Interior Design Ideas

Picking a Paint Color

May 9, 2026

Given that our interior walls and ceilings are, on a proportional basis, the largest objects in our rooms, decorating with the right paint color takes on top priority in interior design. The choices are countless, and each hue and it’s texture is affected by light, both natural and man made. Further, the light changes based on the season and even the time of day, with morning light appearing “bluer” and evening light taking on a “pinker” quality. So even under the best circumstances we have a moving target.

Next, each individual responds to color differently depending in our background, culture, age and gender. This post is not about the psychology of color, but rather offering tips to help you narrow your choice within a hue.

Hue is the name of the color. And to simplify this discussion, tint is the amount of “whiteness” in a color while shade is the amount of “blackness” to a color. So here is a list of exercises to help with the selection.

1. Look at the color chips vertically. Paint is applied vertically, so try to simulate your field condition.

2. Check the color in each orientation in the room. North, south, east and west walls will give different impressions so you will have to average the affect, or decide which wall is the most important in displaying the color.

3. Check the paint chips at different times of the day and decide when you will be spending time in the room. A dining room used for evening entertaining should have a paint color chosen in the evening.

4. Check the color chips with the color rendition of the light bulbs and lamp shades which will be in the room. (The bare light bulb hanging from the extension cord viewed at 1:00 AM will not give you an accurate assessment.)

5. Get the biggest chip you can from the dealer, or better yet prime the wall and paint some 3 foot square color samples to live with for a couple of days. More and more dealers are offering paint testers at nominal cost, so that you can compare several without buying whole quarts. Paint two coats so you can get a true simulation of the actual result.

6. Getting a hue of the right intensity (brightness versus murkiness) is probably the most challenging aspect of picking a paint color. The warm colors such as yellow, orange, red and chartreuse are advancing hues and in their mid tone range of color saturation they are much brighter than you can imagine when looking at the tiny paint chips. Here is a little rule I learned while attending a course offered by the Wagner Institute for Color Research. The colors we would name in a one word description (for example, blue, purple, orange) are difficult for most people to tolerate over time when painted on all four walls. Better yet are the 2 word descriptions such as navy blue, olive green, dove gray. And when it takes a phrase to describe the color, such as “a greenish putty colored off white” then we have a range of distilled hues that make for a complex color choice which is more interesting over time. These hues can be the background to tie the furnishings and artwork into a unified whole. They can be light or dark colors, they are typically found on the bottom or top of the color sample strips and they tend to be mixed in the light tone or dark tone pigment tinting bases. The deep dark hues tend to look best in a finish with more sheen such as a satin finish, or when applied with multiple coats topped with a glaze, to create a three dimensional effect.

7. Light colors, such as off whites, are more forgiving of imperfections in the wall. As the hues get brighter and darker, they truly magnify a poor wall prep job, as do shinier textures such a semi gloss and gloss finishes. So if you are doing this project yourself, select accordingly.

8. No color viewed on a computer screen, can accurately portray how the paint will look in your room. Likewise, most color chips are printed on the paper as opposed to showing actual paint samples. However, many companies, such as Benjamin Moore, offer online paint simulators to help you try the color virtually before you commit to a choice.

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Posted in: Walls, Ceilings, Floors and Windows