There’s nothing like committing to a paint color only to find that once it’s on the walls, it looks nothing like you envisioned. Or realizing too late that while you love the color orange, it doesn’t work on your living-room wall.

Color dilemmas occur all the time – and cause all sorts of frustration.

The first thing to keep in mind is that light exerts a huge influence on color. Fluorescent light brings out the blues and greens while making reds look duller. Incandescent lighting – what you likely use in your home – gives off a warmer light that makes yellows and reds brighter while dulling blues. So that soft yellow that looked nice in the store might look a lot brighter on your walls at home, simply because the light is different.

Natural sunlight gives the truest color – but even sunlight fluctuates. Light in southern exposures tends to be brighter and warmer, while north-facing rooms seems cooler and bluer. And at night, incandescent light casts shadows, so painted walls look darker.

So what can you do fine tune the light in your room?

Find the inspiration

If you’re not sure what color you want, it helps to find a muse to get you started. Maybe it’s a favorite vase or the quilt on your bed. Use two or three colors in that piece to act as the color palette for your room – one main and two accent colors.

Forget the chip

Paint chips aren’t big enough to give you a good idea of what a color will look like in your room. Once you’ve narrowed down your color choices, buy a small sample of each. Paint one sheet of poster board with each color. Now you have a paint “chip” that will really help. Move the boards around to different parts of the room at different times of day. And put them next to furniture pieces and fabrics in the room. You’ll be amazed at how different a single color can look.

Find the balance

There’s a color principal commonly called the 60-30-10 rule that helps keep a room’s color in balance. Sixty percent of a room – usually the walls – should be one color of the color scheme. Cabinetry and/or furniture make up 30 percent, and accents and accessories – linens, art, plants, décor items – make up 10 percent. So if orange is your favorite color, go with it. Find a neutral color for your 60 percent and let orange show up in your accents and accessories. You’ll get the bright color “pop” you want without overwhelming everything in the room.


Take some time to experiment – when you get the color right, you’ll have a room you can feel good about.

– Courtesy of Family Features