This room uses complimentary shades of red and green.

A relaxed analogous color scheme is created here using hues of adjacent yellows, greens and blues.

Here, the furniture and walls are blue with all other elements in neutral colors, creating a monochromatic room.

Shades of black, white and brown make this room primarily monotone, but far from boring.

Choosing Paint Color

Paint color will set the tone for a room. Color will affect mood and define style. Keep these things in mind. Is it a quiet room for relaxing, a gathering room, or workspace? Is your style country, contemporary, traditional?

When deciding on a paint color for a room, color inspiration can come from furniture, rugs, drapes, wallpaper, or other elements in the room. There are many more hues of paint, so it is easier to start with an inspiration piece, and then choose wall color. If you want to match a color in a fabric, take a swatch with you when you go shopping for paint. Many paint and home improvement stores can scan the color and provide an almost perfect match.

Color possibilities can be overwhelming. Start by narrowing your choices:

  • Neutral colors are safe, and range from deep brown to medium beige to white.
  • Cool colors like purples and blues are calming.
  • Warm reds and oranges will give a room more energy.

Once you've narrowed your choice to a color family, decide on the shade - dark, light or somewhere in-between. Take home paint swatches that are possibilities, and then narrow the choice further once you're in the room. Lighting can make a big difference. If your imagination isn't as vivid as you would like it to be, start with a small amount of paint and make yourself a large swatch, by painting a poster board. Holding this up to the wall, in different areas around the room can give you a better idea of the end result.

When choosing colors for a room, it can help to decide on a color scheme. The color you choose for your walls will work with its contents in different ways. Here is some advice on using color schemes from Amy Barkhimer, Designer from our Johnstown showroom:

Color Schemes

Complementary Color Scheme

This exciting scheme uses contrasting colors from opposite sides of the color wheel. For example: red with green; blue with orange; and yellow with violet. The colors can be used pure and vivid or they can be shades or tints such as using bright pink with lime green.

Analogous Color Scheme

This calming scheme is created when two or three adjacent colors on the color wheel are used. It is a very harmonious scheme and can be very restful. Two examples are: blue with its neighbors blue-green and blue-violet; and also green plus blue-green and yellow-green.

Monochromatic Color Scheme

This simplistic scheme uses only one color family. A variety of shades and tints of one color can be used throughout the space. An example would be: burgundy, rose, pale pink, beige, ivory, and white.

Monotone (Neutral) Color Scheme

This scheme can be somewhat limited, but typically quite "safe". Colors generally used are black or grays, brown or tans, and a variety of whites. An interior that is built around neutrals is often a very sophisticated and elegant space.