Opal Design Group’s Tips for Selecting Paint Colors

Opal's 5 Tips for Selecting Paint Colors

Selecting a paint color for your bedroom, living room, and even your bathrooms can be stressful, but it doesn't have to be! Paint color allows you to show some creativity and can really bring a room together. The designers from Opal Design Group share their top five tips for selecting paint colors for any room in your home.

Tip #1—Dark paint colors with natural light or light trim work

Only use a dark paint color in your rooms if a good amount of natural light shines through your windows. Natural daylight shows the truest colors in paint and fabrics. If natural light is limited, consider adding light trim work or light fabrics to the room to balance the darkness on the walls.

Tip #2—For a more sophisticated look, choose a color that has gray undertones

Saturated wall colors may be a little too loud and possibly too harsh for the type of mood you’re trying to set in a room. Colors with gray undertones can create a softer, more sophisticated look without feeling bland and completely colorless. Try graying-down some of your favorite colors, mixing and matching, and deciding what colors appeal to you most.

Tip #3—Limit the amount of paint colors you use in your home

For some people, a wide array of paint colors throughout their homes works for them; however, mix up those colors with caution. Too many colors in your home can be confusing and become a distraction from other design elements in your rooms. Of course, don’t be afraid of color, but start small and add from there.

Tip #4—Use eggshell finish or flat paint to hide imperfections in your walls

Flat paint has the least amount of shine to it, making it the best paint to hide imperfections in your walls. However, flat paint is also one of the hardest to clean, so it’s wise to keep it out of high traffic areas like the mudroom. An eggshell finish also hides imperfections, it’s easier to clean, but it does have some shine. Consider using an eggshell finish in rooms with slight wear.

Tip #5—Keep in mind, paint color is always more saturated and brighter on a wall than on a 2x2 swatch

It’s important to remember that the color on the swatches may not exactly match the color you decide to put on your walls. The fluorescent lighting in those home improvement stores can slightly distort the colored swatches you see in front of you. Pick the swatches you’re interested in and take them into the room you are planning to paint. See how those colors work with the lighting in that room. Better yet, ask if you can gather some paint samples and test spots in the room. You will eventually paint over those sections, so don’t be afraid to paint a larger spot at eye level.

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These expert designers from Opal Design Group will be on hand throughout the weekend to answer your specific design questions. Stop by their booth at the January Home Show, and catch Opal Design Group on the Design Stage.

FOR 2-FOR-1 TICKETS TO THE SHOW CLICK HERE!