it one step further, tertiary colors are created by mixing primary and secondary colors.

This is where you get yellow-orange, red-orange, violet-red, blue-violet, blue-green, and yellow-green.

Create Color Harmony by Mixing Colors Creatively

Complimentary Colors

Colors that are opposite each other, for example red and green, are considered complementary colors and they tend to be vibrant and work great when you want something to stand out.

Using a complementary color combination is best left to small accents, not as the main color theme for your space.

Analogous Colors

Analogous color schemes are created by using colors that are right next to each other on the color wheel.

The resulting feeling from an analogous color scheme tends to be harmonious and serene.

Even though analogous color schemes are pleasing to the eye, it’s best to use them in varying proportions and not in equal doses.

Pick one as the main colors for the room.

For example, choose one for the wall color, the next color would be supporting color like the upholstery, drapes, or area rug.

Lastly, the third analogous color should be reserved as accents: throw pillows, artwork, accessories.

A good rule of thumb is the 60:30:10 rule.

Your main color is 60% of the room, the wall color, for instance.

The 30% is upholstery, drapes, and/or an area rug.

The 10% is throw pillows, art, pottery, etc.

Triadic Colors

Triadic color schemes are the colors that are equally spaced on the color wheel.

For example, purple, orange, and green are a triadic combination.

The key to this color scheme is balance.

Use one of the colors as the main theme and the other two should be accents

Split Complimentary Colors

Split complementary color schemes are a lot like complementary colors. Instead of using the color exactly opposite the first color, use the colors immediately on either side of the direct opposite color.

This ensures a striking color scheme the same rule of proportion applies to split-complimentary color combinations as with as the triadic combination:

It’s best to use one color is the main theme of the other two to support it.

The great thing about split complementary color schemes is that they are hard to mess up.

The colors in this combination always tend to look great together.

Square Colors

Square color schemes are four colors that are complementary pairs.

This color scheme works best when one of the four colors is dominant in the other three work to counterbalance it.

Be careful to maintain the balance between the warm and cool tones when you put your room together using this color combination.

It’s time to stop stressing about the paint job you’ve been putting off.

To sum up:

Start with how you want your room to feel: warm or cool.

Then break out the trusty color wheel to peek at the colors you’re attracted and then apply the rules of complimentary, analogous, split-complimentary, triatic, or rectangular schemes to come up with supporting colors for the other elements in the room.

Need to SEE Inspiration for Picking Paint Colors?

Open home interiors magazine on a table with a cup of coffee. — 91 Magazine

· Flip through magazines and decorating books.

· Visit furniture stores to see how displays are styled.

· Read the blogs and visit the websites of your favorite designers to see creative ways they use color.

Studying the way these sources use color will help you develop your eye.

Trust your instincts.

You know better than anyone else what colors you prefer.

Just look in the mirror. I’ll bet your top goes with your bottom and your shoes go with your belt and your bag goes with the shoes etc.

If you can think about dressing your room the same way as you dress your body, you’re halfway there.

Find one item to anchor your color choices.

Gather your inspiration from your favorite things like clothing, a pillow, or a piece of art.

Sometimes it easiest to start with a single point of inspiration because you can pull all the colors present in the item, out.

I’ll often make a simple color grid of the inspirational item.

Color grid based on an area rug — Ashkan Forouzani

This is simply looking at the piece and pulling all the colors I can see out of it.

After that, I’ll order the colors based on the color wheel.

Colors based on color wheel — Ashkan Forouzani

Then I’ll apply one of the color wheels rules I mentioned above to pull together a pleasing color story with wall color and accents.

Remember Colors You Liked from Growing Up.

I recently came across this wonderful book called Color Your Life, by Elaine Ryan, Saint Martin’s Griffin, 2007.

Miss Ryan has a very helpful insert right off the bat and chapter 1 entitled, Awaken Your Color Memory.

This exercise is particularly helpful for distinguishing the colors that really make you tick.

She offers five questions to get to the heart of choosing the right colors for you, they are:

· Can you remember the colors you love as a child? List Them.

· What colors do you react to strongly today?

· Can you identify why you like or dislike those colors?

· Are there any colors that you associate with a particularly happy time in your life?

· Are there colors you have a strong aversion to?

When you answer these questions, remember trust your instincts. There are no wrong answers.

Stay Organized While Choosing Your Paint Color Options

Finally, to add the perfect color to your wall, you need to know how that color will complement all the other materials in the room.

I like to keep us swatch file to refer to as I narrow my paint color choices.

Flat lay of interior design samples — Canva

A swatch file is samples of things like fabric cuttings I’d like to include in the room, rug or carpet samples, pieces of wallpaper, small samples flooring like hard wood floor samples with the floor color stain on them, etc.

I’ll usually keep these samples in a bag in my car for when I find myself out and about.

Having the samples close at hand has come in VERY handy on many occasions.

Take the samples with you when shopping for paint so you can see what colors work best with your choices.

Pick Your Wall Color Last

Once you choose all the materials in your room, it’s infinitely easier to pick the wall color.

Pick wall color last. — Michael Helwig Interiors

This may seem backwards, but it works like a charm.

Picking a single inspiration piece will create parameters for what is possible when choosing your paint color(s) and all the other colors you’ll use to decorate your room.

Use this method and the seemingly endless options will naturally winnow down to a few strong contenders.

Next Up

Could it be? White walls are out in 2022? I’ve got you covered if you want to paint over your white walls: Want to go bold? Here’s how. Want to be subtle with color? It’s in here. Just a hint of color with accents? Read on.

Let Me See!

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“Michael Helwig was top-notch, very professional and responsive to my needs. He allowed me time to explore ideas and try out a variety of combinations until we found the perfect fit. Michael provided detailed information and offered beautiful ideas to make my dream living room become a reality. The furniture he sourced has totally transformed my living room space. Everyone that has seen my new living room has one word, WOW! A special thank you to Michael for a wonderful experience.”

— Karen B.

“Michael was very knowledgeable and guided us, with great patience and good humor, through the process of designing our dining room and helping us find the perfect sleeper sofa. He offered really helpful advice when we asked questions - which was often - but at no time did we ever feel pushed. He helped me when I felt like I couldn’t make one more decision. When my new furniture finally arrived I realized everything down to the pillows was perfect. I couldn’t be happier!”

— Sarah H.

Paint brush and paint roller salmon color. — Ivan Samkov

Michael is Principal designer and blogger at Michael Helwig Interiors in beautiful Buffalo, New York. Since 2011, he’s a space planning expert, offering online interior e-design services for folks living in small homes, or for those with awkward and tricky layouts. He’s a frequent expert contributor to many National media publications and news outlets on topics related to decorating, interior design, diy projects, and more. Michael happily shares his experience to help folks avoid expensive mistakes and decorating disappointments. You can follow him on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook @interiorsmh.