How to Choose a Wall Color

-->

I love color!  I really do.  It’s easy to get carried away with it, if not careful.  I enjoy vibrant hues but also muted earth tones. Every color has it’s place.  When it comes to choosing your color palette, the rug really should be your guide.  You don’t want everything in the space to be perfectly matched, but everything should work together to create a visually pleasing palette.  There are a few ways to accomplish this:

1.     Pull the wall color directly from your rug.  Choose a secondary or tertiary color from the rug to use as your wall color.  You can then pull other colors from the rug to use in your accents.

photo: PDR Interiors

If your rug has vibrant colors in it, choose a muted version of one of those color for the wall.  Strong colors can evoke strong emotions, and most of the time they create the opposite ambience of what you hoped.  A muted color means that it has a gray base to it which keep the colors soothing, neutral and versatile.  The bolder the shade, or more energetic the undertone, the more wired you and your guests will feel when in the space. Most people want a soothing, cozy environment in their home.  What vibe do you want to evoke?

2.     Choose a complimentary color to those in your rug.  If your rug incorporates a lot of yellow hues (warm by nature) cool down the tone of the room by choosing a shade of blue for your walls.  The same rule above applies here- keep the tone muted so as not to overwhelm the space with color. 

photo: PDR Interiors

The color wheel is going to be your best friend when it comes to creating a color palette that works.  I recommend purchasing a color wheel to keep on hand that shows you complimentary color schemes. 

I get asked about accent walls on a regular basis.  I am not a fan of accent walls.  To me, they represent someone being scared to use a color so they take the “safe” route and just put color on one wall in a room.  The other problem with accent walls is that they highlight only one wall creating tunnel vision in the room.  If you have 3 taupe walls and one deep red, your eye will continually be drawn to the deep red wall.  Most rooms don’t justify drawing attention to only one wall.  There are some instances where drawing attention to one wall makes sense, such as a two-story great rooms with a stacked stone fireplace.  You want everyone’s eye to go to that stacked stone, because the fireplace is the focal point of the room.

Speaking of fireplaces, built-ins are often used to flank a fireplace in a living or family room, and even when they aren’t sometimes they need a little something to enhance their appearance. The one caveat I have for accent walls is using an accent color or accent wallpaper on the back of built-in bookcases.  I love a painted white built-in bookcase, but some rooms call for a little more pizzazz in their shelving.  An accent color (dictated by the other colors in the room) or accent wallcovering (could be a texture or a geometric pattern) adds a punch of personality to your space. 

photo: PDR Interiors

Don’t fret if you have already chosen a wall color and are now creating a room around it.  This can work, too.  It may be a little more challenging, but it is possible.  You can work in reverse by either choosing a rug that has your wall color in it OR choosing a rug that is complimentary in color to your walls.

Stop by next Tuesday to get advice on choosing your paint sheen...