This post may contain affiliate links. Every link is hand-selected by our team, and it isn’t dependent on receiving a commission. You can view our full policy here.
Choosing the right paint color always seems much more straightforward than it is. Go to the store. Pick a color you like. Boom! Done.
Only paint colors never look quite the same on your walls as they do on the swatch, and the color you love, love, LOVE one week you can absolutely loathe the next. That’s why almost every designer or decorating show will tell you to paint a sample on your wall and live with it for a day or two, so you can test your tolerance or the color and see it in your home’s light throughout the day. (A mauve, for example, could look dusty rose-ish during the afternoon, and in the evening light, turn a hideous shade of Pepto Bismol, for example.)
In the past five years of covering interior design trends, I’ve heard that advice in almost. Every. Interview. But it wasn’t until I read Emily Henderson’s book, Styled (out today!), that I uncovered a piece of advice I’d never heard before — nor did I expect:
“If you love color, don’t paint your walls.”
Um, what?! As an unabashed lover of anything and everything vibrant and shiny, I had to re-read her explanation. Surely, she must be mistaken!
Her rationale made sense though: If you love color, you have a tendency to buy colorful accessories too, and those paired with bold walls = saturation overload. All of the colors can look overwhelming and jumbled, creating a more stressful environment than a relaxing or energizing one (those being the two moods most people strive for in a room).
“By keeping the foundation of the room quiet, you give yourself permission to layer on the chaos, and the result is graphic, lively, and colorful without being too busy.”
White walls feel a little too stark for me, but still, that means I can go with a subtle, nuanced color (like a pale gray or beige) that livens up the room without competing with everything in it.
People who tend to choose more muted tones are encouraged to paint an accent wall or buy a large, solid-color rug to work in a sweeping dose of color, if they’re not into the idea of painting all four walls.
Of course, if you love a bold wash of color, by all means, go for it! I just found this tip incredibly helpful for people like me, who tend to embrace ALL kinds of color, rather than sticking to a tightly edited palette of three or so primary shades.
Henderson’s book is loaded with useful advice for creating a room that reflects your style (there’s even a diagnostic quiz!). It’s definitely worth picking up.
This post is part of Life Between Weekends’ Tuesday Takeaway series. Every Tuesday, we’ll share the most compelling insight we’ve gleaned from a book, movie, tour, documentary or article to inspire you during the workday.
